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Master Wellness Volunteer Program“Improving Lives, Improving Texas”

Statewide Training Cohort – Final Day

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Note: this entry, originally posted 27 Feb 18, was updated 09 Mar 18.

The final day of the first ever Master Wellness Volunteer Program Statewide Training Cohort was held 28 February 2018 at a County Extension Office near you!. The final agenda, recorded presentations and handouts related to the day’s sessions may be accessed below.

  • Agenda – PDF (69 KB)
  • Session 1 – Reducing Food Waste in the Home
  • Session 2 – Why We Don’t Just Do It
  • Session 3 – Creating a Culture of Wellness
  • Session 4 – Working Lunch – Public Speaking: How to Effectively Convey Your Message
  • Session 5 – Step Up Scale Down
  • Sessions 6-8 – Public Speaking Practice, Review and Certification Exam
    • Host County Extension Agent

And now the really hard/fun work begins as a Master Wellness Volunteer Intern. Be thinking about opportunities with and through your County Extension Agent to start logging those 40-hours of give back required for certification. And don’t forget to report them via the reporting tab at the top of this page. Remember – if it’s not on “paper” it didn’t happen!

Statewide Training Cohort – First Day

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Note: this entry, originally posted 22 Jan 18, was updated 06 Feb 18.

The first day of the first ever Master Wellness Volunteer Program Statewide Training Cohort was held 23 January 2018. The final agenda, recorded presentations and handouts related to the day’s sessions may be accessed below.

  • Agenda – PDF (92 KB)
  • Session 1 – Welcome & Role of Extension in Community Health
  • Session 2 – Master Wellness Volunteer Program Overview
  • Session 3 – Walk Across Texas
  • Session 4: Lunch
    • Host County Extension Agent
  • Session 5 – Better Living for Texans
  • Session 6 – The Many Faces of Diversity
  • Session 7 – Dinner Tonight!
  • Session 8: Wrap-up & Adjourn – PDF (115 KB)
    • Host County Extension Agent

What’s next? Well you have some work to do between now and our final training day 28 Feb 18 via our Online Course System. If you need help creating your FREE account, please see Accessing the Online Course System (PDF, 2MB).

Thank you for your eagerness and commitment to Help Texans Better Their Lives!

January Is Just Around The Corner

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At this moment. Right now. There is a Christmas tree sitting in my living room. Fully assembled. Decorated. But I refuse to turn it on in protest that it’s not even Thanksgiving yet (can you tell it wasn’t my decision to put it up?). People get in too big a hurry for the next thing on the calendar.

Here’s where I turn into a hypocrite: it’s time to start getting EXCITED about the Master Wellness Volunteer Program Statewide Training beginning 23 January.

Registration is now open at https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/MWV Click on the Statewide Training Cohort and sign up to be a part of something BIG (see post directly below). Once registered, the County Extension Agent for your county will be in touch regarding the particulars of what the training will look like in your area: where to go, what to do, how to recruit more of your friends to participate!

If you have questions or need additional information about the training, send an email to mwv@ag.tamu.edu and we’ll connect you with your County Extension Agent.

And because I may not talk to you again before 23 January: Enjoy Thanksgiving, Best Wishes for a Wondrous Holiday Season, Peace and Joy in the New Year and a VERY Happy Master Wellness Volunteer Statewide Training!

Be a Part of Something BIG

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In the United States, 86% of all health spending is related to chronic conditions – things like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and many others. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, these costs can be managed and potentially reduced through education and lifestyle modification.

In January 2018, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will convene a statewide training for Master Wellness Volunteers…and you don’t even have to leave your county. Master Wellness Volunteers (MWV) undergo 40 hours of training on health, nutrition and food safety and are then empowered to provide outreach and education, helping reduce the burden of chronic conditions in Texans and Texas’ communities.

Not a health professional? Not a problem! We welcome participation from anyone interested in promoting health and wellness: college students, employees, retirees – anyone! Opportunities to serve are wide-ranging: giving presentations for local community groups, assisting with healthy cooking demonstrations, participating in health fairs and much more. Because each community is different, MWVs work with the County Extension Agent and other stakeholders to identify needs and opportunities to help make a local difference.

For more information regarding the MWV program and/or the statewide training, send an email to mwv@ag.tamu.edu with your contact information and the county in which you live. We’ll connect you with the County Extension Agent in your county to provide more details about the training and opportunities to give back.

See you in January!

Family and Community Health

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We often only think about health as the absence of disease. But, in reality, health is about balance in one’s physical, mental and social existence.

To that end, you’ll notice that some of the Extension professionals in your communities have a new title: County Extension Agent – Family and Community Health (CEA-FCH).

The mission of these professionals to provide quality, relevant information remains the same; but, their titles have been changed to reflect the role that Extension plays in improving the “health” of Texas’ families and communities.

Swing by your county Extension office and get re/acquainted with your CEA-FCH. Want to help make a difference in your community? Ask her/him how you can become a Master Wellness Volunteer.

Cooking with Confidence

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This post courtesy of Paula Butler, Regional Program Leader – East & All-Around Nifty Person

With the anticipation of spring and warmer weather also comes the excitement of local Farmer’s Markets.  To prepare Master Wellness Volunteers to provide food and recipe demonstrations in this setting, AgriLife Extension held a Cooking with Confidence training at the Dallas Research and Extension Center earlier this month.

Fourteen volunteers were provided food safety education by Rebecca Dittmar, Extension Food Safety Specialist, and Courtney Davis, Denton County Extension Agent,which included special considerations for outdoor venues, what to do and what not to do. In addition Jennifer Reeves, Llano County Extension Agent, led an overview of Cooking with Confidence, a program she developed and has delivered at several locations across the state. Brittany Martin, Dallas County Extension Agent, provided specifics on lesson plans, talking points and recipes applicable for Farmer’s Market delivery which was followed with volunteer hands on practice and small group food demonstrations.

As a result of the training, the Master Wellness Volunteers are well prepared for the variety of upcoming opportunities in Dallas, Denton, and Collin Counties during the spring, summer, and fall Farmer’s Market season.

Don’t Forget to Write

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So one of my favorite movies is The Jerk (Airplane being another…but I digress). I love how Navin gets so excited when the new phone book comes and he has his very own listing!

Well that’s how I feel today – excited!! As a sign of its growing maturity and popularity, the Master Wellness Volunteer Program now has its own email address: mwv@ag.tamu.edu

Gone are the days of searching and searching for someone to contact about your MWV questions and/or the mysteries of life. You can now direct them to one place and we’ll do our best to get you help/answers.

Tee’d Up for a GREAT 2017

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Collin County Master Wellness Volunteers with Spiffy New Shirts!

Collin County Master Wellness Volunteers with Spiffy New T-shirts!

Where does time go? With all the great work done at all levels of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, but especially by the Master Wellness Volunteers, 2016 flew by and lives were changed in the process.

In 2016, 139 Master Wellness Volunteers in 20 counties provided 1,440 events reaching more than 36,000 Texans through 5,962 hours of service.

How about a round of applause!!!

And now the work continues. 2017 is shaping up to be the best year ever for the Master Wellness Volunteer Program: new counties, new partners, new trainings and new educational opportunities.

It’s a great time to be a Master Wellness Volunteer. And a great time to recruit a friend or some friends to join you in helping Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service achieve its vision: “Help Texans Better Their Lives.”

A Good Time Was Had By All

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Thanks for joining us in Dallas, either in person or online, to celebrate 10 years of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Master Wellness Volunteer Program. It was a great day of learning, networking and sharing. When looking at expanding the program into new counties, new program areas and with new partners, we start with a great foundation you all have laid for us. Thank you.

For those of you interested in the presentation materials from the 2016 Master Wellness Volunteer Conference, they’re listed below for download in PDF format.