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Master Wellness Volunteer Program
Master Wellness Volunteer Program“Improving Lives, Improving Texas”

The Unconditional Love of Pets

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Newly minted Master Wellness Volunteer Kit Darling has a starring role in the #PetTalk article featured below.

2019 State Training Cohort – Final Day: 19 February 2019

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Note: this entry, originally posted 12 Feb 19, was updated 22 feb 19.

The final day of the second annual Master Wellness Volunteer Program Statewide Training Cohort was held 19 February, 2019. The final agenda, recorded presentations and handouts related to the day’s sessions may be accessed below.

  • Agenda – PDF (102 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 – The Many Faces of Diversity
  • 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!

2019 State Training Cohort – First Day: 22 January 2019

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Note: this entry, originally posted 15 Jan 19, was updated 25 Jan 19.

The first day of the second ever Master Wellness Volunteer Program Statewide Training Cohort was held 22 January 2019. The final agenda, recorded presentations and handouts related to the day’s sessions may be accessed below.

  • Agenda – PDF (149KB)
  • Session 1 – Welcome and Master Wellness Volunteer Program Overview
  • Session 2 – Social Determinants of Health
    • Presenter: Lisa Washburn, Associate Professor & Community Health Specialist, University of Tennessee Extension
    • Presentation: https://youtu.be/M0dwzcAc0Z4
    • Handout – PDF (1.2MB)
  • Session 3 – Evidence-Based Practice: Science or Science Fiction?
  • Session 4 – Working Lunch Discussion: What Extension Looks Like in Our County
    • Presenter: Host County Extension Agent
  • Session 5 – Walk Across Texas!
  • Session 6 – Better Living for Texans
  • Session 7 – Wrap-up & Adjourn
    • Presenter: Host County Extension Agent
    • Handout – PDF (140KB)

What’s next? Well you have some work to do between now and our final training day 19 February, 2019, via our Online Course System. If you need help creating your FREE account, please see Accessing the Online Course System (PDF, 1MB).

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

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!

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.

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.