Success Stories > Lethbridge Family Services: Building Community Through Active Living

In 2009, when Lethbridge Family Services (LFS) decided to enter a team in the local dragon boat competition, Tanya Jans signed up right away.

“I was hoping we’d have a dragon boat crew,” said Tanya, an administrative assistant with LFS. “I hadn’t done any paddling since my college days, and I couldn’t wait to get out there and give it a try.” So, along with about 20 fellow employees, Tanya became a member of the LFS Bravehearts crew and began to learn the “ins and outs” of manoeuvring a one-tonne vessel across Henderson Lake.

The 2009 dragon boat competition is just one example of the many efforts undertaken by the LFS health and wellness committee since it began meeting in 2005. The original focus of the committee was to improve employee health, safety and wellness in order to help reduce the amount of workers’ compensation premiums paid by LFS to the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB).

Since its inception, the committee has spearheaded a number of initiatives, including presentations, fitness challenges, and incentive programs—all aimed at increasing workplace safety and improving employee health.

Sonny Zgurski, chair of the committee and finance director at LFS, says that the committee’s focus has evolved over the years: “Initially, our programs focused more on safety. But as the links with health and wellness grew, the direction of the committee changed.”

Today, the health and wellness committee programming is holistic in nature, focusing not only on safety, but also on physical fitness, emotional wellness (especially through creating a sense of community among workers), and spiritual health.  Sonny says, ““We want to be proactive. Healthy, happy employees are also safer, more productive employees.”

Providing health and wellness training and incentives can be a tricky business for a non-profit organization. But the seven-person committee has proven to be both creative and resourceful in developing programs that appeal to a variety of LFS employees, while keeping costs down.

Here are a few highlights: In 2007, close to 50 employees kept wellness journals. For a year, they recorded their physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness activities. Prizes were awarded as personal milestones were achieved. In 2008, Walk Around the World attracted about 40 employees. Participants used pedometers supplied by LFS to track the distance they walked each day. With each step equivalent to one mile, it didn’t take long for participants to make their way to the many locations highlighted on the world map that hung in the LFS lobby.  Small prizes were awarded at various destinations, with a draw for a grand prize—a Wii Fit—providing the incentive needed to “walk around the world.” A local gym and fitness centre offers significant discounts to LFS employees. Since 2005, more than 30 employees have taken advantage of the discount each year.

LFS staff is enthusiastically embracing the health and wellness committee initiatives, but is the committee achieving its goals? “Definitely,” says Sonny. “In the past two years, our WCB premiums have gone down by 38 percent. But just as important, staff camaraderie has soared. People enjoy the programs. They are a lot of fun.” 

Sonny credits LFS board members and directors with the success of the health and wellness committee programs. He recalls, “When I started work at LFS in 2006, I was not at all fit. But the executive director at the time encouraged me to join the fitness club. I don’t think the program could be this successful if the leaders didn’t care as much as they do.”

Tanya concurs, “As a non-profit organization, we do not have a lot of money for extras, and yet the LFS management and administration make employee health and wellness a priority. I feel so fortunate to work at LFS.”

When Tanya and the rest of the kilt-clad Bravehearts took to the water in 2009, they were as prepared as they could be for the competition. Not a single member of the crew had raced a dragon boat before, but their inexperience didn’t matter. Tanya recalls, “It was so great to be part of a team. The camaraderie we developed through the dragon boat races was amazing.”

By participating in the event, LFS employees not only shared great memories and “a bond that none could have predicted,” they also shared a silver medal! That’s right—the rookie Bravehearts rowed to a thrilling second place finish in the women’s community challenge, and won the team spirit award to boot.    

Relevant websites:

• Lethbridge Family Services
• Be Fit For Life Workplace Programs
• NAOSH Week