Willimantic, CT — Eastern Connecticut State University’s Center for Community Engagement (CCE) hosted “I Love Me,” an event for Windham Middle School students on March 22. Held in the Betty R. Tipton Room, the event featured eight stations for students to participate in different activities. The goal of the event was to educate the students on healthy, positive ways to relieve stress.
Each station had a CCE volunteer who helped the middle school students with the related activity. Stations were named “trust driving,” “I’ve got confidence how about you,” “healthy sleep habits,” “stress relief,” “dance it out,” “I am grateful,” “smart choices” and “treat yourself.”
Upon arrival students were given a paper bag to decorate that they would later fill with the crafts they made throughout the event. They made sleep masks, hand scrubs, worry dolls and stress balls, and danced with classmates, learned about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, and colored pictures. As students went from station to station, volunteers worked hard to keep everything functioning smoothly.
“‘I Love Me’ has been a big part of the reason I work so hard at the Center for Community Engagement,” said Carly Perron, Center for Community Engagement student leader. “Knowing that we have a program for the education and promotion of health, happiness and safety of Willimantic’s youth is a huge deal. I value ‘I Love Me’ so much because it brings light to the idea that middle school students are more like young adults than many people think.”