The primary objective of BeWell Partners is to support the emotional fitness of youth and young adults. This is done through education, mentoring, community building, conversation, peer leadership and training, service opportunities, camps, fun, and creative expression.
Programs are either created and run by BeWell Partners, or run through partner organizations with our support. The goal is not only to create, but also to assist others who are committed to creating a more just, emotionally fit, open-minded, and empathetic world.
current initiatives / Partnerships
Ven-u
Focusing on the Wellness of College and University Athletes
Athletes understand the value of small gains and a trajectory toward improvement. Goals and PRs are a part of every sport and training program.
A golfer doesn’t think their average can immediately go from 84 to 72. They recognize that certain aspects of their game require focus.
A runner doesn’t expect to go from a 4:28 to a 3:59 within a week.
A basketball player doesn’t think their 3-point shooting percentage will leap significantly without practice.
This concept can be applied across all sports.
Our goal is to help student-athletes keep making small goals toward improving life balance and mental health. If "life health" is at a 6.8 on a 10-point scale, what could be done to help move it to a 7.0? And when at a 7.0, what could be done to help move to a 7.2? Etc.
Think of it as Wellness PRs (Personal Records)
The dream of Ven-U is multi-faceted, with a goal to…
- help college athletic departments implement curriculum and resources to support the mental health of their athletes
- present in-person seminars to teams and coaching staffs on a variety of wellness topics, leading to participation in regular wellness gatherings - online and in person
- develop online programs that countless students could tap into at the same time, where professional and well-known athletes share their mental-health stories, and provide encouragement and resources
- have trained facilitators who can do small group work online
- produce online lessons and learning opportunities, looking like Khan Academy, SAT prep classes, TED Talks, and TikTok videos had a baby
- create programs that incentivise involvement, whether competition between teams in a particular school, or between schools in particular conferences
- mentor student leaders in each school, and on each team, so access and support are nearby
- educate coaches on the needs of students, and an understanding of mental health
- partner with professional sports teams, sporting goods companies, apparel companies, and other companies that students use, to have prizes available to athletes who complete various curricula and trainings
- run summer sports camps for 12-18 year olds that also have an emphasis on mental wellness, staffed by college athletes who have been trained as leaders and wellness facilitators
- have service opportunities for athletes, where they have exposure to developing countries, doing building projects and outreach, while leading sports clinics and teaching mental health tools
Why the name "Ven"?
Ven is the root of vein, that which enables the circulatory system to bring blood back to the heart. The goal of Ven-Z is to help student-athletes return to their core, to find heart in all they do, and empower them to balance the many other parts of their lives with their athletic endeavors and responsibilities.
Ven is the root of event, venue, and adventure - that which college student-athletes know a great deal about!
VEN is also an acronym:
V - Visualize (picture what can potentially be)
E - Engage (dive into the process of getting there)
N - Nexus (connect the various components of life)
What we're also working on
VOCATIONAL DISCERNMENT & WELLNESS/EMOTIONAL FITNESS - Seminars and RETREATS
These seminars and retreats are offered in partnership with colleges and universities, building on the resources and connections that come through the work of Ven-U.
Vocational Discernment
These events focus on helping students through the process of gifts discernment, planning for the next steps, and working through a better understanding of what they might do with their lives. The college experience is expensive, and finding a path for work after graduation is complex. For example, if I feel called to be an actor, but will graduate with $100,000 of student debt, how do I make sense of this profound conundrum? Being creative around the following topics, and using a variety of methodologies to explore the topics, we help students feel empowered to make the next steps in their vocational journey.
- What am I good at?
- What do I enjoy doing?
- What do others affirm me for?
- Can I make money doing this - and how much money do I need?
- Where can my passions help the world?
College Wellness/Emotional Fitness
These seminars and retreats are designed for students who feel relatively stable and healthy (while certainly feeling the pangs of distress we all encounter). The sequence of conversations, exercises, talks, small groups, and materials moves through themes like:
- What has made me who I am at this point? What factors have contributed to my best parts, and the parts that keep me from being whole?
- What are my strengths and gifts? Do I celebrate them enough? How do I use them?
- What obstacles have I overcome in my life? How have I exhibited grit and resilience?
- What are ways to manage stress? What can I learn from acronyms like CBT, DBT, and MBSR?
- Ways of tackling problems... Steps and ideas when life gets too complicated.
