Veterans Inc.: Pushing wellness beyond those they serve
Veterans Inc. is a New England nonprofit, based in Worcester, which offers housing assistance, training, outreach and other services to veterans. By making others a priority, agency staffers give, and give more. Which makes it all the more important that this social service agency takes care of its employees' physical and mental health.
“There are high numbers for burnout” in social service work, said Cynthia Payne, the agency's human resources manager. “No one is there for the money, it's more for the mission.”
With this in mind, the nonprofit is interested in not only providing opportunities for healthy eating and exercise, but is interested in what employees do to relieve stress, and the organization plans events that provide fun and camaraderie.
The physical focus, Payne said, begins with a solid health care plan for employees, where the company pays between half and three-quarters of premiums. It includes a vision plan, and reimbursements for smoking cessation, the Weight Watchers at Work program and gym memberships.
Then comes the nonprofit's 90-Day Challenge. Employees take on the challenge with specific goals to reach over 90 days. In Payne's case, it was running three miles, three days a week. “It's really about bragging rights,” Payne laughs. Executive Director Denis Leary did P90X, a vigorous workout regimen, with other employees, she said. “It's just fun, but people are encouraged.”
Lunchtime walks are another way employees work to stay fit, Payne said. There's also a company co-ed softball team, which plays games after work from spring through fall.
Fueling all this activity is healthier food options, Payne said. After an employee survey, Veterans' food services division — which supplied 100,000 hot meals to veterans last year — was asked to offer lighter fare to employees. Payne said changes come in many forms. “When they make chicken or tuna salad, for instance, now they use plain Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise,” she said, or substitute applesauce for butter when baking. More vegetarian dishes were also requested.
From a mental health standpoint, the agency holds bimonthly lunch meetings in its Shrewsbury office, where employees from its sites in Maine, Vermont, Connecticut and Massachusetts meet and share ideas. At a recent meeting “the executive team dressed up as characters from the Wizard of Oz,” Payne said.
These opportunities for fun also include the recent Freedom Song Festival, where all team members from the region were invited to come to Shrewsbury for family fun, complete with a dunk tank. “This was the biggest one we had so far,” Payne said.
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