Texas AgriLife Extension Service offers Wellness Training

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Bexar County will present its 2012 Master Wellness program volunteer training March 8-April 19 in Suite 208 of its San Antonio offices in the Conroy Square business complex, 3355 Cherry Ridge Dr.

Training will be 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. on March 8, March 15, April 5 and April 19. The deadline for registration is March 2.

“Participants in Master Wellness program training receive 40 hours of health and wellness education,” said Dr. Connie Sheppard, AgriLife Extension agent for family and consumer sciences and Bexar County training coordinator. “Once they graduate, they’re required to give at least 40 hours of volunteer service back to the community.”

Sheppard said the training focuses on basic nutrition and dietary guidelines, food safety, health education, weight management, health and nutrition trends, food preparation, healthy lifestyle choices and children’s health. Instruction is provided by experts from AgriLife Extension, an educational outreach agency of the Texas A&M University System.

“This program provides training for volunteers who will go out in the community to give Bexar County residents objective, science-based information needed to make healthy lifestyle choices,” Sheppard said. “Volunteers are critical to helping us deliver our wellness programming to the community.”

She said some of the reasons people become Master Wellness volunteers include a desire to give back to the community, learn more about nutrition and wellness, and live a healthier lifestyle.

Sheppard noted that while health and wellness professionals are among the county’s current Master Wellness volunteers, the training is open to adults of all professional and non-professional backgrounds.

“Our volunteers also include social workers, homemakers, civic leaders, human resource managers, students and retired people,” Sheppard said. “All volunteers need is the desire to learn about health and wellness, and the ability to share with others in the community what they have learned.”

Master Wellness volunteers provide instruction to adults and youth in small group settings, such as community centers, service or volunteer organization locations, schools, churches and businesses.

The cost is $50, and participants receive a binder with copies of all training presentations, as well as healthy recipes to share with their community.

For more information, go to http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu/ or contact Sheppard at 210-467-6575 or csheppar@ag.tamu.edu.