Wellness Week with Herren
Wellness Week with Herren is a time to celebrate the everyday choices that support our physical, mental, and social well-being. When we make space for wellness, we build skills that help us navigate challenges and enjoy the good moments—without substances. Wellness also strengthens confidence, supports connection, and helps create communities where people feel seen and supported.
During Wellness Week, our Youth Ambassadors and Herren Project Clubs brought the “Be You, Live Well” message to life through simple, meaningful activities that encouraged healthy habits, authentic self-expression, and community support. Here are a few highlights from this year’s celebration.
Show It Off
Our Youth Ambassadors were invited to share the Be You message in ways that felt personal and authentic. Many chose to wear their purple shirts as a visible reminder of what wellness means and how it can connect people.
Youth Ambassador Sydney wore hers alongside longtime club advisor Rose Austin while participating in a walk benefiting Starting Point, a wellness center in New Jersey that provides support and resources for individuals navigating mental health and substance use challenges. By showing up together, Sydney and Rose connected the mission of Herren Project with another organization committed to care, prevention, and support in the community.
Other Youth Ambassadors, including Maria, Varshu, and Sa’Myah, wore their shirts at school. As Youth Ambassadors, they help spread our prevention message simply by being present, informed, and open to conversations about wellness, healthy decision-making, and stigma reduction. Sometimes visibility is the spark—one shirt, one question, one conversation at a time.
Show Your Purple
Show Your Purple invited everyone connected to Herren Project—students, families, schools, and community members—to show support for wellness, prevention, and the recovery community in ways that worked for them. Participation looked different for everyone: wearing purple, creating posters, joining a local event, or bringing the message into daily conversations. What mattered most was the shared commitment to connection, compassion, and stigma reduction.
The Herren Project Club at Highland Park High School created posters highlighting wellness, kindness, and support for the recovery community. They displayed them around their school during Wellness Week to remind students that mental health, stress management, and self-care are essential parts of living well. The club also offered service hours to students who helped create posters—an added way to build engagement while reinforcing the value of community involvement.
Wellness Bingo
Another favorite activity this year was Wellness Bingo—an engaging way to encourage healthy habits through small, doable actions. Youth Ambassadors received bingo cards filled with simple wellness choices like drinking water, taking a mindful moment, connecting with a friend, getting outside, or journaling.
Wellness Bingo works because it encourages exploration rather than perfection. Wellness doesn’t look the same for everyone—and it doesn’t have to. Some days, taking a short walk might be the win. Other days, reaching out to someone you trust might be the step that matters most.
One Youth Ambassador, Varshu, shared her completed card, highlighting the different ways she supported her well-being throughout the week. Most importantly, Wellness Bingo reinforces that wellness isn’t linear—it’s built through small, intentional choices over time.
Thank you for being part of Wellness Week
We’re grateful to the schools, clubs, advisors, families, and community partners who helped make Wellness Week with Herren a success. Your participation keeps prevention visible, encourages connection, and helps young people build habits that last well beyond the classroom.
Learn more about Herren Project Clubs and register to start a club at your school.
