Health and Wellness Promotion

Fresh Check Day

Save the Date!

Fresh Check Day will be Friday, Sept. 8, 2023!

Friday, Sept. 8, 2023
10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Shapiro Campus Center Great Lawn
(rain location: Levin Ballroom)

About This Event

Fresh Check Day, the signature program of the Jordan Porco Foundation, is an uplifting mental health promotion and suicide prevention event for colleges that includes interactive expo booths, peer-to-peer messaging, support of multiple campus departments and groups, free food, entertainment, prizes and giveaways.

Fresh Check Day aims to create an approachable and hopeful atmosphere where students are encouraged to engage in dialogue about mental health. It helps to build a bridge between students and the mental health resources available on campus, in the community and nationally.

How It Works

Upon arrival, students will visit the check-in table to receive their passport, or stamp card. They will receive a stamp for each booth they visit. When they are done, students will go to the check-out table to turn in their passport and complete a quick feedback survey.

• Students who visit at least 2 booths will be eligible for free Lizzy's ice cream
• Students who visit at least 5 booths will be entered to win a raffle prize 
• Students who complete the quick feedback survey on their way out will receive a free gift

2023 Booths and Entertainment

• Nine Out of 10 focuses on suicide prevention directly, empowering students to act as gatekeepers for their peers and teaching them how to recognize and respond to the warning signs of suicide.
• Check in and Chill Out emphasizes that checking in with your mental health is just as important as checking in with your physical health, and teaches students stress management and coping strategies.
• Know Your Limit promotes alcohol safety and awareness of the signs of alcohol abuse or dependence in oneself or others, and provides resources that can help. 
• YOUnique promotes positive body image, brings awareness to the prevalence of disordered eating on college campuses, and educates students on how to help themselves or a friend who may be struggling. 
• Boost focuses on physical activity, which has positive mental health benefits and encourages students to find physical activities to engage in that they enjoy.
• 100 Reasons challenges students to think about their own reasons to stay alive, and to inspire others to find theirs. It instills a sense of hope and provides resources and information on how to help a friend who is thinking about suicide.
• It Takes a Village builds social networks and a sense of connection, acknowledging that getting involved in your community can be a protective factor against suicide.
• Be Yourself promotes self-acceptance and acceptance of others for who they are, and provides information on risk and protective factors within the LGBTQ+ community.
• Elephant in the Room focuses on how a lack of awareness and stigma or misunderstanding can lead some people to keep their feelings and experiences secret in fear of being shamed or judged and brings these topics to light.
• Rise Up brings awareness to the mental health effects that often follow sexual assault. It empowers bystanders and addresses the impact of victim-blaming and language.
• UBelong raises awareness of the unique experiences of international, BIPOC, and non-traditional students and the ways their peers can best support them, while providing resources for those students themselves. 

Additionally, there will be:

• Lizzy's Ice Cream
• Popcorn
• Snow cones
• Refreshments from Brandeis Hospitality
• Music by WBRS

Get Involved

Would you like to volunteer at Fresh Check Day? Individual students and student orgs/groups are encouraged to sign up using this form. Volunteers will receive a free T-shirt and lunch. Both graduate and undergraduate students are encouraged to volunteer.

If you have any questions about volunteering, please contact hawp@brandeis.edu.

Campus Partners

Campus partners supporting this event include: