Our Mission
It is the mission of the Wild Rose Wellness Hub to inspire healthier communities by connecting people with quality health resources, helping people find their wellness team, and providing space for an integrative health community to flourish and grow.
Our Vision
Better health and wellbeing for all, now and for future generations.
Our Core Values
We focus on WELLNESS:
Warm and welcoming
Everyone, no matter how they identify, are welcome in this community. We strive to create brave spaces where everyone feels valued and heard. We aim to provide a close-knit community that can feel like a chosen family.
Empathetic
As a community, we will do our best to recognize what you are going through and offer the appropriate supports. We expect that all in our community will care for the emotional needs of others.
Life long learners
We are passionate about learning. We believe it is essential to strive to be curious, courageous and continually grow. We learn from each other, for we all have so much to share. Mistakes are not to be feared, for they are opportunities to learn and change.
Leaders
We envision a future of health and wellbeing for all. We will enlist partners who share this vision for the future and work together to empower individual and community wellness. Being a leader also means evaluating the progress towards these goals and fine-tuning as we go. We also need to evaluate to ensure we are staying true to our values and ethics.
Nourishing
Nourishment provides the building blocks for life. We are committed to providing enriching programming and fruitful partnerships. In our programming, we aim to nourish body, mind and spirit.
Empowering
We commit to empowering individuals, organizations and communities to take charge of their wellbeing. Our job is primarily that of educator and facilitator. We promise to work to inspire and support every step of the way. However, we cannot make the actual changes; it is up to you to take charge of your own wellbeing.
Sensitive
We know that talking about one’s health can be a sensitive subject. It is an honour to be part of your journey and commit to having systems in place that protect you and your confidential information.
Synergy
We believe that together we are more than the sum of our parts. We can make a difference on our own, but together we can change the world.
The idea of the Wild Rose Wellness Hub dates back to 2002.It grew out of the outreach programming of Wild Rose United Church (WRUC). The idea initially centred around the creation of a Youth Wellness Hub to help youth who were homeless and needed transitional housing, medical attention or appropriate referrals. At that time, Wild Rose United Church owned the property on the corner of 12 Ave and 1st Street, NW. Unfortunately, this idea did not win the support it needed, and eventually, the property was sold. However, that was not the end of the idea of a wellness hub.
The Outreach Committee of WRUC formed a strong relationship with Crescent Heights High School (CHHS). A survey of the students at CHHS determined that stress was their number one issue. In response to this, between 2010-14, there was a yoga group and a Rap Music group from CHHS that met at WRUC. A professional rapper and a yoga instructor worked with the students. Through this partnership, there was also a group of ESL students who learned language skills through a community kitchen. At the same time, the church worked with the Drop-in Centre Art Therapy Program by providing space and art supplies and a cart, as well as an instructor. There was also a single mother’s group from The Alex, who received life skills sessions, as well as a community kitchen to help young families with nutrition.
In the spring of 2016, we transitioned to focusing on the Eight Pillars of Wellness, Purpose, Physical, Emotional, Social, Spiritual, Intelectual, Financial and Environmental. We started offering programming based on the eight pillars including Wonderful Wellness Wednesdays and The Awakening Series. We also started building partnerships with community organisations with the common goal of improved community wellness. We continue to work with CHHS through the Breakfast Bag Program and Bikeathon. Community partners also started to join the Hub to help serve the needs of the community.
In order to serve the greater community better, in 2020 the Hub shifted to offering holistic health and spiritual, but not religious programming.While still a subsidiary of WRUC, the focus of the Hub is holistic wellness. Wild Rose United Church is such a beautiful building in a fantastic community. Our collective goal is to use it seven days a week as a place of wellness for all.
During the COVID-19 crisis, we launched a virtual presence for the Wellness Hub to help us serve our community and beyond. We started the Wonderful Wellness blog and podcast, created our own website and social media pages, and changed the way we connect with the community and partners. We also transitioned into offering some of our programming digitally.
As you can see, the Wild Rose Wellness Hub has had many forms since 2002. At our core, we have always strived for social justice, creation of abundant community, and better health and wellbeing for all, now and for future generations.