Washington Athletics and Premera Blue Cross announced on May 1 a month-long social media campaign called the REFRESHER Challenge to promote mental health during Mental Health Awareness Month.
The initiative brings together three teams made up of seven or eight Husky athletics programs, with each team competing for a prize provided by Premera Blue Cross. In addition, six Husky student-athletes—Giselle Alvarez, Drew Azzopardi, Jadyn Holdenried, Julia Hunt, Bodi Ligons, and Connor Lofy—were chosen as team captains through an athlete partnership supported by Premera.
The challenge is structured around the acronym R.E.F.R.E.S.H.E.R., which stands for Relationships, Exercise, Fun, Relaxation & Stress Management, Eating well, Sufficient sleep, Helping others, Earth, and Reason. These activities were created by Dr. Polo DeCano of UW Student-Athlete Wellness Services. “The REFRESHER Challenge is an opportunity for the UW athletic department and Husky student-athletes to do their part for Mental Health Awareness Month,” Dr. DeCano said. “All of the REFRESHERs are non-pharmaceutical and can be accessed in our day-to-day lives. We are fortunate and grateful to partner with Premera Blue Cross, who is contributing resources to local non-profits.”
Throughout May, participating Huskies will document their engagement with these activities on social media platforms such as @UWAthletics and @UW_HuskiesMentalHealth. Teams earn points by accepting challenges related to each activity category and encouraging other student-athletes to participate.
The winning team will receive a grand prize from Premera Blue Cross that will support a mental health care organization selected by the team members themselves.
This partnership was facilitated by Huskies Sports Properties in collaboration with Dawgs Unleashed. More information about student-athlete partnerships can be found at dawgs-unleashed.com.
