A Coalition of Community Leaders

The North Ottawa Wellness Foundation began as a coalition of community leaders, convened in January 2017 by North Ottawa Community Health System, to bring awareness to the disconnect between our physical and emotional health, and further educate our leaders about the debilitating consequences of this disconnect to our long term health and well-being.

The NOW Foundation Goal

The goal of this coalition was to bring together these local leaders representing business, medical, philanthropic and wellness sectors to explore ways to incorporate Mindfulness into their everyday lives. By introducing these key leaders to simple practices such as taking a few deep breaths and a more natural diet, the coalition sought to align medical sciences and emotional strength to better shape our productivity, our outlook, our health and our longevity.

Participants were offered a two-part educational series:

• The First Session – Stress Response and Mindful Breathing
  Offered leaders insights into the neuroscience and physiology of the stress response, as well as simple techniques such as taking five deep breaths to activate the relaxation response over the stress (fight or flight) response.
• The Second Session – Healthy Eating, Quality Sleep
  Focused on the emerging field of epigenetics, the micro biome (gut health) and the critical importance of quality sleep to overall health, vitality and well-being.

The NOW Foundation is Formed

Our community leaders convened for a third session to debrief and share the implications of these critical wellness topics for the clients, customers and employees they serve in Northwest Ottawa County. In an effort to enable these busy leaders to efficiently & effectively share the numerous activities, projects and programs they subsequently designed to incorporate sustainable wellness and improve the well-being of those they serve, the North Ottawa Wellness Foundation was formed.