Health Messengers

Health Messenger Training Application 2024

What is a Health Messenger?

A Health Messenger is a Special Olympics athlete who has been trained to serve as a health and wellness leader, educator, advocate and role model within their Special Olympics communi.ty or the community at large.

Empowerment: Health Messengers are trained and confident in their ability to act as peer leaders and role models within their Special Olympics communities for fitness and preventative health programs.

Community Impact: Health Messengers lead activation within their broader communities and with their peers to raise awareness and influence other community members to be more inclusive of people with ID.

Leadership and Advocacy: Health Messengers catalyze and support external organizations to work toward making their services, programming, or policies more inclusive.

ROLES

Leaders have different gifts, talents, experiences and passions. Within the Health Messenger program, athletes who are trained will assess how they want to serve as a leader. They may feel suited to serve in one leadership capacity or multiple. The typical leadership roles Health Messengers take on include:

Spokesperson
Athletes who serve as a spokesperson can speak on behalf of people with ID about the health and wellness needs and barriers faced. They attend meetings with health and fitness partners and influencers to speak and advocate on behalf of people with ID.

Healthy Athletes Coordinator
Within Healthy Athletes events, Health Messengers can lead and be available throughout Healthy Athletes screenings to guide athletes through the screenings, recruit athletes to come to the screenings, serve as a peer educator at health education stations and assist with logistics of the screening.

Healthy Habits Leader
Healthy Habits are health education stations at events led by Health Messengers. The Health Messengers can design and implement the event and/or stations.

Health & Fitness Leader
A Health and Fitness leader is an athlete committed to promoting healthier lifestyles for athletes, unified partners, coaches and families through the creation of ongoing health and fitness education or activities either as part of a Special Olympics team or in parallel. Examples include: leading a fitness club, leading fitness activities as part of practices, teaching other athletes how to set personal health goals and helping them to achieve them; leading other health education sessions for SO athletes.

Health Messengers in Action

Click here for story about Special Olympics Alaska Health Messenger Darci

Click here for a story about Special Olympics Alaska Health Messenger Ayesha Abdul Jillil

Additional Resources

Health Messenger Overview

Role of Health Messenger Mentors

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Emily Vandergon – Inclusive Health Manager

3200 Mountain View Dr. Anchorage, AK 99501
emily2@specialolympicsalaska.org
907.222.7625 ext. 612

Special Olympics Alaska provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

Health Messengers

Health Messenger Training Application 2024

What is a Health Messenger?

A Health Messenger is a Special Olympics athlete who has been trained to serve as a health and wellness leader, educator, advocate and role model within their Special Olympics communi.ty or the community at large.

Empowerment: Health Messengers are trained and confident in their ability to act as peer leaders and role models within their Special Olympics communities for fitness and preventative health programs.

Community Impact: Health Messengers lead activation within their broader communities and with their peers to raise awareness and influence other community members to be more inclusive of people with ID.

Leadership and Advocacy: Health Messengers catalyze and support external organizations to work toward making their services, programming, or policies more inclusive.

ROLES

Spokesperson

Athletes who serve as a spokesperson can speak on behalf of people with ID about the health and wellness needs and barriers faced. They attend meetings with health and fitness partners and influencers to speak and advocate on behalf of people with ID.

Healthy Athletes Coordinator

Within Healthy Athletes events, Health Messengers can lead and be available throughout Healthy Athletes screenings to guide athletes through the screenings, recruit athletes to come to the screenings, serve as a peer educator at health education stations and assist with logistics of the screening.

Healthy Habits Leader

Healthy Habits are health education stations at events led by Health Messengers. The Health Messengers can design and implement the event and/or stations.

Health & Fitness Leader