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Earlier this fall, the Queen’s community came together in remarkable ways to celebrate Thrive Week. With more than 40 events spanning over the course of a week, the initiative proved once again how a shared focus on wellness, connection, and inclusivity can strengthen our community.  

“It’s inspiring to see so many members of our Queen’s community engaging with Thrive Week in meaningful ways,” says Sydney Downey, Director, Employee Wellness Services (Human Resources). “The continued participation and engagement shows how deeply our community values opportunities to focus on personal wellbeing and connection. While Thrive Week has wrapped up for this year, Thrive 365 is Queen’s commitment to creating a culture of wellbeing every day. It’s about embedding mental health, resilience, and belonging into the fabric of campus life through year-round programming, making wellness not only a shared responsibility, but a key priority for our entire community.”

A highlight of the week was the keynote address by Stephanie Simpson, Vice-Principal (Culture, Equity, and Inclusion). In her talk, Stephanie explored the power of shared purpose in shaping our collective wellbeing, emphasizing how storytelling and belonging influence the ways we show up for ourselves and for one another. She reflected on the importance of making space for diverse experiences across the Queen’s community, noting that when people feel seen and their stories valued, it strengthens the foundations of trust, compassion, and resilience. For those unable to attend the session, the keynote recording is available on the Thrive webpage.  

In addition to the keynote address, there were several other popular events throughout Thrive Week that ranged from mindfulness sessions with the Great Wisdom Buddhist Nuns, to personal growth and learning sessions on topics like Grief Literacy in the Workplace. Campus experiences and tours were also highly attended and featured locations like Douglas Library, Queen’s Observatory, Biosciences Gardens, and the Miller Museum of Geology.  

Another meaningful contribution to the week was the Children’s Clothing Swap, hosted by the . The event invited community members to donate gently used children’s items and select what they needed in return. After the swap, members of the sorted remaining clothing and coordinated donations to local organizations, including Kingston Birthright and St. Vincent de Paul. Through their efforts, surplus items were redirected to families in the wider Kingston community, extending the impact of the event beyond the campus community.  

If you participated in any of the Thrive events, organizers want to hear from you. All participants are invited to submit their feedback by completing a . The results from the survey will be reviewed by the Employee Wellness Services unit and will help shape future wellness events and opportunities. The survey is open until December 19, 2025. Those who wish to share additional feedback or recommendations regarding employee wellness can also do so by emailing employee.wellness@queensu.ca.  

Thrive organizers would like to thank their sponsor, Manulife, for their ongoing support, as well as Mindful Campuses who provided essential funding that directly supported this year’s programming.  

For more information about Thrive programming and to access the keynote recording, visit the Thrive webpage.