Getting Healthy, Earning LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars
Earn dollars by exercising, practicing wellness members
They resemble Monopoly money, but LIVE FOR LIFE dollars buy a range of exercise gadgets and services -- everything from a pedometer or iPod to chair massage minutes.
LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke's employee wellness program, gives the dollars to faculty and staff who participate in Duke's wellness initiatives such as the Run/Walk club, HealthCheck screenings and smoking cessation seminars.
Francis Sun, a veterinarian in Duke's Division of Laboratory Animal Resources, earned his first 250 dollars by attending a LIVE FOR LIFE HealthCheck. He had his height, weight and blood cholesterol measured and completed a survey about eating and exercise habits.
"I love the idea that I can reward myself for doing what I ought to be doing anyway," Sun said. He now earns about 10 LIVE FOR LIFE dollars each week by participating in the Run/Walk club, and another 1 dollar each time he completes a 10 minute exercise program through the self-paced, Take Ten: Energize Your Work Day.
Sun tracks exercise sessions on a LIVE FOR LIFE downloadable form and mails it in every few months. When the colorful cash returns through campus mail, he stashes it in an envelope on his bulletin board until he's ready to shop.
Employees like Sun can trade in exercise dollars for merchandise at the LIVE FOR LIFE store at the Duke Employee Wellness office in the Red Zone of Duke South. Prices range from 20 LIVE FOR LIFE dollars for a jump rope to 500 for an iPod shuffle.
"I once saved up for the iPod shuffle," Sun said. "But usually I just spend 70 or so to get a T-shirt or some exercise equipment."
Teresa Williams, an administrative assistant at Duke Urgent Care, earns the dollars by completing a HealthCheck online each year. She had been saving for a gym bag when she learned the dollars could also be donated to the Duke Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant unit so young patients could earn prizes for exercising.
"As soon as I heard about it, I donated the 740 dollars I had accumulated," Williams said. "I have grandkids and could just imagine how much fun the children on the ward would have shopping with the dollars."
Julie Joyner, LIVE FOR LIFE manager, said donating dollars to the pediatric unit is an extra incentive for many employees to exercise.
"The LIVE FOR LIFE dollars program was set up to be a fun way to reward people for taking action on their health," Joyner said. "If they choose to donate the dollars, they can also help others take steps toward health."