Turn Exercise into Monopoly-Like Money to Cash in on Rewards

Staff and faculty can earn ‘LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars’ to redeem an array of fitness and wellness goodies

A sampling of LIVE FOR LIFE branded items is arranged next to LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars
LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars earned by participating in wellness activities can be used to purchase an array of wellness goodies. Graphic by Travis Stanley

Ellora Haukenfrers had a notion of what she wanted as a reward for her commitment to her health and well-being. Yoga and walking are the go-to stress-relieving activities for Haukenfrers, a Lab Research Analyst in Duke Molecular Physiology, and a yoga kit seemed like it might earn the most use.

But when Haukenfrers visited the store run by LIVE FOR LIFE, Duke’s employee wellness program, to spend her 500 “LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars,” she had a change of heart.

In the sub-basement Orange Zone of Duke Clinic, the store is overflowing with fitness and health-related items that can be purchased with the Monopoly-like money earned for participating in activities managed by Duke’s employee wellness program.

Haukenfrers opted to use her “Dollars” to purchase a LIVE FOR LIFE jacket (370 LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars) she wears “nearly every day” in her lab, along with fruit and vegetable stress balls (25 each) for her desk, plus a spork (30) and measuring cups (30).

A woman wears a fleece jacket while standing in a medical lab
Lab Research Analyst Ellora Haukenfrers wears her LIVE FOR LIFE jacket nearly every day when she works in her lab. Photo courtesy of Ellora Haukenfrers

“I had a great experience at the store and the staff were so wonderful and helpful,” Haukenfrers said. “Overall, the LIVE FOR LIFE program is such a great resource for Duke employees and the prizes are a wonderful incentive.”

Any Duke staff or faculty member eligible for health care benefits who logs the required minimum participation can earn LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars to redeem an array of fitness and wellness goodies ranging from jump ropes to water bottles to Fitbits.

How to Earn LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars

Run/Walk Club – A maximum of 120 LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars can be earned per season, with employees earning 5 LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars per each of the 24 sessions. Staff and faculty must log at least 10 out of the 24 sessions to earn any LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars.

The fall season of Run/Walk Club began Aug. 11, and participants can still register here.

Fit in 15 – A maximum of 50 LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars are available upon completion of the program that asks employees to exercise at least 30 minutes per day for 15 days in the monthlong challenge.

Festive Fit Focus – A maximum of 155 LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars can be earned in the eight-week fitness challenge designed to help employees maintain or lose weight during the holiday season. Reporting weight and maintaining it with starting weight for seven of eight weeks is 10 LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars per week, for up to 80 LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars.

Submitting physical activity for three days a week during at least five weeks can equate to an extra 35 LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars.

An additional 20 LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars can be earned both for completing two body composition assessments in a free fitness consultation during the program or for completing the evaluation survey at the end of the program.

The LIVE FOR LIFE Store

The LIVE FOR LIFE Store, managed by LIVE FOR LIFE Staff Assistant Debra Smith, can be visited during business hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at Room 00320 in the sub-basement in the Orange Zone of Duke Clinic.

Smith says the most popular items include dumbbells (which come in sets of 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10 pounds); yoga kits that include a mat, block and strap; resistance bands; 3-in-1 electronics chargers; and food portion control containers.

A full listing of what is available in the LIVE FOR LIFE Store is available here.

Donate Your Dollars

If you don’t know what to do with your LIVE FOR LIFE Dollars, you can do some good with them.

Dollars can be donated back to LIVE FOR LIFE (a collection box is located at department front desk) to be issued to patients in the Duke Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Unit. Patients in the unit can earn those dollars for their own prizes from the store through a “Steps to Recovery” program that encourages them to walk laps around the hospital to keep their legs and lungs strong.

Share your health and wellness story and photographs through our story idea form or write working@duke.edu.

Follow Working@Duke on X (Twitter), Facebook and Instagram and subscribe on YouTube.