Employee Engagement

Walktober starts October 1

UD’s annual fall-themed activity challenge, Walktober is back!

Faculty, staff, retirees and their household members ages 13 and older may participate at no cost. Compete as an individual, on a team or against yourself in this 4-week program designed to keep you motivated to move more this Fall.

Important dates:

Monday, September 15: Registration begins
Wednesday, October 1: First day to log activity
Sunday, October 5: Team formation deadline
Friday, October 31: Program ends

To register via the Walktober app, please use mobile code: DI7NRX

Please send your questions to the Organizational Development and Engagement team at talent-dev@udel.edu

Walktober 2025: https://capture.udel.edu/media/1_vgilxek2/

Walktober Home >

Invite your household members to participate

Social support increases success and adds to the fun! Your household members, family, friends and other supporters are welcome to register for Walktober with you at no cost.

Your household members can use these steps to register between Sept. 15- Oct. 5:

Open the Walktober homepage or download the Walktober app (use mobile code: DI7NRX)
Click "register"
In the UD email field, household members should use their sponsor's (the employee or retiree's) UD email address + hh1 or hh2 or hh3.

For example:
UD employee's email address: jsmith@udel.edu
Household member 1: "jsmith@udel.eduhh1"
Household member 2: "jsmith@udel.eduhh2"
Household member 3: "jsmith@udel.eduhh3"
Click "continue" and complete registration steps
Update contact information to the household member's personal email address to ensure delivery of Walktober notifications

NOTE: Each UD employee and retiree will have (3) household member Walktober spaces to distribute. Please assign your household members a unique hh1, hh2 or hh3 designation. To request additional household member spaces, please email talent-dev@udel.edu

Walktober BINGO

This fall challenge is all about movement, motivation, and making connections. Bingo is ready to turn your activity into an autumn adventure. To play, download or print a Bingo card at https://files.hesapps.com/walktober/walktober-bingo.pdf.

Complete one activity a day to check a box. Do five in a row for Bingo — or go big and complete the whole card if you’re feeling unbe-leaf-able. Share your experiences on the Community page to inspire others.

The first 100 participants to bring a completed BINGO card to UDairy will receive a free scoop on us!

Wellbeing

UD Mental Health First Aid Directory

These faculty and staff are certified in Mental Health First Aid, and open to connecting with members of the UD community to offer support. These individuals are trained to recognize signs of mental health or substance use challenges, how to offer and provide initial help, and how to guide a person toward appropriate care if necessary.

view the directory

You may email these individuals directly at any time.

Additional Resources

Mental Health Resource Guide

Mental health care looks different for all of us. These resources are available to UD employees at no cost, to support you in proactively protecting your mental health and finding professional care when you need it. Recovery is possible. You are not alone.

Supporting Employees in Distress

The Supporting Employees in Distress guide should be used when a situation, observance or instinct tells you to be concerned about a colleague's mental health. Please follow the decision tree steps to connect with appropriate professional help, and when in doubt, call 911 or 988.

Learn more about the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Learn more about supporting students in distress

Mental health is for everyone. Don't wait. take care of yours by getting the right help for your needs. You are not alone. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

General Loss Resources

Losing a loved one is one of the most difficult events you can experience. Understanding grief and learning how to cope can help you heal and move forward with your life as you honor the person you miss. If you're feeling stuck, consider reaching out to UD's Employee Assistance Program provider, Health Advocate. They're available 24/7 to help you start the process of healing. Learn more about Health Advocate

What can help me heal?

Expand

Support from others is one of the most important parts in healing. That support can come from:

Close friends
Grief counselors and social workers
Grief support groups
Other family members
Psychotherapists
Your faith community

Collapse

When should I seek professional help?

Expand

While grief is similar to depression, clinical depression is a psychological disorder. Grief is a normal response to loss. But grief can lead to depression.

Contact your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following:

Your symptoms last for more than 1 year after a major event.
You resort to drugs or alcohol.

Call 988 for immediate support if you have thoughts of suicide.

Collapse

What can I do IF someone I know experiences a loss?

Expand

What to say to someone who is grieving.

When a child dies.

Collapse

Additional Grief Resources

Spouse/Partner Loss

Child Loss

For Caregivers

Meaning & Hope

Mindfulness and meditation help to support positive mental health by increasing resilience, emotional intelligence and mind/body connection. There are many no-cost resources available to UD employees to support regular practice.

Meditation On-Demand-Use your LinkedIn Learning UD credentials to access no-cost meditation and mindfulness videos

Viva Integration-Use Microsoft Teams to add the viva app to your sidebar for access to Headspace meditations + tools to protect your time

Meditation and Prayer Spaces on Campus

Morris Library: Reflection Space
Trabant Student Center: Interfaith Space
STAR Campus: Labyrinth

Dependent Care Resources

The University of Delaware understands that locating Child and/or Elder Care can be challenging and time consuming. Our dependent care resource list includes, community lists for camps, care centers and more.

Resource List

Nursing and Lactation

Campus Lactation Room Locations

346 Hullihen Hall
128 Perkins Student Center
214A McDowell Hall
207E Morris Library
Tower at STAR, Room 354 (100 Discovery Blvd.), 6 a.m.-6 p.m., parking available in front of building

Lactating Persons in the Workplace Policy

Starting July 1, 2025

The University of Delaware's Employee Assistance Program will be available exclusively to employees and their dependents through Health Advocate. The program offers support whenever and wherever you need it. You can access a Health Advocate via a toll-free number (877)240-6863, or by visiting HealthAdvocate.com/udel (code: udelaware)

Learn more

Whatever your fitness level, these resources help support the physical, emotional and social wellbeing of UD employees through movement and the mind/body connection.

Walktober: UD’s annual 6-week Fall online physical activity challeng. Travel the world virtually, as you accumulate steps/activity minutes, receive weekly wellness tips, and have access to a library filled with healthy recipes.

The Carpenter Sports Building (Lil Bob): Full-time UD employees and retirees may access the Lil Bob recreation facilities with their UD ID. Misc-wage employees, spouses, visiting scholars and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute members may access the Lil Bob for a fee.

HATCH Program: A 12-week "Health And Transformation Challenge." This program helps you achieve attainable & sustainable growth that fits into your lifestyle budget aiming towards holistic well-being with evidence based approaches and a supportive community every step of the way.

Group Fitness Classes: Unlimited access to group classes like yoga, Pilates and cycling are available to faculty and staff with the purchase of a Campus Recreation Fitness Package ($75 or wellness dollars per year).

Private group fitness class: schedule a private fitness class for your team through Campus Recreation’s Fitness2U program

Exercise Counseling: UD’s clinic offers exercise programs that are developed and supervised by Clinical Exercise Physiologists who specialize in developing safe and effective exercise programs.

Fitness Discounts: Exercise equipment, gym memberships and virtual fitness programs are available to all UD faculty and staff.

Pickleball Games: Faculty, staff and retirees are invited to drop in for regular pickleball games on Mon., Wed., and Fri. from 11:30am-1:00pm in the Little Bob Gym 2. All levels are welcome!

Mental Health Resources