ENDICOTT, N.Y. (WBNG) — A new community event aimed to help people focus less on quick fixes and more on long-term wellness and connection as many set goals to improve their physical and mental health in the new year.
The first-ever New Year, True Me Wellness Expo was held at the Southern Tier Community Center, bringing together dozens of local wellness vendors with one shared goal — making health and wellness more accessible to the community.
“We’ve gathered over 30 wellness vendors here to kind of meet in the middle and bring all the resources to the community members,” said Abigayle Bennett, the event’s organizer.
The expo brought together providers from across the wellness spectrum — from mental health and fitness to nutrition and holistic healing.
“We have folks ranging from mental health therapists to massage specialists. We have folks who specialize in Reiki, in nutrition — all sorts of different things,” Bennett said.
Throughout the day, attendees could take part in free workshops, including yoga, sound healing, meditation, vegan cooking, and pottery.
“We have sound healing, meditation, a yoga course, a vegan cooking course, and a pottery course, all completely free to the community,” Bennett said.
The event’s name is a deliberate twist on a familiar phrase — and one the organizer says often sets people up for failure.
“It’s kind of a play on the words of ‘New Year, New Me.’ The way that we approach New Year’s resolutions oftentimes leads to falling off within a few weeks,” Bennett said.
Instead, Bennett says the goal is to help people find lasting support systems — connecting them with local resources they may not have known existed.
“I wanted to create a system where people could come and find things to actually support them in getting to be who they really want to be,” Bennett said.
With a background in social work, Bennett says events like this are especially important when it comes to mental health.
“The communities that we build have a massive role on our overall well-being and our mental health,” Bennett said.
She says that connection has become even more critical since the pandemic, when many people experienced increased isolation.
“Building these community spaces and building connections with one another is such a crucial part of your overall well-being,” Bennett said.
For anyone struggling to meet their goals in the new year, Bennett says the answer isn’t focusing on just one piece of health — but the whole picture.
Organizers say this is just the beginning, and they hope to bring the New Year, True Me wellness expo back in the future as a way to keep building community connections year-round.
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