NILES — Andrews University School of Health Professions is partnering with several Niles organizations to offer a free community health fair this fall.

The Health and Fitness Expo will take place from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 14, at the YMCA of Southwest Michigan, 905 Front St., Niles. There will be mini workouts, cooking demonstrations, free health screenings, including hearing and blood pressure, a kids’ zone with games, activities, bounce houses and face painting, as well as healthy food like smoothies available. Gifts and prizes from vendors will also be awarded.

“The one thing that makes out expo unique is everything is interactive,” said event organizer Gretchen Krivak. “We asked all our vendors that have a booth to have something that participants can participate in.”

While this will be the sixth annual expo, Krivak said this is the first year that the university has offered the event outside of the campus.

Krivak, who is the director of nutrition and dietetics and interim director of exercise science for Andrews, said she saw an opportunity to reach more members of the Berrien County community by forming local partnerships and hosting it outside of the college community.   

“Andrews is way out of the way, and some might be intimidated to go on to the campus,” Krivak said. “We felt like to reach the community more, we needed to come out into the community.”

Through community partnerships, Krivak said the event will offer more vendor varieties than in previous years. Andrews will partner with the YMCA of Southwest Michigan, Be Healthy Berrien and the city of Niles for the event.

So far, there are between 20 to 30 participating vendors, and Krivak said she hope those who visit the expo leave with some knowledge about their health.

“Really, the purpose of it is for participants to learn something about themselves, about their health and the things they are doing well and the things they could improve upon,” Krivak said.

Many Andrews students will also be taking part in the expo, which will offer them a chance to interact with their community, while also practicing the skills they learned in the classroom.

“One of our greatest missions at Andrews is to help and serve the community,” Krivak said. “The students will be getting real-life experience.”

Krivak emphasized that the expo is not just about physical health and well-being. There will also be vendors there who can help people learn about their mental, spiritual and financial health as well.

The Health and Fitness Expo is still accepting vendors who can teach about these categories to participate. Interested vendors can sign up for free, but are asked to contribute a $20 gift that the expo can give away as a prize. To participate, vendors should contact Krivak at krivak@andrews.edu.

Krivak said she would encourage anyone to attend and hopes the expo can be the first in a number of small steps that could potentially help a person feel better.

“We are just hoping that each person who comes can maybe find one thing to improve upon in their health and wellness and that can help to change their lives to make it just a little bit better,” Krivak said.