Wellness Bingo
Supporting Mental Wellbeing Through Everyday Actions
During Mental Health Awareness Week (12th – 18th May 2025), the Active Shetland Strategy Group promoted a Wellness Bingo Card to encourage people across Shetland to take simple, practical steps to support their mental wellbeing. The group brings together Shetland Islands Council, NHS Shetland, Ability Shetland, sportscotland, ZetTrans and Shetland Recreational Trust. The group identified the resource as something it wanted to promote, and Active Schools Coordinator Eoin Leask led its design through the Council’s Sport and Leisure Service.
The card translated the NHS’s Five Steps to Mental Wellbeing into an accessible selection of activities:
- Connect with the people around you;
- Be Active to improve mood and energy;
- Take Notice of the present moment;
- Keep Learning by trying something new; and
- Give time, words or support to others.
Some activities were quick and simple, while others required a little more time or effort. People were encouraged to download or print the card and complete as many activities as they wished. Ideas promoted alongside it included taking a mindful walk, connecting with other people, learning a new skill and stepping outside your comfort zone.
The resource was promoted through the Council website, Healthy Shetland and Council Sport and Leisure social-media channels. It complemented a wider programme of Mental Health Awareness Week activities, including nature walks, cycling, rowing and self-care activities. However, the Bingo Card also provided a flexible way for people to participate privately, in their own time and wherever they lived.
Given the sensitive nature of mental health and the pressures that can accompany social media, participants were deliberately not asked to share their progress or personal experiences publicly. This helped keep participation informal and pressure-free.
The campaign therefore produced a freely available and reusable resource, while demonstrating how partners could turn established wellbeing guidance into something practical and engaging. If repeated, anonymous measures such as download figures, social-media reach or optional feedback could help demonstrate its impact without asking individuals to disclose personal experiences.
Eoin Leask, Active Schools Coordinator at Shetland Islands Council recalled:
“The Wellness Bingo Card was a great way to turn national wellbeing guidance into something practical and easy for people to use every day, especially to mark Mental Health Awareness Week. Our Active Shetland Strategy Group is constantly working together to support our community, and partnering up on this project helped us reach people across Shetland in an accessible, low-pressure way.”
Contribution to the Shetland Partnership
- Participation: Partners jointly developed and promoted an accessible campaign which allowed people to choose how and when they participated.
- People: Encouraging small, realistic actions that can support mental wellbeing, positive relationships and resilience.
- Place: Helping people connect with their communities, local activities and the natural environment across Shetland.