Posts Tagged: wellness

UC ANR staff eligible for up to $50 reimbursement for personal wellness expenses

Beginning March 1, 2022, UC ANR staff members will be eligible for up to $50 in reimbursements for personal wellness expenses. These funds are available on a first-come, first-served basis and staff are encouraged to submit receipts early. 

The Staff Assembly Council and Wellness Committee encourage you to expand your personal wellness activities and submit your receipts for reimbursement. 

What qualifies for reimbursement? Equipment, clothing, classes, memberships, personal training and books first come to mind, but applicants are encouraged to explain how the purchase is improving their personal wellness. 

What does not qualify for reimbursement? Food, medicine and supplements.

The Wellness Reimbursement Program is in a pilot phase with this rollout so the Wellness Committee is interested in the choices staff make for reimbursement; this will inform future ANR Staff Assembly Wellness plans. 

To apply, click on the application link below and submit the application with receipts. The first reimbursements will be announced in mid-March 2022.

UC ANR Wellness Reimbursement Application

If you have questions, email Scott Brayton at sabrayton@ucanr.edu.

ANR staff invited to take the Winter Wellness Challenge by Feb. 7

The UC ANR Staff Assembly Wellness Committee invites ANR staff members to participate in Winter Wellness 2022.

Now through Feb. 7, complete at least five individual health and wellness activities featured in the challenge. Be inspired to try to reach a new goal or complete an activity towards wellness goals you've already set for the start of the new year.

Choose five or more activities from the bingo card at https://staffassembly.ucanr.edu/Subcommittees/Wellness_Committee/Healthy_Over_the_Holidays. Staff may complete the health and wellness activities in any order, no need to complete items within the same column or row of the card.

Winter Wellness is designed to help employees incorporate six essential elements of wellness: purpose, community, social, mental, physical and financial. The program aims to increase individual well-being, engagement and awareness.

For a chance to win a gift card, submit your Winter Wellness entry by clicking “Submit Bingo Card” on the Winter Wellness website. Ten winners will be selected from the pool of participants. Complete the challenge by Feb. 7.

Ready, set, go! Start the Winter Wellness Challenge today at https://staffassembly.ucanr.edu/Subcommittees/Wellness_Committee/Healthy_Over_the_Holidays.

 

 

UC ANR Staff Assembly to reimburse staff members to grow food

UC ANR Staff Assembly is launching ANR Grows 2022. 

The UC ANR Staff Assembly program awards $50 reimbursements to cover the costs of materials and supplies related to growing a food garden. Staff members may submit reimbursement requests beginning Nov. 1, 2021. 

Soil, seeds, transplants, compost and tools are among the gardening supplies that qualify for reimbursement, according to David Alamillo and Vanity Campbell, Staff Assembly Ambassadors for the Second Street Building in Davis.

Applications will be accepted through March 30, 2022, or until funds run out, whichever comes first. Funding is limited for this popular annual program. 

For more information and to apply, please see the ANR Grows application form at https://ucanr.edu/sites/Staff_Assembly/files/360135.pdf.

 

Making UC ANR the healthiest place to work, learn and live

The University Of California's goal to make “UC the healthiest place to work, learn and live” acknowledges that in order to fundamentally change our health environment, campus communities must invest in a host of small changes that add up to meaningful shifts, thus producing a lasting culture of health. 

UC ANR is now part of the Healthy Campus Network and is actively promoting activities and resources like meditation, stress reduction and physical activity. As part of the Healthy Campus Network, UC ANR will also start to participate in systemwide initiatives like the Diabetes Prevention Program and Healthy Vending Policy. 

Mental hygiene, as a component of wellness, is not a new concept; it dates back to 1908. The World Health Organization formally defined mental health and mental hygiene in 1950. However, the ways in which employers and individuals foster wellness have changed. In the past, an employee may have taken a day off for a stomachache or headache, while not really feeling confident they could reveal the need for time off for wellness.

As the concept of wellness becomes more prevalent, new ways of incorporating wellness activities into our daily activities are emerging. UC ANR is committed to wellness beyond just the workplace. When working from home, there can be additional challenges to maintaining a healthy work environment.

Take a moment to make some small changes that add up to meaningful shifts toward your wellness: garden, meditate, walk, paint, practice your instrument and pet the furry kids.

Wellness resources are available to UC ANR employees at https://hr.ucdavis.edu/departments/asap/services.

PAC meets virtually, thanks President Napolitano for her service

The President's Advisory Commission on Agriculture and Natural Resources met via Zoom April 9 as everyone was sheltering in place during the coronavirus pandemic. Jean-Mari Peltier, PAC chair, welcomed the PAC members for their last meeting with President Janet Napolitano. Last September, Napolitano announced that she will step down as UC's leader Aug. 1.

President Napolitano commended ANR for its flexibility in response to the COVID-19 crisis. ANR is “the University of California for large parts of the state and we're proud that you are,” she told VP Glenda Humiston, adding that ANR is performing well under her leadership.

Napolitano thanked the PAC members for contributing their time and advice during her seven years at the UC helm, calling ANR “essential to UC identity as land grant university.” The commissioners thanked the president for her support for ANR. In response to questions about building support for ANR with her successor, Napolitano recommended taking the new president out of Oakland for site visits to learn about ANR. She described her visits to Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Humboldt County and other ANR sites as “eye opening.”

In her update about ANR, Humiston reported that despite the coronavirus pandemic's disruption to public gatherings, all ANR programs are still serving communities. “I'm really impressed with the innovative ways they are finding to deliver outreach,” she said, adding that advisors are adapting, for example, doing ranch visits via phone. Humiston also described the UC ANR Governing Council's tour of the South Coast Research and Extension Center in February to see how ANR engages urban Californians. She noted that a regents tour of South Coast REC planned for April 23 has been postponed until after the pandemic passes.

Karen Ross, secretary of California Department of Food and Agriculture, joined the group to discuss how CDFA is responding to food system disruption resulting from the COVID-19 crisis. “I am optimistic about agriculture; we are so innovative and resilient,” Ross said, adding that she is concerned about funding for UC ANR and UCCE. She recommended seizing the moment while consumers are thinking about the food system to educate people about UC ANR's role.

Building on their December meeting, the PAC members continued their discussion of the future of the commission. They discussed recommendations to ensure the success and sustainability of ANR as well as the PAC. 

They recommended the role of PAC members include

• Communication & advocacy
• Engaging as a strategic tool for problem solving
• Being a connector to industry leaders
• Supporting fund development
• Advising on strategy and mission priorities

To make their membership meaningful, the commissioners said they would like

• Greater active involvement
• Knowing they add value
• Feeling connected with ANR and other PAC members
• Sharing critical information

Although the PAC usually meets twice a year – in the spring and fall – the PAC agreed to meet again via videoconference in May or June to discuss and approve the new PAC charter.

 

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