Back-Up Childcare During Summer

It's almost summer, and that means your regular scheduled childcare may not always be available. UW WorkLife offers back-up care through KinderCare and Bright Horizons. These services are on an as-available basis so register now for both organizations and request your needs as soon as you're able (up to 30 days in advance allowed). To learn more and register your child:

• KinderCare or call 877-914-7683, select option 3
• Bright Horizons UnivWA, and the password: 4Backup

UW CareLink Spring Seminar Series

Only two seminars are left in our UW CareLink Spring 2016 Seminar series! Join us in the HUB or the UW Tower at noon, and feel free to bring your lunch! Seminars are free for all UW faculty and staff. We ask that you register for each session you plan to attend.

Resiliency—Wednesday, May 18 | HUB 334
Resiliency means learning to manage your life as best you can, so that when you encounter some of life's challenges you're prepared to deal with them and rebound quickly. This seminar will help you identify daily challenges and learn effective goal setting strategies to prepare you and build your ability to positively "bounce back".

Levels of Care for Our Elders: Choosing a Facility and Care—Thursday, June 16 | UW Tower Auditorium
What is the best long-term care solution? What can you afford? Learn about different options available to your family. From home care, specialized units or retirement communities, this presentation will examine quality, cost, and level of care for each option.

UW CareLink Offers Eldercare Consultation & Referral

Geriatric care managers are now available for consultation and assistance with caring for your aging loved ones. These specially trained health and human services professionals can help you: clarify current health concerns, find support for making critical family decisions, provide guidance on how to intervene or advocate to ensure best possible care, and much more.

Geriatric consultants will be on campus to meet with you in person on June 20 and 21. Appointments will be on a first come, first served basis. Please contact WorkLife at worklife@uw.edu to schedule. Otherwise, geriatric managers are available for consultation by calling UW CareLink at 1-866-598-3978. Receive up to three hours of consultation per calendar year.

Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a way of thinking and focusing that can help you become more aware of your present experiences. Practicing mindfulness can be as simple as noticing different feelings and sensations during a routine you might do every day without thinking about it - like the taste of mint on your tongue while brushing your teeth in the morning.

This month's Balanced Living article, Mindfulness Practice in the Treatment of Traumatic Stress, helps you navigate those moments especially when dealing with trauma. This month's tip sheet has additional tools and suggestions for practicing mindfulness and its benefits.

UW CareLink will also broadcast a one-hour webinar "The Benefits of Mindfulness" on May 17 at 9:00 a.m. You'll learn a few practical techniques, like breathing and meditation, to get yourself into a more mindful state, and discover how a regular mindfulness practice can positively influence your life. Register here (enter "UW" as the code). The webinar will also be archived on the site and available for viewing by the beginning of June.

Earn Rewards; Be Healthy; Have Fun!

SmartHealth is Washington State's voluntary, confidential wellness program that helps you improve your health and well-being while having fun and connecting with others. Simply log in to SmartHealth and select Get Started to walk through the one-time activation process, then opt for activities that interest you—all designed to help you progress on your wellness journey. You can access SmartHealth from your computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Bonus: Eligible Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) subscribers can qualify for one of these incentives in 2017 by earning 2,000 points by September 30, 2016!

• A $125 reduction in the subscriber's PEBB medical deductible.
  OR
• A one-time deposit of $125 into the subscriber's health savings account (if enrolled in a PEBB consumer-directed health plan).

Learn more about the SmartHealth program.

Join Fidelity Investments at one of these upcoming events for guidance strategies to help with your retirement and financial planning needs.

Income Strategies for Your Retirement
Learn about the importance of asset allocation in retirement, elements for building your retirement income strategy, and considerations for portfolio withdrawal rates. Designed for individuals who are less than one year from retirement and would like to learn how to establish and maintain income during retirement.

Designing Your Financial Roadmap
Learn how to design a financial roadmap to help you achieve your savings goals, how to establish a budget and manage debt, and how to balance and prioritize other nonretirement goals such as college planning.

Register to attend one or more of these seminars.

Take Advantage of Free Retirement Planning Guidance

Did you know that you can receive free retirement planning guidance from a Fidelity or TIAA consultant? Individual appointments are an excellent time to:

• Ask about saving for retirement and other goals
• Evaluate investment choices that meet your needs
• Create an action plan to get and stay on track for retirement
• Review retirement income options

Schedule an appointment in a way that works best for you.

HomeStreet offers free lunchtime seminars to help you learn about a variety of homeownership issues related to budgeting, buying, remodeling, refinancing, and selling your home.

Buying a Home with Down Payment Assistance
Are you interested in buying a home but want to keep your down-payment to a minimum? Learn:

• Low down-payment programs and strategies
• How to use down payment assistance and the eligibility requirements
• Which down payment assistance programs are in your area
• How to assess your eligibility for programs

Buying a Vacation or Rental Property
Are you looking to invest beyond your primary home? Learn:

• How to determine your investment style with respect to investing in real estate
• How to obtain non-owner occupied financing
• Pros & pitfalls of owning multiple properties
• Tips for maintaining primary and secondary residences

Access event information and registration.

Top Five Hometown Program Benefits

The Hometown Home Loan Program can save you a wad of money on your next home purchase. Here are its top five resources:

1. Save on Closing Costs—depending on your loan amount, save an average of $1,500 or more on closing costs
2. Save on participating realtors' fees
3. Save through down payment assistance programs —for qualifying buyers
4. Free educational seminars at multiple campus locations—see listing above
5. Benefits extend to your direct family members so parents and children can also take advantage of this program!

Learn more or call 206-628-0207 for an appointment.

Free Home Ownership Counseling

Are you thinking of buying or refinancing a home but not sure how to get started? Why not schedule a free personal home ownership counseling session with a HomeStreet Bank representative who can walk you through the process? These 30-minute, one-on-one sessions are both private and informative. Your spouse, partner, or potential co-signer is welcome to attend with you. To schedule an appointment, call 206-628-0207.

Professional & Organizational Development (POD) courses are open to all UW employees, subject to supervisor/budgetary approval and UW's release time policy. Please view our policy page for additional information.

Do You Trust Me?

If you and your colleagues tend to establish work-arounds rather than working through a problem, or prefer to go it alone instead of coming together, your team may have a trust deficit. When people don't feel safe, they keep suggestions to themselves and shy away from collaboration, which can affect everything from deadlines to organizational alignment. This half-day class explores five behaviors that are integral to building trust, crucial points of organizational trust, and repairing broken trust. Register for The Trust Advantage.

Who Do You Think You Are?

What are your thinking habits? Is it time to rethink them? Examine explanatory style—the way you explain events to yourself—and its effect on your attitude, and gain new insights about how to respond when you experience life's inevitable setbacks. This engaging class builds upon key emotional intelligence concepts and includes a copy of the highly regarded book Learned Optimism by Martin Seligman. Register for Learned Optimism: Understanding Your Explanatory Style.

Looking for a Good Fit?

Whether or not you were voted Most Likely to Succeed, you can find a job that's a good fit for you, your strengths, and your long-term goals. Based on two assessments completed prior to class, receive a personalized career report that interprets your Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Strong Interest Inventory results. Then, through in-class discussions and exercises, explore occupations and work roles that might be a good fit, as well as ways to identify a good career match and enhance your work/life balance. Register for Assessing Your Career Fit.

Social Security: A Foundation for Your Future

Achieving financial independence is key to enjoying a satisfying retirement. Social Security has many new tools to help you plan for your future. Attend a free Social Security seminar to gain a better understanding of these and how the Social Security and Medicare systems work.

Thursday, July 28
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Health Sciences Building – Register to receive Room Number

Here you will get answers to many questions, including:
• What are the eligibility requirements for Social Security and retirement?
• When do Social Security and Medicare benefits begin?
• What are the criteria for receiving family benefits?
• What programs are administered under the Social Security Act?
• How does early retirement affect your benefits?
• How to use your "my Social Security" Online Account and other online services.

The seminar is open to UW faculty, staff, students, and retirees. Access seminar information and registration.

Financial Education Seminars

Save more and better manage your finances with financial education seminars. Presented by two local nonprofit credit unions, WSECU and INSPIRUS, these free seminars are held at convenient campus locations during the lunch hour.

• Scams, Shams, and Identity Theft – Learn how to better protect yourself, your money, and your personal information.
• Social Media and Your Child's Financial Future – Learn effective strategies for your child and the top 10 social media mistakes to avoid.

Access seminar information and registration.

Chi Walking Seminar

Join us for a half-day immersion into Chi Walking on Saturday, May 14! This four-hour workshop at the South Campus Center will provide you with a solid base of knowledge on this gentle but powerful approach that makes walking easier on the body. Laura Houston, a certified Chi Master Instructor, will guide you through exercises and drills that will have you waving goodbye to shin splits, sore muscles, hamstring pulls, and bad knees. You will learn how to improve your posture, strengthen core muscles, and relax tight and overused muscles, while gaining cardio and aerobic conditioning. Register here.

Whole U Spring Running Clinic

Join Lauren Updyke, assistant director of The Whole U and certified exercise physiologist, for a running clinic. This 60-minute workout will include intervals, strength exercises specific to running, and drills that can prevent injury as well as improve your running efficiency. We will meet on the South Side of Drumheller Fountain at 5:15 p.m. on Monday, May 23. Register here.

Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei on Tai Chi

The Confucius Institute of the State of Washington, the Chen Zhenglei Tai Chi Training Center, and the Chinese Wushu & Tai Chi Academy are honored to bring Grandmaster Chen Zhenlei, one of the China's most renowned Tai Chi Masters, to the UW to speak on the Development and Health Benefit of Chinese Tai Chi. Performances by GM Chen, his disciples, and Whole U students will be staged during the event. GM Chen will also be joined by Master Gao Jiamin, China Queen of Taichi from Portland, Oregon. Join us Wednesday, June 1 at 6:00 p.m. in Kane Hall. Register here.

How to Build a Rain Garden

Rain gardens mimic a forest with live spongy soils and multiple plant layers to slow down, soak up, and filter out pollutants in storm water runoff. Anastasia Sowers, the gardener for Hillcrest (the UW President's Residence), will teach us why, when, where, and how to build a rain garden at our homes on Thursday, June 23 at noon in the HUB. She'll share money-saving tips and talk about possible rebates available in our area. Sign up now.

Train for Fall Races Now

Want to run a 5K, half marathon, or marathon for the first time and need some guidance? Are you ready to take your running to the next level? The Whole U has free training plans for all fitness levels that will help you reach your next goal. Register for a 5K walking plan, a 5K beginner running plan, a 5K intermediate running plan, a half marathon plan, or a full marathon.

Husky, Help & Hope

UW faculty and staff are encouraged to participate in free suicide prevention training. This training is specifically designed to help faculty and staff recognize the signs of students who might be at-risk of suicide and to intervene and connect them to care.

In-person training is May 24, from 3-4:30 p.m., and an online option is available as well. Find more information and register.

Get Help from a UW Bike Buddy During Bike Month

Interested in trying bike commuting during Bike Month, but unsure about your route? Request help from a UW Bike Buddy! UW students, faculty, and staff who bike commute from all over the region have signed up to help new riders. It's a great way to get pedaling for the Bike Everywhere Challenge, running through May 31.

Ride-Along with UWPD

Curious about what a day in the life of a police officer looks like? Ever wondered what it's like to ride in a patrol car and respond to calls? The ride-along program is a way for the community to connect with the UW Police Department and law enforcement in general. To schedule a ride-along, please call the non-emergency number, 206-685-UWPD (8973) and ask to speak with the on-duty supervisor. Learn more about the ride-along program at the UWPD.