Summer Throwdown - Team Fitness Challenge

Bring it UW! Get ready for our next fitness challenge—a team throwdown that will give you the kick-start you need to achieve your fitness goals. Be boundless in your determination and grab a team of colleagues or friends to learn the best fitness tips, experience more intense workouts, and perform time one and two fitness tests to check your progress. Our Whole U fitness partners will provide FREE passes throughout this six-week challenge starting Monday, July 11 and ending Sunday, August 21 and UW participants will receive a purple Whole U drawstring gear bag. This challenge will also offer prizes (exclusive workouts and cooking demos) to the team that loses the most percent of total weight and the team that improves the most on average fitness. Teams can also win prizes for share their inspirational photos along the way. There's no time like the summer so commit now!

Summer Walk with The Whole U

Celebrate the start of summer with a 50-minute walk with The Whole U! Let's take advantage of Washington's summer weather and get some exercise outdoors, while meeting new friends. All fitness levels are welcome. Join us on Wednesday, June 29 at noon in Bothell, Seattle, or Tacoma.

UW Night at FareStart Restaurant

Enjoy a wonderful dinner while contributing to rebuilding lives and strengthening our community. FareStart is a culinary job training and placement program for homeless and disadvantaged individuals. Join us on Thursday, July 28 for our second Guest Chef Night at FareStart featuring our very own UW Club Sous Chef Ian Weaver. The UW Club and UW Farm will donate the ingredients. Chef Ian Weaver will work with FareStart's students to prepare a delicious three-course meal, which will be served by Whole U and UW Club volunteers. All of the proceeds and gratuities from Guest Chef Night go back into the program and fund student services and training. See the menu and learn more.

Cancer as a Turning Point, From Surviving to Thriving

The Whole U, UW Medicine, Cancer Lifeline, and Healing Journeys are pleased to host Dr. Michael Finklestein and Jonna Tamases on Friday, July 29 at 7:00 p.m. Dr. Finklestein will talk about slow medicine, a philosophy for navigating the maze of conventional, complementary, and alternative medicine options. Jonna Tamases will then perform her one-woman play: Jonna's Body, Please Hold. Friends and family are invited to this powerful and enlightening free event. Join us in Kane Hall by registering here.

Green Monday at UW Medical Center

Green Monday works with individuals and institutions to promote small, easy changes that make a big impact on the environment and on our own personal health. UW Medical Center has started offering a special Green Monday menu in the Plaza Café every Monday, and a daily Green Monday entrée special every day. Simply by choosing the Green Monday special once a week, you can save four pounds of CO2 and 425 gallons of water every single week! We encourage your team to Go Green Monday by pledging to choose the Green Monday specials in the cafeteria once a week. Register here.

UWCFD Greeting Card & Stationery Sale Today!

Stop by the UW Combined Fund Drive Greeting Card & Stationery Sale today, Wednesday, June 8, 2016, from 9 a.m.–1 p.m. in the UW Tower North Cafeteria. High quality greeting cards are just 2/$1.00, boxed cards and playing cards are $2 each, and jigsaw puzzles are available for $10. All proceeds benefit St. Matthew School's technology and tuition assistance funds. St. Matthew School, charity code 0519590, is one of the more than 5,000 nonprofits in the UW Combined Fund Drive campaign.

Professional & Organizational Development (POD) courses and events 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.

Summer School for Staff

Summer training for staff begins in June and goes all the way through September—and instead of taking a few months out of your schedule, each class or webinar requires only a couple of hours or days. Register now, when space is still available in popular offerings such as Communication Style: Creating Positive Relationships and Results, Foundations of Fiscal Reporting, Presentation Excellence, Writing Policies and Procedures, and Training, Coaching, and Mentoring for Success. Explore summer classes.

The Secret of Success

To put it quite simply, successful people know how to get things done. Whether you struggle with using your time effectively, can't seem to get yourself organized, or need help keeping projects on track, POD has a solution for you. Summer offerings include the popular webinar Accomplishing More With Less and targeted classroom training such as Time Management, Project Management Essentials, and Managing Paper, Projects, and Priorities. View upcoming offerings.

Warm Weather Webinars

Chill out at your desk and try time-saving training that can be taken from your computer. POD offers an array of live webinars, and several this summer are designed to increase technical proficiency and optimize effectiveness with Microsoft Office applications from Excel to Outlook, PowerPoint, and Visio. Access webinar schedule.

Update Your Personal Information

UW needs accurate personal information including your home address, date of birth, gender, in order to properly report your federal taxes and administer your benefits. Check out our updated website and find out how to request a change or correction to your personal data, and any documentation that is required.

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.

Levels of Care for Our Elders: Choosing a Facility and Care

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. Join us on Thursday, June 16 at noon in the UW Tower Auditorium for this free workshop presented by UW Carelink. Register here.

Living a Life in Balance

Do you feel like your life is too complicated? You are not alone. Given all you have to do and all you want to do, it can be easy to lose sight of your ultimate goal.

This month's Balanced Living article, Living a Life in Balance, asks us the questions we need to ask ourselves, and provides tools to help us down that path. This month's tip sheet has additional tools to help us separate our work life from our home life.

UW Carelink will also broadcast a one-hour webinar "Bringing More Balance to Your Life" on June 21 at noon. You play many roles and have many demands made of your time, making it very challenging to find balance. You will learn a framework and tips for bringing more balance into your life so you can reduce stress and increase vitality, satisfaction and fulfilment. Register here (use "UW" as the code). The webinar will also be available to view by the beginning of July.

KinderCare Partners with UW WorkLife

KinderCare offers numerous programs to children of UW faculty, staff, and students. Enroll your child in any KinderCare location for childcare or Champions Before-and-After School Program and receive a 10% tuition discount. As a UW faculty, staff, or student you also receive priority access at the Bothell, Northgate, Seattle, Woodinville, Browns Point, and North Tacoma locations. Remember to mention you are a UW employee or student to receive the discount or priority access.

KinderCare also provides center-based back-up child care at a daily cost of $20 per child. Hours and ages vary between centers; openings are not guaranteed, and advance registration in the program prior to needing access is highly recommended. There are many childcare centers available in the Puget Sound region and throughout the U.S. Once registered, you can search for centers online or by phone. Visit KinderCare to register or call 877-914-7683. For further information regarding childcare programs visit WorkLife's webpage.

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.

Win a GoPro camera for SmartHealth Week!

SmartHealth Week, June 6-12, is a new annual celebration of our health and wellness! SmartHealth is Washington State's voluntary and confidential wellness program that rewards you for making time to take simple steps toward a healthier, happier you.

As part of SmartHealth Week, you may have a chance to win a GoPro camera! Complete the SmartHealth well-being assessment by midnight Sunday, June 12 to be entered into a random drawing for a GoPro Hero4 Silver camera—the high-performance, waterproof camera you can use to take high-resolution photos and video during your favorite activities.

Already completed your well-being assessment? Subscribers who have already completed the well-being assessment are automatically entered for the drawing too!

New to SmartHealth?
Register and complete your well-being assessment during SmartHealth Week and get an extra 100 bonus points.

Learn more at SmartHealth.

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 the importance of asset allocation in retirement, elements for building your retirement income strategy, and considerations for portfolio withdrawal rates. This workshop is designed for individuals who are less than one year from retirement and would like to learn how to establish and maintain income during retirement.

Building a Portfolio for Any Weather
Designed for the beginning investor, you will learn:

• Determine an appropriate investment mix and your investment style
• Select investment options that fit your investment approach
• Manage your investment strategy to help meet your long-term goals

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.

Tap, Tap Your U-PASS on Light Rail

Why tap on and tap off with your U-PASS on light rail? Does it make a difference? If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, will it really matter how many times I tap my U-PASS? The answer is yes! Find out why. Want to incorporate transit into your commute? Reach out to the Commute Concierge to plan your commute today.

Have You Signed Up for Alerts?

UW Alert disseminates official information via email, text messages, telephones, loudspeakers, website banners, and other means to keep the campus community informed during emergencies and situations that might disrupt normal operations.

• How UW Alert messages are delivered (text, email, etc.)
• Safety and emergency preparedness website
• Sign up for UW Alert

UW faculty, staff, and students in Bothell, Seattle, Tacoma, and at UW Medicine can subscribe to UW Alert. Unlike the Notifications of Criminal Incident sent out by the UW, faculty, and staff must sign up to receive these emergency alerts. UW Alert delivers messages to subscribers using a third-party vendor. UW Alerts are also posted on Facebook and Twitter.