UB Virtual Wellness Week

Schooling of young children (ages 4-8) has become a patchwork of in-person and remote learning. Overwhelmed parents and children are facing many challenges such as scheduling nightmares, technical difficulties, boring online lessons, and difficulty to connect with each other, etc. To help you cope, we are hosting an online session with child development and early education experts from the Graduate School of Education's Early Childhood Research Center (ECRC). They will provide guidelines and resources related to how to cope as a family, how to self-care, how to engage kids in online learning, and how to care beyond schooling. They will also answer any questions you may have.

At times, you may have contact with students or staff who may experiencing emotional distress. This program will focus on providing the necessary skills to identify, communicate with and refer emotionally distressed individuals to the appropriate resources and supportive services.

The breath is a direct gateway to heightened states of joy, vitality, peace, and freedom. In this class, Christopher Wilson will lead you through a guided breathwork session in which you'll learn how to utilize this ancient technology to enhance all aspects of your life and wellbeing.  A pair of headphones is recommended for this session to minimize distractions.

Faculty and staff who are affiliated with the state can learn about eligibility for retirement from the university, actions needed before retiring and state-funded retirement benefits. This session is for state employees who are beginning preparations for retirement or want to learn more about the retirement process.

As a function of the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees report feeling burned out due to multiple stressors (e.g., uncertainty as to when “normal” life will resume, concern over whether they or those they love may become ill, how they can work effectively while being remote, etc.). Burnout is not a sign of weakness or something that will just “go away”.  Learn about the characteristics and causes of burnout and what you can do to become resilient to overcome and prevent future burnout.

Join Sara from the Southtowns Family YMCA as she leads us through making a pumpkin decoration out of wine corks using simple materials.

• Supplies needed:
• 11 wine corks
• 2 faux leaves
• Twine
• Orange paint
• Paint brush
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks

Determine the best mortgage solution and how to negotiate to get the home of your dreams in this fast paced sellers' market. Additionally, learn about your cash back benefit offered to you through your employment at the University.

Whether you are looking to sharpen your skills for your current position, seeking a promotion or wishing to explore job opportunities in other areas, this session will present the OD&E career coaching service for UB employees.  

Career coaching helps you explore your talents to unleash your potential to become more productive, engaged, and satisfied.   We will discuss our strengths based approach to coaching, using the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment (which is offered by OD&E as part of this service).  We’ll also introduce our focus on exploring the things you do well, and discover how these can best be utilized to further and enhance your career.

Whether you are a current Independent Health member or if you are interested in learning more about health insurance through Independent Health, Joel Marinaccio, Senior Strategic Account Manager, will review some of the value added benefits from Independent Health, such as the Health Extra’s Wellness card, Teledoc,  Apps like Brook, Zipongo and MyIH.  He will also provide a general update regarding the 2021 Open Enrollment and the benefit enhancements for members.

Join Brian Nick, Senior Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist from TIAA as he discusses the global economic recovery, important public policy changes including the US election, and the impact on markets and investors. Senior Financial Consultants Anne Anderson and Stephen Baumeister will be fielding participant questions during the presentation on the live chat feature. 

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many families becoming caregivers because of the concern over the safety of, and lack of access to facilities. Now, in addition to your own life and responsibilities, a whole new commitment has been added to your already full plate. This session will address important considerations for planning when caring for an elderly or disabled family member at home. It will provide important information on different forms of supplemental needs trusts for the protection of assets and excess income of the disabled individual, while maintaining eligibility for government benefits. It will also cover special challenges when planning with retirement benefits, review asset protection techniques and Medicaid planning considerations. It will also touch on the different forms of guardianships.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Niagara County was awarded the Sodium Reduction in Communities Program (SRCP) grant from NYS Department of Health in 2016. The 5-year initiative targets colleges and universities to reduce the risk of hypertension by replacing high sodium foods with healthier alternatives. SRCP Grant Nutritionist, Kaitlyn McNally, is working on lowering sodium throughout the University at Buffalo’s campus. In this session, Kaitlyn and Lori Bendersky, Dietitian for UB Campus Dining, will elaborate on their efforts and provide information on how you can incorporate strategies to lower sodium in your diet without compromising taste.