Did you know January is a National Financial Wellness Month? 

Financial Wellness… it’s more than just a paycheck or retirement! It is a balancing process of living responsibly today and planning wisely for tomorrow. Financial well-being can only be achieved through comprehensive knowledge of your own financial circumstances, educating yourself with resources available to make informed decisions for your future.

What better way to start the year than by evaluating your Financial Wellness!!

The University Human Resources (UHR) Benefits Office in College Park will be sponsoring financial wellness seminars that will be available to our USG employees via Webex. Please click on the links below for more information regarding topics and schedule:

Maryland 529 Plan Seminar

Get Your Financial House in Order

Financial Planning Seminar

Please note, you will not need to register as you would if you were attending in person. USG HR team will be sending access information in the coming week.

~ USGStrong Wellness Team

Wellness Wednesday Health Tip

May is National Physical Fitness & Sports Month

Did you know…?

Regular physical activity increases your chances of living a longer, healthier life

It reduces your risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and even some types of cancer

This month is a good time to spread the word about the benefits of getting active. The wellness team at USG is encouraging everyone to get up, get out, discover fun ways to get moving and be active for at least 30 minutes a day. Whether it’s walking during lunch time, running after work or walking around the neighborhood with your family after dinner, set aside some time for your fitness and health each day.

For more helpful tips and resources, please login to the wellness portal: LifeWork Connect.

For questions regarding our wellness program, please email usg-wellness@umd.edu

Montgomery County – GREEN FEST 2017

USG Strong Wellness Team would like to encourage everyone to attend the Montgomery County GreenFest event on Saturday, May 6, 2017 from 11am- 4pm. GreenFest the County’s largest one-day environmental celebration is a free, family-friendly event dedicated to helping County residents explore their path to a greener and economically vibrant life by connecting them with neighbors, local and national environmental leaders, and green businesses and products.

For more information on the GreenFest, please visit www.montgomerycountygreenfest.org

Kudos to all Earth Day Volunteers from USG and IBBR who joined forces last Thursday and Friday to help beautify our campus. Not only does our USG garden look beautiful, we also collected 529 pounds of unwanted debris across both campuses, woohoo! We truly appreciate everyone’s help and we thank you for keeping our campus green!

For questions, please email USG Strong Wellness Team and the Green Committee at usg-wellness@umd.edu

Come Celebrate Earth Day 2017 with the USG Strong Wellness Team

Earth Day is a day to celebrate earth, appreciate nature and learn ways to protect our environment. Want to get involved? Save the dates for all the upcoming events listed below:

• Wednesday, April 19th (9:00am-12:00pm) –  IIBR will have Shred IT on-site at their loading dock and they have invited us to take advantage of this service. Do a little Spring cleaning and stop by!
• Thursday, April 20th (9:00am – 11:00am)  – the USG Garden is back in action. This year the garden will be manages by Michael Sheehan, a student in UMD’s R.H. Smith School of Business. You can learn more about Michael and his edible ecosystem projects http://www.thecitizensofearth.org/
• Thursday, April 20th (11:30am and 1:30pm) –  Ever wondered what’s inside the IBBR building? Join Greenhouse Manager Frank Coker on a IBBR Greenhouse tour and learn about all the things growing inside it. To register for the tour, please email usg-wellness@umd.edu
• Friday, April 21st (10:00am – 11:30am) – Join USG and IBBR for the annual campus cleanup. Meet us on the Boardwalk. Gloves and trash bags will be provided. IIBR will weigh everything we’ve collected and help us discard the items
• Wetlands Tour: Did you know that the USG campus sits on several acres of wetlands? We are working with Doctoral & Graduate students from College Park’s Department of Environmental Science and Technology to take us on a tour of the wetlands. Bring your boots! (Date & Time TBD)

All week the Green Grove Café will be featuring carbon neutral and earth-friendly foods. Don’t forget to stop by!

Put Your Best Fork Forward

March is National Nutrition Month and there’s no better time to start your journey towards a healthier diet and lifestyle!

Upcoming event: Please join us at the Lunch Bunch on Thursday March 09, 2017 at 12:30pm in Room 4230 to find out the winners of the 4 week Happy Fit Walk Challenge!

 Save the date: Friday, March 31st at 2:30pm. Chef Trevor will be preparing a healthy dish and the first 25 to arrive will receive the second edition of the USG cookbook!!

Submit your recipes to usg-wellness@umd.edu by Friday, March 24th to have them featured in the USG cookbook.

Did you know…?

• Many canned foods retain as much nutrient value as their fresh or frozen counterparts
• Choosing canned fruits, vegetables, beans, and meats can lighten the burden on your pocketbook and ensure these healthy foods are on hand in a pinch (Source: www.eatright.org)

Continue reading →

Get steppin’! February is Heart Month

USG Staff in support of National Health Month #USGSTRONG

Happy Fit Challenge

Friday, February 3 – Friday, March 3

Sign-up is open through February 9th

Your Goal: Log an average of 50,000 steps per week

The team with the highest average steps among its members gets a free lunch at Cava Grill! #USGSTRONG

Getting Started

1. Log in to your account on www.lifeworkconnect.com
2. Look for the Happy Fit challenge banner at the top of your dashboard and select ‘Sign Up Now!’
3. Choose an existing team or be the captain of your own team and invite your co-workers!

The Universities at Shady Grove has partnered with Adventist Healthcare to offer a comprehensive wellness program for all USG employees. We know that achieving optimal health can be much easier with the proper tools, individualized guides, and support from those around you.

For these reasons, we have launched a new wellness portal designed to give you the tools you need to improve all aspects of your busy life!  With this tool, you will have access to nutrition and exercise logs, food plans, a recipe finder, email communication with a personal trainer and Registered Dietitian, access to the USG Counseling Center, and much more. Stay involved throughout the year by attending events and participating in challenges.

Register or log-in at
www.lifeworkconnect.com