May is Mental Health Awareness Month. If stress has you anxious and tense, spending just a few moments a day practicing a relaxation technique, may help restore your calm and inner peace.

There are a number of relaxation techniques available. You can do most on your own or with the help of a free or inexpensive smartphone app. Which one is best? No relaxation technique is perfect for everyone.  The right one is the one that works for you. Here are four you may want to try.

Deep Breathing. Also called belly, diaphragm, or abdominal breathing, this simple relaxation technique is the cornerstone of many other relaxation practices. Placing one hand on your chest and the other on your belly, breathe in slowly through your nose, watching your belly expand, hold your breath for a second or two, and then exhale slowly through your mouth.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation. This is a two-step process where you tense and then relax different muscle groups in the body. Start with your feet and work your way up to your face, tensing only those muscles you are focusing on.

Guided Imagery or Visualization. This involves imagining a scene in which you feel at peace. It could be a tropical beach, favorite childhood spot, or wooded glen. You can practice visualization on your own or with an app. If doing it on your own you may wish to use a listening aid, such as soothing music or the sound of ocean waves, for example, if you are visualizing a beach.

Mindfulness Meditation. The goal is to focus your attention on the present moment, and try to eliminate the many thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. It may involve focusing your attention on your breathing or a few repeated words. You can practice mindfulness with daily tasks like eating or brushing your teeth.

— Linda Feiden, Human Resources

Each year on May 15, as part of 515 Day in Des Moines, members of the Drake Athletics department rally together to serve our greater Des Moines community.  This year, we are collecting items for the Food Bank of Iowa and the Gregory & Suzie Glazer Burt Boys & Girls Club.

A few socially-distanced staff members will be stationed out front of the Knapp Center on Friday, May 15, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. collecting donations. Please consider making a contribution.

The Food Bank of Iowa has identified the following as items of significant need:

• Protein (peanut butter, canned meats, canned fish)
• Canned fruits
• Canned vegetables
• Canned soup
• Pasta sauce
• Breakfast items (including cereal)
• 100 percent fruit juice
• Personal care and paper items (soap, deodorant, toothpaste, etc.)
• New or gently used washed t-shirts

The Gregory & Suzie Glazer Burt Boys & Girls Club is requesting donations of: 

• Bubbles
• Chalk
• Markers
• Crayons

These items are given to kids waiting in cars as their parents visit the food pantry.

Thank you, and Go Bulldogs!

— Shannon Saunders, Drake Athletics

Griff is getting ready to celebrate his eighth (golden) birthday! He is also retiring as our mascot on June 30. We are excited to invite you to join him for a celebration (social-distance style) on campus Friday, May 8, from 9–11 a.m. Griff and Griff II (aka George) will be stationed in the northwest corner of the Olmsted Lot ready to greet well-wishers from their cars as they drive by. Instead of gifts, Griff asks that you consider bringing donations of non-perishable food and/or personal care items to help him stock the Little Free Pantries to help neighbors in need. There will be a table for you to place the items on without getting out of your car. We also encourage you to wear Drake Blue in honor of Griff, and please feel free to make signs and/or decorate your cars!

— Erin Bell, University Communications & Marketing

With the return of warm temperatures, construction on the sewer separation project is gearing up to get started again. Activity will be seen on University Avenue as well as along 24^th Street between Carpenter Avenue and Forest Avenue where a new storm sewer line will be installed.

Installation of the storm sewer, bike lanes, and sidewalks will continue through the summer. Street paving of the north two lanes on University Avenue will wrap up the city’s project. Once the hardscape is completed, landscape plantings including installation of 86 trees, bus shelters, and other streetscape elements will finalize and beautify the University Avenue streetscape corridor.

— Kevin Moran, Facilities Planning & Management

Even though National Volunteer Week has officially concluded, communities still need your help. Visit drake.edu/volunteer to learn about many opportunities both here in Des Moines and across the globe.

Send us a picture or quote of how you are helping the community to servicelearning@drake.edu by Sunday, May 3, and you will be entered into a drawing to win prizes. It could be anything from donating canned goods, checking in on your neighbors, picking up litter in your neighborhood, and more. With your permission, we’ll share it on social media to inspire others to serve.  #DrakeServes

— Amanda Martin, Community Engaged Learning

The office of equity and inclusion will be offering four development webinars for all faculty, staff, and students throughout the spring and summer on a variety of equity and inclusion topics including:

• LGBTQ+ Safe Space Training (Friday, May 1, 12 pm CST)
• Who’s Here – Examining Diversity (Monday, June 1, 12 pm CST)
• How Do We Navigate – Examining Cultural Competency (July 1, 12 pm CST)
• Who Benefits – Examining Equity (August 3, 12 pm CST)

Click here to register

The Bulldog Bucks deposit portal (eAccounts) was enhanced last week to include a single sign-on feature. With single sign-on, users no longer have to enter their credentials twice when accessing the Bulldog Bucks deposit portal from myDrake.

The deposit portal can be found by clicking “Bulldog Bucks” in the commonly used apps section of myDrake, or through the direct link: drake-sp.transactcampus.com/eaccounts.

Parents or friends can also access the portal to make “guest” deposits to an account. However, this will not be tied to the single sign-on feature and will function as it has in the past.

There is also a mobile application (eAccounts Mobile) that allows users to check balances on the go. To use the mobile deposit feature, users must first have a saved payment method set up in the web portal. Please note: If you’ve used eAccounts Mobile in the past, you’ll need to re-select Drake University as your institution to allow it to reconnect with the new log-in details.

— Sara Heijerman, Student Services Center