The Drake University Home Incentive Purchase Plan provides financial support to full-time Drake employees who purchase an owner-occupied, single-family dwelling in the Drake neighborhood. Drake University will provide up to $3,500 for reimbursement of loan origination fees and/or closing costs for purchases made adjacent to campus.
View additional information about the program, including applicable boundaries.
— Linda Feiden, Human Resources
Join HR in June for virtual HealthyU BINGO. The goal is to fill up a blank BINGO card (or two) throughout the month of June with healthy activities completed from a provided list. At the end of the month, participants will be invited to meet virtually, over Microsoft Teams, to play multiple rounds of HealthyU BINGO for prizes. Family members are invited to play as well.
You are welcome to fill out the HealthyU BINGO card without playing the BINGO games, but who doesn’t like playing BINGO!
To get started, send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu. Deadline to register is Friday, May 28. All participants will receive an email with an attached packet that includes directions, a list of HealthyU BINGO activities, and a blank BINGO card. You are welcome to make multiple copies of this card.
Please feel free to reach out with questions. This is a great event for the whole family!
— Linda Feiden, Human Resources
Play virtual HealthyU BINGO in June. The goal is to fill up a blank BINGO card (or two) with healthy activities completed from a provided list. At the end of the month, participants will be invited to meet virtually, over Microsoft Teams, to play multiple rounds of HealthyU BINGO for prizes. Family members are invited to play as well.
You are welcome to fill out the HealthyU BINGO card without playing the BINGO games, but who doesn’t like playing BINGO!
To get started, send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu. Deadline to register is Friday, May 28. All participants will receive an email with an attached packet that includes directions, a list of HealthyU BINGO activities, and a blank BINGO card. You are welcome to make multiple copies of this card.
Please feel free to reach out with questions. This is a great event for the whole family!
— Linda Feiden, Human Resources
Are you feeling overwhelmed by work or is your work-life balance out of whack? Have you skipped out on vacation plans this past year? If so, you are not alone. But there are many health benefits to taking vacation time and completely disconnecting from work.
Cut your risk for a heart attack. Taking vacation to get away and spend time with loved ones can lower your blood pressure and the risk of a heart attack. That alone should be a wake-up call.
Reduce stress. Sounds obvious, but it needs to be heard. Vacations can reduce stress. Even knowing that a vacation is coming can keep stress at bay. And studies find that the effects can last beyond the duration of the vacation.
Better sleep. Restless nights and disrupted sleep are common complaints, often stemming from the fact that we simply have too much on our minds. Taking a vacation can help interrupt the habits that disrupt sleep, like working late on your laptop before bed.
Increase happiness. The first big boost in happiness comes from planning the vacation. A person can feel the effects up to eight weeks before the trip. The more active you are with your leisure time, and the more control you have over your free time, the happier and more satisfied you will be. And when you come back to work, the ‘good vibes’ you bring back from vacation rub off on the people around you, creating a ‘viral happiness pandemic’. That’s a pandemic we can get behind!
Improve productivity and decrease burnout. You need time to mentally recharge in order to stay sharp and engaged. Vacations help restock your energy storage, and reduce burnout, making it easier to tackle projects. Relaxation can also increase your creativity. You often get those ‘aha’ moments when your mind is relaxed.
As summer approaches, if you’ve been putting off your vacation, think again. Take some time off for your health and wellbeing. It’s good for everyone!
— Linda Feiden, Human Resources
Don’t miss out! Join Drake HR and All Staff Council on Wednesday, May 19, at noon for Produce for Wellness. This one-hour virtual interactive event from Capital City Fruit, includes a free box of produce, delivered to your home or office, for you to use during the session.
During this class, participants will be given tips on produce nutrition, storage and handling, and fun facts to help you get the most out of nature’s best. You will also have the chance to create your own easy and nutritious recipe with produce provided by Capital City Fruit.
To register for this class, send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu. Please include your name, address (where to send ingredients), phone, email and allergies to ingredients—strawberries, blueberries, bananas, and protein powder.
Produce boxes will be shipped to you the day prior to the session so make sure you list the address you would like it sent to as your shipping address when registering – i.e. home address or office address.
Deadline to register is Tuesday, May 11, or as soon as all the spots are filled. Space is limited to 25 participants so you will want to reserve your spot today.
— Linda Feiden, Human Resources
This is your last chance to join the Walk this May team step challenge.
This team challenge will run through the month of May. A kick-off meeting will be held via Zoom on April 30 for all participants. Team captains will report weekly step totals and participants will receive motivational emails, including an update on team points. At the end of the month, there will be a challenge celebration via Zoom with a prize package awarded to the participants of the winning team.
You may register as a team of four or five people or register individually and you will be placed on a team. To register, send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu with your team members (or just yourself if registering alone) by April 28.
— Linda Feiden, Human Resources
We often hear about the medical benefits of receiving a vaccine. But, receiving the COVID-19 vaccine has benefits that go across multiple dimensions of wellbeing.
Physical benefits. According to the CDC, the COVID-19 vaccine will help keep you from getting COVID-19. Based on current data, experts believe getting a COVID-19 vaccine also helps keep you from getting seriously ill, even if you do get COVID-19. Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, particularly those at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Getting vaccinated is a great way to keep you, your family, and your community safe.
Social benefits. Once you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing more. For example, you can gather in a home or private setting without masks with other people who are fully vaccinated. This is the first step in re-establishing those in-person connections that are so important in our lives. The more folks we get vaccinated, the more in-person social connections we can make!
Emotional and mental health benefits. No area of wellbeing has taken a bigger hit this past year than our emotional and mental health. The pandemic has created overwhelming stress. When we experience prolonged stress, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel becomes imperative for recovery. Receiving the vaccine is a way to reclaim hope and find some “normalcy” in our lives again.
Financial benefits. The financial hit from COVID-19 was felt by most across the country and world. Unemployment rates increased, fewer people ventured out to spend money which resulted in businesses closing, retirement accounts were affected, and the law of supply and demand escalated prices on goods and services. It will take a while for our economy to bounce back, but the sooner we get people vaccinated, the sooner we can restore our confidence and increase our economic activity.
As many have said, battling COVID-19 has been a marathon, not a sprint. In a marathon, some runners “hit the wall” as they near the last leg of the race, feeling fatigued and stopping or slowing to a walk. We are at that point in this pandemic. We can see the finish line. We have the tools to get there. But we need to keep going, get the vaccine and cross the finish line. It will take all of us to get there.
All Iowans 16 and older are now eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The University strongly encourages any member of the Drake community who qualifies for immunization to receive it as soon as possible.
If you have questions about the vaccine, good informational resources can be found at the CDC’s COVID-19 vaccination FAQ, Wellmark.com/Coronavirus, or the Wellmark Blue article, “Questions about the Covid-19 Vaccine.”
— Linda Feiden, Human Resources
This is a reminder to join our upcoming Walk this May team step challenge.
This team challenge will run through the month of May. A kick-off meeting will be held via Zoom on April 30 for all participants. Team captains will report weekly step totals and participants will receive motivational emails, including an update on team points. At the end of the month there will be a challenge celebration via Zoom, with a prize package awarded to the participants of the winning team.
You may register as a team of four or five people or register individually and you will be placed on a team. To register, send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu with your team members (or just yourself if registering alone) by April 28. Let’s get moving!
— Linda Feiden, Human Resources
Even without the pandemic, this time of year can spur a surge in financial stress and anxiety. Fortunately, there are resources available to help answer your financial questions, and assist you in making the best decisions for you and your family.
TIAA offers a number of resources for Drake employees. Explore the TIAA website for answers to questions on personal finances, life milestones, and retirement. Participate in a live or on-demand webinar, review TIAA’s weekly market commentary for educational information regarding the current financial climate, or set up a phone or video chat with Drake’s TIAA financial consultant, Paige Philips at Paige.Philips@tiaa.org.
Employee and Family Resources offers financial resources including podcasts and access to a free financial consultation. You may contact EFR at 800-327-4692 or www.efr.org.
You may also find answers to your financial questions at the next BUILD (Bulldogs United in Learning Drake) class, 7 Barriers to My Financial Future, on Tuesday, April 13 from 10 – 11 a.m. We will explore the seven barriers that may prevent you from achieving your goals and dreams and how to maneuver around these roadblocks and move ahead with confidence. Scott Nelson from Legacy Financial Group will facilitate.
To register for this or any class, please send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu.
— Linda Feiden, Human Resources
Now that spring has sprung, it is time to go outdoors and get moving. If you need a little nudge, join our upcoming Walk this May team step challenge.
This team challenge will run through the month of May. A kick-off meeting will be held via Zoom on April 30 for all participants. Team captains will report weekly step totals and participants will receive motivational emails, including an update on team points. At the end of the month, there will be a challenge celebration via Zoom, with a prize package awarded to the participants of the winning team.
You may register as a team of four or five people or register individually and you will be placed on a team. To register, send an email to linda.feiden@drake.edu with your team members (or just yourself if registering alone) by April 28. Let’s get moving!
— Linda Feiden, Human Resources