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These days it seems everyone is doing some kind of "challenge". Truthfully, these make me pretty skeptical and after they try to sell something to you for the first 20-minutes I'm out. This time I stuck with it! Just finished reading " Soundtracks " by Jon Acuff and was curious to learn more about his work. BAM! His Overcoming Overthinking Challenge appeared on his feed and I signed up. Here are the nuggets from each session... Opening The 2 most powerful word in the English language are "me...

Last week, the Foundation hosted a wonderful group from Penn State University: Penny M. Kris-Etherton, PhD RD FAHA FNLA FASN CLS Mary Alice Gettings, MS,RDN,LDN,CDCES Samantha Zlotorzynski, MA,RDN Olivia Lawler Penn State Extension planned and conducted Let’s Cook at Home: Herbs and Spices webinar with live food demonstrations to introduce this topic to the public. The participant evaluations guided the design of an ongoing research project to evaluate the effectiveness of short online...

Did you know April is National Volunteer Month? National Volunteer Month celebrates the power of volunteers, and it is a great time for you to show appreciation for the volunteers in your Extension programs! Volunteers are a valuable asset to Extension. Programs depend on reliable volunteers to increase the reach and capacity of Cooperative Extension in a county or state. Ensuring volunteers feel valued, keeping them motivated, and recognizing their efforts are key to developing and...

The services provided by social workers are crucial to creating and cultivating individual and family wellness. During this time of insurmountable stressors at home and abroad, social workers are pillars in providing vital mental health and behavioral health services. Services that can aid family members in navigating daily anxiety, worry, and trauma. National Social Work Month March was Social Work Month, and the 2022 theme is The Time is Right for Social Work. Over the past three years,...

EXCITE announces a new interactive Dashboard that displays data of the 72 "Education" programs and 24 "Pilot Projects" of the EXCITE program. This Dashboard was created so anyone can view details and data of their local Extension immunization education projects. The Dashboard data and videos communicate EXCITE's reach, value, and story and it replaces the interactive map after making changes to better serve the projects' needs. View Dashboard View Dashboard Tutorial The Dashboard is easy to...

Sport provides such fertile ground for life lessons. There is immediate feedback constantly. You made the shot or missed it. You completed the pass or it was incomplete. You won or lost. The scoreboard is just the start to all the statistics. AND... Since we can't participate and evaluate at the same time, there's always a coach. One of my favorite coaches is Glenn "Doc" Rivers in the NBA. In a Netflix series called " The Playbook " he and 4 other amazing coaches give us their take on " A...

HHS and USDA will accept written comments on the proposed questions from April 15 to May 16, 2022.

Discover Wellness in 2022 with Lessons for Living presented by the University of Illinois Extension. Register here to receive a Zoom link to the webinar: go.illinois.edu/L4L Mindfulness and Money March 21, 2022 @ 2:00 PM 3:00 PM CDT Mindfulness can play an important role in our everyday decision-making. It centers on focused attention, remaining open, and practicing acceptance. In this lesson, we will discuss the relationship between mindfulness and money behaviors. We also will explore...

by Jenny Rea, Ph.D. Have you ever heard of the rocks, gravel, and sand metaphor? I learned about this parable from Dr. Tai Mendenhall ( check out his full bio here ) in a recently published webinar entitled, “ The Realities of Resilience in the Face of Burnout .” I, then, had the opportunity to converse with Tai on a more personal level through a podcast interview for our Family Transitions team at OneOp. Tai reflected upon this metaphor once again - connecting it to burnout among helping...

University of Illinois Extension is providing a series of six free online workshops to help families learn about personal finances as well as strategies for talking about money. The workshops are held each Thursday evening beginning May 5. The one-hour sessions start at 6:30 p.m. Registration is required at go.illinois.edu/TalkMoney to receive Zoom connecting information. If a reasonable accommodation is needed to participate, contact Camaya Wallace Bechard , Extension consumer economics...

Nope, not your choice in clothing or furniture, sorry to disappoint... We're talking about the ways in which you live and operate in the world. Understanding our unique approaches can lead to more meaningful conversations, less confusion and less frustration with others. 6 Questions To Describe YOUR Style What do you value most? "A value is a decision-making principle: an articulation of what you want your decisions to accomplish." -Drew Dudley Who we are is how we lead; they are the roots...

Register now: On April 27 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. ET, we’ll host an informational webinar highlighting success stories and lessons learned from select Move Your Way pilot communities. Join the conversation and learn about effective strategies from our pilot communities for using Move Your Way community resources.