Happenings

Respecting our clients, each other, and ourselves

By Fred Gang At this time of year, I find it tempting to make resolutions about how I am going to change some inconsequential aspect of my life, like losing weight, cutting back on TV, learning to play the guitar and the like. Predictably, none of these resolutions ever pan out, largely because they arent really all that important to me! So, this year I have changed my tactic to focusing on what I think would be truly important for me to work on in the coming year. This year, along those lines and at the risk of preaching to the choir, with a nod to the Queen of Soul, I would like to talk about R-E-S-P-E-C-T!
In the world of nonprofit health and human services, we interact daily with people who have many diverse wants and needs. Often, we are able to be helpful to them but sometimes we are not. However, in any situation, we may always be able to show respect and in each situation, that may be the best thing we can do! for our clients, for each other and for ourselves!

Issue 002 January 1, 2013

Mastering our ability to show and utilize respect for others is innate to many in our field, which is why we do what we do but if empathy does not come naturally, no matter, it can be learned. Here are some simple steps to respecting others and achieving positive outcomes in all kinds of situations. Think positively. A positive attitude is emotionally contagious. Pay attention to what is going on around you and how others are doing. Speak softly and kindly, especially when others are upset. Keep your cool in stressful situations but know your boundaries if situations become heated. Strive to make a positive contribution to any situation by being accepting of others, especially if they are different from you or have diverse ideas. Know that any confrontation should always leave the other persons dignity intact. Most importantly, listen! Tolerance implies a respect for another person, not because he is wrong or even because he is right, but because he is human -John Cogley
Respecting Our Clients, Each other and Ourselves Sorting and Unloading Gifts for Christmas SU Mens Soccer Team Collaborates with Boys and Girls Club For All us Old Dogs To Create a Pictorial Presentation Tax Changes for 2013 How to Wash Windows in the Winter 1 New Years Resolution Quote for the Day Volunteer Leadership Circle 2013 Calendar Recipe: Buckeye Candies Our Health at Work The Power of Effective Teams 5

2 3 4

6 7 8

The Our Health Staff joined other community groups and individuals in sorting and unloading gifts and items that had been donated to CCAP to give to less fortunate families for Christmas. It is very encouraging to see so many come together to meet the growing needs in our valley.

Shenandoah University Mens Soccer Team Collaborates with Boys and Girls Club
By Mike Madden Thursday afternoon and the Shenandoah University Mens Soccer team has assembled once again. But today it is not for conditioning, a strategy session or even a game. Today they face a new opponent, one hundred and twenty-five elementary school students waiting for them to assist during the homework Power Hour at the Boys and Girls Club of the Northern Shenandoah Valley. Executive Director, Heather Forman could not have been more pleased. This is fantastic. Positive, male role models to work with the kids is always a strong need for us, she stated. We are excited about the partnership! I might be biased, but I feel confident the Soccer Team members are going to have a great time with our Club kids, Forman said. The excitement was mutual. Prior to their first visit, SU soccer coach Corbin Sutton said, My guys are looking forward to it! Next Thursday will be our first one so I am excited to get started! Through the collaboration of Shenandoah Universitys Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) project, the Shenandoah athletics department and Our Health, a local consortium of non-profits, the mens soccer team will contribute over 240 hours with the local Boys and Girls Club. VISTA is part of the Corporation for National and Community Service and is affiliated with AmeriCorps. The faculty, staff, and administration, having already embraced the concept of community engagement, realized the need for institutions of higher education to be more deeply connected with their local communities as well as the need to provide students with intentional, problem-based experiences outside of the classroom. Students, parents and society in general have become more result oriented, demanding that colleges and universities provide students with greater opportunities to practice their career skills. Through service-learning projects, community engagement activities and direct service opportunities, students can utilize the expertise learned in the classroom demonstrating both critical thinking and leadership abilities. In the summer of 2012, the university received a three-year renewable grant through The Center for Public Service and Scholarship for two VISTAs to join the Shenandoah University staff. The VISTAs catalyze and coordinate community service to support existing community outreach and service-learning programs at Shenandoah University. The university is committed to greater collaboration with the community, and students are talented and eager to serve. There was no doubt that the students at the Boys and Girls Club had become stakeholders in this venture. Within minutes of their arrival, boys and girls, ready and eager to receive some help with their homework from the team members, surrounded the soccer team. Paired up in groups of three or four or just one-on-one, the team and the students started in on tackling the homework assignments. Before most anyone realized, Power Hour was over. Books quickly went away into backpacks and everyone headed outside to the playfield for a bit of soccer instruction. It was hard to tell who had the bigger smiles, the students or the team.

For all us old dogs

Author UnknownSubmitted by Mary Falu An old Doberman starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a panther heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch. The old Doberman thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep trouble now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the panther is about to leap, the old Doberman exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious panther! I wonder if there are any more around here." Hearing this, the young panther halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!" says the panther, "That was close! That old Doberman nearly had me!" Meanwhile, a squirrel who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the panther. So, off he goes. The squirrel soon catches up with the panther, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the panther. The young panther is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, squirrel, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!" Now, the old Doberman sees the panther coming with the squirrel on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?," but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old Doberman says ......."Where's that squirrel? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another panther!" Moral of this story...Don't mess with the old dogs... Age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery! Bull Crap and brilliance only come with age and experience.

How to create a pictorial presentation with sound

By Mary Falu When creating a PowerPoint presentation your first action is to decide what kind of presentation you want. For this article we want to create a pictorial presentation with sound.

Open PowerPoint and save it under the name that you have chosen for your presentation. Because you will be showing pictures you will want a blank template with no design. On the first screen you can delete the title text box and the body text box then right click and hit duplicate slide. If you know how many pictures that you want to have in your presentation you can continue this until you have the number of slides that you need or you can do this as you go. You will go back to the first screen hit insert on the ribbon then picture. You will then be prompted to select the picture that you want from your computer, disk or flash drive and then you will hit insert. The picture will populate the entire page so you will need to make it a little smaller so you can add borders and change shapes if you want.

Click on the picture then under the format ribbon you can click on the Picture Style that you would like to give it. After you have chosen a style you will select the picture again and then click on Animation. Here you can click on one after another to view the effect until you see the one that you want. The last animation type that you click on will be the one that is chosen until you click on another. After you inserted the photos, chosen the style and selected the animation you want for each slide you are now ready to insert the music. On the first screen click on the ribbon and hit Insert then Audio. It will give you a browse screen where you can select the music that you have saved to your computer, DVD or flash drive. Under Audio Tools on the ribbon you will select playback where you will format how you want the video to play. Beside start click on the drop down box and select Play across slides

you can select Hide During Show so the icon isnt visible during the presentation. You can click on play so you can see how long the song is. Lets say the song is 7.35 minutes and you only want your presentation to play for 5.15. Under fade out you can put in 5.15 and the music will fade out after 5.15 minutes. If you have a large presentation and you want the presentation to last 10 minutes then you will have to select Loop until stopped and use the fade out to stop after 10 minutes. Now you have your slides and your music so the next step is to record your time for your slide show. On the ribbon click on Slide Show and then click on Rehearse Timings. Here you will record the slide show as you manually advance the slide and you will need to remember how much time the presentation is going to be so you can advance the slide appropriately. If the music is going to play for 10 minutes and you have 12 slides then you would need to advance each slide every 50 seconds making sure you advance to your last slide with in the ten minutes.

You may need to re-record several times before you get the timing correct. I have found that working with Power Point is like working with clay. If you get to a point where it doesnt look right but you are not sure why, just start over and if you need help, just call me.

Tax Changes for 2013!

Article By Newtek published in Forbes On-LineSubmitted By Beth Louque: With the New Year come some important payroll updates affecting small businesses as well as non-profits. Just like any for profit business, a non-profit with employees is responsible for Federal Income Tax Withholding as well as Social Security and Medicare taxes. 501(c)3 organizations are exempt from FUTA (Federal Unemployment Tax). The following 4 key updates and tax changes were contributed by Newtek to Forbes On-line on January 2, 2013: 1. Federal Income Withholding Tax: As of December 31, 2012 there has not been a final decision made on the 2013 federal withholding tax tables. While income tax rate increases technically take effect immediately on Jan. 1, the IRS has instructed Employers to not change anything with regard to withholding; to use the same withholding tables that have been used for 2012. As a result, most American workers are not expected to immediately suffer an increase in income taxes, even if political leaders have failed to reach a deal. 2. Social Security: 2013 Social Security Wage Base has increased to $113,700, an increase of $3,600 from the 2012 wage base of $110,100. As in prior years, there is no limit to the wages subject to the Medicare tax; therefore all covered wages are still subject to the 1.45% tax. 3. Medicare: In 2013 taxable Medicare wages paid in excess of $200,000 are subject to an extra 0.9% Medicare tax that will only be withheld from employees wages. Employers will not pay the extra tax. 4. Expired Payroll Tax Cut resulting in 2% more in employee social security tax withholding As of December 31, 2012, the Payroll Tax Cut expired. This cut reduced payroll taxes by 2%. The 2012 FICA tax rate was 4.2% for employees and 6.2% for employers under the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. Bills currently being considered in Congress may change this but until Congress acts to further extend the 4.2 percent rate, the employee rate will withhold based on 6.2% with paychecks beginning in January 2013. The 2013 FICA tax rate, which is the combined Social Security tax rate of 6.2% and the Medicare tax rate of 1.45%, will be 7.65% for 2013 up to the social security wage base. The maximum social security tax employees and employers will each pay in 2013 is $7,049.40. This will be an increase of $2,425.20 for employees and $223.20 for employers. The employer rate remains 6.2 percent. The Medicare rate, also matched by the employer, is unchanged at 1.45 percent and applies to all wages.

How to wash windows in the winter

By Sure Bright Janitorial Services Many people already know the best time to wash your windows is in the spring and fall but sometimes due to heavy rain or sleet they need cleaning in the winter after the temperature has plummeted. Washing windows in the winter may seem impossible if the temperatures are below freezing. You can still get your windows clean with little effort without worrying about your cleaning spray freezing. Needed Supplies:

One cleaned spray bottle Windshield washing fluid (choose one that is for below freezing) Squeegee Paper Towels

Fill a spray bottle with two parts windshield cleaner to one part watermix well. Spray the window with cleaning solution so that is evenly covered but not dripping. Start at top, bring the squeegee down the window . Work from left to right, wipe any excess cleaner from the squeegee with a

paper towel after each pass.

Wipe in tight corners and around the edges with paper towels. Wipe until the window is completely dry to avoid streaks.

New Years Resolution

By Dan Rose Happy 2013 from the Volunteer Action Center! The New Year is a great time to start over and re-evaluate some old habits. As I was making my own resolutions for 2013, I started to wonder how many people actually participate in this annual New Years activity. So I did some research and here is what I have found: 45% of Americans make them. 8% of people making a resolution will be successful. 39% of people who were successful in their resolution are 30 and under. 14% of people who were successful in their resolutions are over 50. 46% of people will give up in less than two weeks time. Sobering news for those of us that have made resolutions! While researching this I also learned the top ten New Years Resolutions that were made in 2012. The University of Scranton along with the Journal of Clinical Psychology did a field study of people who made New Years Resolutions in 2012. Here are their findings: Lose weight Get better organized Spend less, save more Enjoy life to the fullest Exercise and eat better Learn something exciting Quit smoking Help others fulfill their dreams Fall in love Spend more time with family By now you may be wondering why I chose to write my VAC article about New Years Resolutions. The reason - the VAC can provide you with opportunities to accomplish at least 8 of the top ten New Years Resolutions. Volunteering is a great way to help others fulfill their dreams. It is one of the easiest ways to give something back to somebody else, without costing a dollar spend less, save more! If you are looking to spend more time with your family the VAC actually has a volunteer opportunity in November just for families to volunteer together! If learning something new is one of your resolutions, then what better way to learn something new than volunteering with an organization that does something different than what you are accustomed to doing? Studies also show that people who make time in their schedules to volunteer, are better organized and better time managers. And volunteering offers you the PERFECT way to enjoy life to the fullest for there is no greater reward than helping those most in need in our community. And who knows, while volunteering you may just meet the person of your dreams and fall in love. If not, we are sure you will be so busy with your new volunteer experience that you will lose weight. So check us out on line or by calling. Let us help you explore new possibilities! Our Health helps 50+ organizations find volunteers every day. We dont just offer you a chance to volunteer, but a chance to experience true good will to others. We would love to help you find a place where you can make a difference in 2013 and beyond!

Quote for the day

Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.
By William Shakespeare

VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP CIRCLE 2013 CALENDAR

DATE:
January 23, 2013 February 20, 2013 March 13, 2013 April 23, 2013 May 15, 2013

EVENT:
Volunteer Leadership Circle Webinar on the Volunteer Hub Eagles Board Room 12:00pm to 1:30 pm, Lunch Provided Volunteer Leadership Circle VAC Office 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Bring Your Own Lunch Volunteer Leadership Circle VAC Office 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Bring Your Own Lunch Training Subject TBD and Shockey Award Eagles Board Room 12:00 pm to 1:30 PM, Lunch Provided Volunteer Leadership Circle VAC Office 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Bring Your Own Lunch

June July August September 18, 2013

BREAK Volunteer Leadership Circle VAC Office 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Bring Your Own Lunch

October 23, 2013

Training Subject TBD Eagles Board Room 12:00 pm to1:30 pm, Lunch Provided

November 20, 2013

Volunteer Leadership Circle VAC Office 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm, Bring Your Own Lunch

December

BREAK Recipe: Buckeye Candies

by Trina Funkhouser

1 Cups of Peanut Butter 1 Cup Soft Butter Tsp Vanilla Extract 6 Cups Confectioners Sugar 2 Packs of dipping Chocolate Tooth Picks and Wax Paper

In a mixer cream together on medium speed the butter and peanut butter. When creamy add the vanilla. Slowly add your sugar then roll dough into small balls and place them in a container and put them in freezer for about 2 hours. Dipping Chocolate: Follow directions on package for melting. Use a toothpick to stick into the cold balls and dip into the melted chocolate. You do not completely cover the balls with chocolate as seen in the photo. Place the balls on wax paper and cool them in the refrigerator before serving.

Our Health at work

9/11 Remember - Honor - Serve at Shenandoah University

Campus Yard Sale - September 22, 2012

Make a Difference Day - October 27, 2012

Donor Appreciation Reception November 1, 2012

Family Volunteer Day - November 17, 2012

329 N. Cameron St., Suite 200 Winchester, VA 22601 Tel: 540-536-1600 Fax: 540-536-0192

The Power of Effective Teams

By Sharen Gromling Happy New Year. I hope you and your organization are off to a great start in 2013. Here at Our Health we are planning many exciting training events for our partners including some new events during National Volunteer Week. Look for e-notices to follow on these events. Many of you may know that I conduct leadership and team training programs as an adjunct member of Workforce Solutions at Lord Fairfax Community College. This gives me the opportunity to visit and meet with many different organizations throughout the year. The training that I enjoy the most and truly believe in is Effective Team Building. This two day training is based on the work of Patrick Lencioni, one of my favorite leadership authors, who wrote The Five Dysfunctions of Teams and many other team training books. Most of his books are written as a story and are very easy reads, including the one I just mentioned. I have conducted this training dozens of times in the past five years and I am always amazed at the power of the material and the transformations that can occur when members of teams really work hard to build a collaborative unit dedicated to the mission of the organization. I compare it to a row boat if all of the rowers in the boat are rowing in the same direction, then how quickly they can get to their destination. But if even one rower is refusing to row, or is rowing in a different direction, what a poisonous impact that can have on the success of the team! Another great Lencioni read is The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive. In this short read, Lencioni combines some of the strategies for effective teams with what great leaders must do to support their teams. I have summarized the strategies from both books below, but recommend that you make it a New Years Resolution to purchase and read both of these. Great teams start with a foundation of trust. This foundation is essential before the team can move forward. It is very difficult to obtain and unfortunately so easily eroded. Teams that trust one another are comfortable engaging in constructive conflict. Conflict is necessary to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to express their thoughts, opinions and ideas without fear of reprisal. Great teams commit to group decisions even if they disagree with the decision. This is because members have had the opportunity to engage in passionate debate over the issue before decisions are made. This discussion allows all members to have clarity and buy-in. Healthy organizations clarify topics such as values, strategies, goals and roles and responsibilities. Most importantly, a healthy team holds one another accountable. Accountability cannot be the sole responsibility of the team leader or director all team members have a responsibility to ensure that commitments are met by each member. Finally, organizations sustain their health by caring deeply for their employees and establishing simple structures around the way they make decisions, evaluate job candidates, manage performance and reward employees. Keeping it simple and consistent reinforces team commitment. The key to all of these strategies is communication. Lencioni believes that you cannot ever over-communicate. People learn things differently and we must make sure that we communicate through multiple means to ensure the message we intended to share is indeed the message that was received. The Our Health team looks forward to working with you in 2013 and beyond. Please let us know how we can better serve your needs. Thank you for all you and your organizations do to make this a better community in which to live and work!

Our Health a self-sustaining organization that supports the health and well being of others by connecting partners and serving community.

www.ourhealthva.org
www.facebook.com/ohwinchester https://twitter.com/OurHealthinc

The Dr. Robert G. Kendall Community Campus