John Lawrence’s message from April 20, 2020
As we enter our sixth week of working remotely, we still do not know how long we’ll need to remain physically distant from each other or from our partners, volunteers or all Iowans we serve. But we do know that we must remain socially connected and take care of ourselves – so that we are able to help others.
Last week during Second Monday Live, David Brown shared some approaches for managing stress and improving our work/home balance related to COVID-19. David is our behavioral health state specialist and says it’s important to understand what we can and cannot control. For example, we can’t control the guidance we receive from President Wintersteen or Gov. Reynolds. We have to trust that our leaders are making decisions in our best interests. But we can develop programs online or find ways to communicate virtually. We can stay connected via social media, texts, video chat or phone calls. We can use these connections as an opportunity to reach out to others, to share experiences or just talk.
We have to take care of our bodies, too. Exercise, eat healthy, take deep breaths and try to get some sleep. Get outdoors when you can, at a safe “social distance.” And don’t watch too much news coverage.
You can learn more about this topic – as well as what to do if you are quarantined – by watching the archive of David’s Second Monday Live presentation.
10,000 masks and counting
WOW! Congratulations! Thank you! On Wednesday, April 8, Iowa 4-H challenged members, volunteers, alumni and staff to make and donate 10,000 face masks to the people and organizations in their local communities who need them. In only nine days, the Iowa 4-H family met their goal. Now 4-H is expanding this project to encourage sewing of surgical caps and making face mask connectors.
More notes
- Goodbye … and welcome, March 2020: Please review this list of individuals who left ISU Extension and Outreach in the past month, as well as those who have joined our organization.
- Terry Maloy is retiring April 30, so we are seeking a new executive director for the Iowa Extension Council Association. This is an important role in coordinating the 100 extension councils and aiding communication between councils and ISU Extension and Outreach administration. Please share this job announcement with qualified candidates. It is a 60% FTE position.
- May 15 is the deadline to apply for tuition assistance from the summer 2020 Vice President for Extension and Outreach Tuition Assistance Program. County-paid and ISU-paid extension employees may apply for the program, whether taking credit courses from Iowa State, a community college, a private institution or other accredited public institution.
- Remember to check our Professional Development website for eLearning resources, including upcoming and archived webinars and other learning opportunities from our Professional Development team, Iowa State and Cooperative Extension.
- Advancement has created several branded Zoom virtual backgrounds (listed under “electronic” templates) to use if you are speaking with clients and would like to keep your home office location private.
- A new video PSA promoting Iowa Concern is available. Please share as appropriate. The video complements an audio PSA and newspaper ad that were created earlier this month.
— John D. Lawrence
Iowa State University Vice President for Extension and Outreach