Tag: holidays

Health & Wellness 2020 Holiday Gift Guide

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I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been lucky enough to pursue a passion project within my everyday role, but have yet to share that work widely. Outside of my marketing role, I lead our Region’s Health and Wellness team, which provides resources and events for all Region employees.

The Health & Wellness team is dedicated to four pillars: Movement, Mental Health, Meals, and Mindfulness. In March, when the majority of our organization moved to working from home, our team saw the opportunity to lean in and help our teammates prioritize their wellbeing in these crazy times.

We started a weekly meeting/webinar series, called Wellness Wednesdays. We also provide a monthly newsletter with recommendations for each of our four pillars. I can’t wait to share more about all of this; but I am particularly excited to share our healthy living gift guide for the Holidays!

I scoured countless similar articles from this year and previous years, and added a few things from my own shopping list. My intention with this list was to avoid trendy items that may be more hype than truly beneficial. I also wanted to provide gifts that would be a good fit for a variety of loved ones, and for all levels of fitness and health awareness.

Many of these gifts are from Amazon or larger companies. If this list sparks an idea for a small business equivalent, that’s wonderful! My intention was to help people give gifts that will meet their loved ones where they’re at.

This year has been tough, at best, and it can be easy for health and wellness to fall to the wayside under increased stress. At the same time, this is when our bodies and minds need more care and attention.

I hope this helps your holiday shopping, or creating your own wish list! Let me know your favorites in the comments!

MOVEMENT

  • TRX GO Suspension Trainer System $130 Create intense full-body workouts anytime, anywhere. TRX anchors to any door, rafter, beam, tree, pole or post in seconds that supports 350 lbs. Use your body weight and suspension to push, pull, plank, squat, lunge, hinge & rotate.
  • FITINDEX Electric Foam Roller $50 This electric massage ball provides deep tissue trigger point therapy and myofascial release to improve mobility, flexibility, and recovery.
  • Whatfit Resistance Bands Set $24 Different color adjustable resistance bands: Yellow (10 lbs), Blue (20 lbs), Green (30 lbs), Black (40 lbs), Red (50 lbs). Each apply to different types exercise-good for toning your arms, shoulders, chest, glutes, legs etc.

MENTAL HEALTH

  • Philips Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock Options $39.95 – $169.95 Help your loved ones wake up on the right side of the bed! Inspired by nature’s sunrise, the Philips Wake-up Light uses a unique combination of light and sound to wake you in a more natural way, so you feel more refreshed.
  • Foot Spa Bath Massager $41 Give the gift of slowing down with this heating, masssage rollers, & pedicure stone. With bubble and vibration, you can rejuvinate and enjoy a spa experience at home.
  • Dohm Classic Natural Sound Machine $45 Give sleep a chance with this two speed options for adjustable tone and volume, excellently masking background noise for better sleep for children, office privacy, and soothing sound-sensitive pets.

MEALS

  • Spiralizer 7-Blade Vegetable Slicer & Veggie Pasta Maker $24 This is the perfect gadget for healthy eating that’s easy and fast to prepare. This multi-knife kitchen appliance allows you to make various veggie inspired noodles, which you can utilize as a main dish, salad, or appetizer.
  • Hello Fresh Gift Card $65 – $130 Give the gift of step-by-step recipes complete with nutritional information and fresh, pre-measured ingredients to get you whipping up delicious dinners in no time.
  • Ninja Personal Blender $59 Perfect for smoothies, juices, and sauces for meal prep. This comes with two 16-ounce cups, 2 Sip & Seal lids & 30-recipe inspiration guide. The personalized size makes blending faster and easier to clean, and also saves on dishes!

MINDFULNESS

  • Q&A a Day Journal $11 The perfect mindfulness gift for journaling beginners! This Q&A format gives daily prompts to make it easy to get in the habit of daily reflection. It has daily prompts for everyday of 5 years, so the writer can later look back on what they were thinking about in previous years.
  • Deep Sea Sand Art for your Desk $95 As the line between the office and home has been blurred or erased for many, this desktop sculpture will offer a calming and grounding focal point to help the mind slow down and stay present on busy days. This nature scape will appeal to men and women.
  • Self Care Bucket List $50 Perfect for the to-do list maker in your life who puts everyone else first. Speak their language with this deck filled with 100 helpful, self-love suggestions broken out into 3 main categories: life, love, and laughter.

The First Headline About Festive Fleet

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When deciding to leave a then-11-person organization for a Fortune 50 Company, I was most excited to see what an organization of that caliber could accomplish. What impact they could have on the communities they’re in.

I’ve been lucky to dive into that first hand, in my first quarter with Comcast, by being the Twin Cities Region lead for Festive Fleet. While I’m a woman of words, I’d rather show you just what Festive Fleet is:

Festive Fleet has given me the opportunity to empower a team of technicians and support staff to embrace the impact they’re capable of. We leverage the relationships they are building in homes every day, and asked them to nominate deserving customers for a special gift.

These are customers who are financially struggling, suffering from a loss in the family, encountering a difficult time, creating a pleasant experience for technicians in their home, or unfortunately having an unpleasant experience with Comcast.

Customers aren’t asking for these gifts, or reaching out to us with these stories. These stories are discovered by the Technician’s time in the home, and their ability to be there as a person, for a person, rather than completing a job for a customer and leaving.

I could talk for hours about the stories I read while choosing the 35 customers from the Twin Cities area to receive gifts. 

The only issue is, no one knows we do this.

While I was interviewing for Comcast, I didn’t think of Festive Fleet. I thought of many of the headlines that are probably racing through your mind now.

I decided to set up Google Alerts for Comcast so I could learn the company, but also keep tabs on the outside impression. I still read it everyday; it’s not always the most uplifting email, especially recently.

Today's Update, 12/18

But when I was about a week into my new role at Comcast, it was a different headline that made me pause. One from the Region VP down the hall, who I now often talk to while making coffee.

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Also new to his role in the Twin Cities Region, I was excited to see we were the first to admit where we have gone wrong, and also the first to bet on this team.

I have no desire to have my point of view outweigh these other headlines, rather I hope to capture the side of Comcast that no one hears about- the family that always puts the customer first.

Like peeling layers of an onion, I keep discovering new programs available to employees and customers, and new coworkers to connect with.

I was inspired by Internet Essentials, which offers low-cost Internet service, discounted computer equipment, and free digital literacy training to families with children in the National School Lunch Program. This was then expanded to eligible seniors and community college students in limited markets.

It’s solutions like these that motivate me to find creative solutions, because this fast-paced industry doesn’t allow time to say the words, “This is the way it’s always been done.”

Still, Comcast isn’t perfect. It’s a work in progress, an organization embracing new practices and priorities, and ensuring that cascades down to every single individual. And outside of an 11-person organization, there will be customer experiences and decisions that are out of my control. That’s difficult for a scrappy mind to accept.

So instead of being on the sidelines, I’ve used my scrappiness to make the Twin Cities Region close-knit and I’ve seen how this 159,000 person organization can still build partnerships across departments and regions. I’ve learned from collaborative leaders who are focused on a bigger picture that’s rooted in customer experience.

I’ve shared my experiences with others, and no longer hesitate when saying, “I’m a Marketing Specialist at Comcast” as I did my first week. Whatever reaction that brings, it’s just another opportunity to share why I am so proud to say #IAmComcast.  

 

 

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Give Not Get

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At some point in the holiday season, despite all the decorations and upbeat music, it’s not uncommon for many to think I hate this. 

The crowded stores, searching for that perfect gift, and the stress of planning can set in for even the most spirited souls. Although there aren’t too many ways to fix this, we can avoid it.

Focusing on gifts that stray away from the material may be the key to putting the happy back in the holidays-

Screen Shot 2014-12-26 at 6.03.42 PM1. Fair Enough- Make your purchases count with sites like Ten Thousand Villages, which celebrate community arts and handmade goods while being completely Fair Trade. Items like this Mosaic Menorah ensure that every gift will be one of a kind and one to remember.

2. Wear it on your sleeve- Although Alex and Ani bracelets may be all the rage, Bead for Life allows you to support Ugandan women that make jewelry in their community. If sustainable jobs aren’t enough, the beads are easy on the environment as well!

3. Make it an experience– Skip the box and say it with a dayyoga coupon on the calendar. In an age of busy and busier, taking time of out your schedule is much more meaningful than taking your card out of your wallet. I’ve done this with special yoga classes with my mom, sushi dinners with my sister, and concert tickets for my parents’ 30th anniversary.

4. Cheers to that- turn beer to food, and food to good. Yes, with Finnegans beer you can support the Finnegans Community Fund, which purchases fresh produce from local farms. They then donate the produce to food shelves, giving meals to those who need it most. College kids, rejoice!

5. Share your light- As a candle-enthusiast, these are some of my favorites. Man-Cans are candles that are made in soup cans, after the soup is donated to a local food bank. The scents are targeted towards men, but don’t worry, they also have a line of SheCans. These add inspirational words below the label, like She Can Be fearless, which you can match to the receiver of this wonderful gift.

Wishing you the happiest of holidays!