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Image by JP Marton, UVM Custodian - Dudley H. Davis Center
Welcome back to the weekly COVID-19 resources bulletin for staff, created by the Staff Council office. This past week we were honored to receive a kind note from essential staff member JP Marton. He writes:
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"Your Newsletter gives me encouragement during this otherwise uncertain -scary time in the world. It is remarkable, and to me like a miracle, that UVM has turned the COVID-19 crisis into a period of time we can all manage and get through as a community. You send us positive messages of resilience; that even though our workplace and lives have drastically changed, we share an unbreakable bond of fellowship (an esprit de corps!) here at the University of Vermont. A bond that will see our Students, Faculty, and Staff back here on this beloved campus.
I am a member of the UVM Custodial. We are here on campus Monday thru Friday as requested to keep the buildings clean and sanitized against the virus. I am proud to be serving UVM in this way.
We are proud to be UVM Strong.
Thank you for inspiring us."
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JP said he'd also like to give a special shout-out to both his supervisor, Domebera Somda, and his Davis Zone Maintenance colleagues.
We here in the Staff Council Office would like to send our whole-hearted gratitude to all of UVM's essential staff who have remained working on campus each day during this pandemic. The word "essential" doesn't adequately capture how valued you are by this community. We bow to you — thank you!
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As ever, for a full list of all the resources we've featured so far, check out this index (PDF), organized by topic, which we update every week. Please feel welcome to submit resource suggestions to us at staff.council@uvm.edu.
We're in this together!
- UVM Staff Council Office
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As ever, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM) maintains a valuable hub of information related to COVID-19. It includes all the relevant UVM communications and policies, and links to a number of excellent external sources of information.
Additionally, Human Resource Services hosts a variety of helpful resources, including:
They also invite you to contact Labor and Employee Relations directly with questions at uvmler@uvm.edu.
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Two weeks ago, the UVM Staff Council shared a link (available on an ongoing basis - linked button is below this article) for you to anonymously share your thoughts about how you're doing during the pandemic. Since then, we've heard from 80+ staff members.
We want you to know that we brought a selection of these comments to President Garimella. He then asked us to send him all of the responses, which he shared with HRDMA leadership. We hope you feel encouraged that top leadership in administration is taking your experiences—both positive and negative—seriously.
Here are a couple of our answers to a few more questions that came through in your responses:
Q&A
Q: I am worried about the commitment to reopening campus for Fall 2020. Admin seems very confident that it is what we plan to do -- but I worry that is foolhardy and risky. I hope when the time comes, we are able to take a good look at the reality of bringing thousands of students from all over the country back to our small enclave.
A: (If you haven't yet read or watched the recent communications about reopening from President Garimella, you'll find those here.)
Obviously, it's hard to answer this question definitively. It's difficult to predict the future in a situation where any individual organization is not able to fully control all the factors affecting it. However, the President made it clear that all decisions and plans are being made with experts in in their fields, and are being based on what we know right now. It's safe to assume that if "what we know right now" changes, the plan will change too.
You may want to check out the members of the UVM Fall 2020 Advisory Committee who are working on developing all contingency plans.
It's also worth noting that even before the pandemic situation arose, Staff Council had been working on a proposal to formally expand telecommuting. We're gathering data right now from this "accidental" trial run, with hopes that it will provide a wealth of information about the pros and cons of both exempt and non-exempt staff working remotely.
Q: Do you have Information on meals for students during the summer who cannot return home?
A: There are several great resources with information about this:
- UVM's COVID-19 FAQ recommends students apply for 3SquaresVT benefits. They can apply online — special details are considered for college students. Refer also to Vermont Foodhelp, a resource guide for 3SquaresVT.
- The City of Burlington’s COVID-19 Food Access Resources has information and links to programs and food shelves in the area.
- All food pantries on campus have been consolidated to UVM’s Rally Cat’s Cupboard Food Pantry at Hills 016 (behind Marsh Life Sciences Building). Use the Carrigan Drive entrance and call (508) 335-3744 if assistance is needed. For the latest information on when their hours are, check out the Rally Cat's Cupboard Facebook page and UVM Dining's Instagram account.
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From the UVM Health Network:
Cloth masks help protect our community from the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) and our health care workers thank you! To show them your commitment to flattening the curve, send your mask selfies, notes of gratitude and words of hope to our doctors, nurses, and staff on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. They're working tirelessly and selflessly to care for and protect those in need. Let our health heroes know you're thinking of them, appreciate them and value their help.
Post your message or photo of gratitude using this link and we'll make sure they see them.
Now, more than ever, your thank you matters.
#ThanksHealthHeroes
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This past Wednesday, UVM Continuing and Distance Education held a webinar called "Perspectives on Early and Middle Level Education in Disruption." If you missed it, no problem - you can watch the video recording of it on UVM's YouTube channel.
More about the webinar:
Parents are working overtime to support their children as schools have closed due to the Coronavirus pandemic and learning turned remote. Many parents are left questioning how does one support early and middle level learners successfully? A panel of University of Vermont educators and regional teachers provides information for parents to help their children continue to learn and be supported in a remote learning environment.
Panelists included:
Jessica DeMink-Carthew, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor, Middle Level Education Program Coordinator, University of Vermont Department of Education
Juliet L. Halladay, Ph.D. - Associate Professor, University of Vermont Department of Education
Hannah Luce, M.Ed. - 1st grade teacher at Cambridge Elementary
Jeremy DeMink - 7th and 8th grade teacher at Edmunds Middle School
Moderated by Deborah Rosenfeld, Ph.D., Ed.M., Senior Research Associate, at Education Development Center
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The UVM Bookstore has created The Future Catamount Activity Book, a set of fun family activity pages. It's available to download for free from their website to help keep the kids occupied and having fun.
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Here is some more food-related information that you may find helpful (see more on the PDF index of all resources, which we update weekly):
- Burlington Leftovers is a Facebook group that shares food and meals that are otherwise going to go to waste. You do need to have a Facebook account to join the group, which is set to Private.
- Little Morocco Cafe is serving free hot soup and rice two times a week from 3 PM to 5 PM on Tuesday and Thursday. They're located at 294 N. Winooski Ave, Suite 130, in Burlington.
- Spectrum Youth & Family Services is serving lunch and dinner (to-go only) to youth and their families, Monday-Friday from 12-1 pm and from 5-6 pm at 191 Bank Street.
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From the VT Department of Health:
Being pregnant or home with an infant during the COVID-19 pandemic can be an isolating and stressful experience. Staying healthy while social distancing and remaining safe at home means families may not have their usual village of support through family, friends, and community.
These are challenging times, but you are not alone. Help is available:
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The President of the Vermont Senate, Tim Ashe, has been posting video interviews about the COVID-19 response in Vermont.
In one, he interviews Peg Gagne, Chief Nursing Officer at the University of Vermont Medical Center, asking questions like:
- In the earliest days of the crisis, what did her nurses imagine lay ahead of them?
- To what extent has that come to be, or did we avoid some of the worst case scenarios?
- How has staffing been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis?
- What's the best way for people who want to thank nurses to do so?
He has also spoken with Governor Phil Scott, interviewed Rob Meehan, Director of Feeding Chittenden (formerly the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf) as well as Mike Piecak, who is in charge of COVID-19 modeling and forecasting for the State.
Links to new interviews are posted on Facebook.
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Interrobang Design created a bunch of fun, free, downloadable badges honoring some of our, um, lesser achievements during the pandemic. They're also available as coloring pages. They range from congratulations on wearing "mostly matching socks," to kudos for knowing what day of the week it is. Enjoy awarding them to yourself and friends!
(There's also a more sensible and helpful graphic over at Gifting Owl illustrating six tips to successfully working from home.)
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- The Fletcher Free Library has a number of free online events:
- Vogue recently featured a helpful list of 7 free online creative writing courses. There are ones for adults and children, and they cover just about every kind of writing - screenplays, novels, essays, memoirs, poetry.
- You can also attend any of the Zoom-based Burlington Writers Workshops for free - all are welcome! Check out their schedule and register on Meetup.com. Being a writer is not required, just a willingness to engage in others' writing in a supportive way.
- Missing theatre and jazz? Here are a few free options:
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Each week we featured a number of organizations seeking help or donations right now. You can also check out the index of all the organizations we've featured, plus all the resources we've featured in this PDF which we update weekly.
Here are a few more:
- UVM Health Network is asking you to upload messages and photos of yourself in a cloth mask as a way of thanking frontline health workers.
- Support Buddies was launched in early April as an effort to connect senior citizens in and around Burlington with friends in the community to help them through the COVID-19 crisis. Restaurants are cooking meals for those buddies to drop off, and buddies also help seniors run errands, or simply give them a call to talk and check in. "While meals or grocery store trips can feed the body, it’s those conversations that nourish the spirit... [...] ...such connections are vital to driving out loneliness and depression in seniors." Learn more at the Heineberg Senior Center's website.
- Spectrum Youth & Family Services is asking for
- Pre-packaged food donations (ex. Go-gurt, string cheese, fruit cups, chips, snacks, etc)
- Gift cards to local grocery stores for youth and their families that are in need
- Monetary donations
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If you know of new or additional campus or community resources you'd like us to feature, please check our index of resources (PDF) to see if we've already featured it, and if not, send the information to us at staff.council@uvm.edu. And as ever, please reach out to us with any questions or concerns. We want to hear from you!
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