Questions to Ask Before Boarding Your Pet
Spring break will be here before you know it and summer is right around the corner. If your plans include travel and Fido isn’t invited, here are a few things to consider when deciding where and who will care for your four-legged family member while you’re away....Giving Back – Funding Causes We All Care About
California Casualty has a long-held tradition of recognizing and celebrating the charitable act of giving. In fact, our company’s two highest achievements – the Carl G. Brown, Jr. Award of Excellence and the PRIDE in the Code Award – are based on how individuals give to others.
As we celebrate our 105th year, we are proud of the support we’ve provided to the affinity groups you belong to, giving back in ways that made a difference for you and the people you work with.
In 2018, we gave almost $700,000 in grants, donations, awards and sponsorships that directly benefited fire victims, aided first responder and law enforcement families, recognized school and educator achievement, thanked nurses for their caring, and helped prevent teen distracted driving.
Some of the highlights included:
- $83,000 in Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grants, benefiting high school and middle school sports programs
Plains High, MT Athletics Grant
- $76,000 in California Casualty Award for Teaching Excellence grants, in conjunction with the NEA Foundation
- $39,500 to relief funds that assisted educators, law enforcement officers and firefighters whose homes or apartments suffered damage or were destroyed in California fires
- $40,000 as part of a commitment to Impact Teen Drivers and the Create Real Impact program to end distracted teen driving
- $21,600 in Help Your Classroom grants to assist educators in funding classroom materials and projects
- $25,000 in the “Wherever Your Journey Takes You…We’ll Be There” sweepstakes, with the NEA and NEA affiliates, to promote having enough insurance coverage
- $15,300 in Music and Arts Grants
- $8,850 in Work Hard/Play Hard first responder awards
- $4,000 in Nurse’s Night Out thank you grants
Vicki Rodgers, CTA Member Benefits, receiving California Casualty’s CTA Disaster Relief Fund donation from Field Marketing Manager Norma Alfaro
Many of you may have also experienced the dedication of our Partner Relations Field Team, who presented at benefit fairs, volunteered at fundraisers and in classrooms, attended conventions and worked hand-in-hand with your group leaders explaining the power and value of membership.
One example is our Nebraska and Iowa Field Marketing Manager, Stephanie Whitmore. The executive directors of the state education associations she works with couldn’t say enough about the energy Stephanie possesses and the impressive work she does promoting group membership. They added that Stephanie is one of their best recruiters, and proves to them what a great partner they have in California Casualty.
What you may not be aware of are the countless hours and monetary donations made by our employees each year for youth sports programs, cancer research, the American Heart Association, local food banks, school supplies, holiday giving programs, comfort for homeless pets, and raising and training service animals.
Helping others is part of our DNA. Our CEO, Beau Brown, said, “The American heroes we work with give so much to help others, even in times of adversity, and we feel an obligation to say thanks by giving back in meaningful ways that let them know how grateful we are for all they do.”
TAKEAWAY:
See some of the ways California Casualty gives back to the groups we partner with at www.calcas.com/newsroom.
8 Winter Driving Tips for New Drivers
Icy roads. Traffic jams. Black ice. Snow conditions. All of these can make a parent go crazy just thinking about their teen driving in these conditions. How do you talk to your new driver about driving in the winter season? We have some easy tips to get the conversation going.
- Decrease your speed. The faster you’re going, the more room you’ll need to stop.
- Be extra careful on bridges and overpasses.
- Avoid cruise control or overdrive.
- Don’t pass snow plows – their drivers may not see you, and the roads are clearer behind them anyway!
- Turn on your lights to be more visible.
- Steer into a skid – this means if your rear wheels are going right, gently steer in that direction.
- Gently tap your brakes, if you have ABS brakes, gently apply constant pressure.
- Keep your windshield wiper fluid filled and keep your headlights clean.
These helpful ideas do not have to just be for your teen. Share with friends and family.
9 Educator Tips for Balancing Work and Home
Our Education Blogger is a public school teacher with over a decade of experience. She’s an active NEA member and enjoys writing about her experiences in the classroom.
Your personal life is yours, and it is precious. It is also necessary. Especially during winter break. There is no need to feel guilty about leaving work behind each day when you exit your classroom door. Enjoying your time outside of school makes you a better teacher. Relationships with students, parents, and colleagues may also improve when you maintain a balance between work and home. Over the years, I have learned, but not yet quite mastered, several ways to create a balance between my work life and home life.
Don’t Give Out Your Personal Information To Parents or Students
If you must communicate with parents and students outside of the school day, sign up for a social media account you can use for your classroom. Don’t give out your personal phone number, email address, or home address. Many parents and students are able to set respectful boundaries. However, there may be some parents or students who will abuse this communication privilege. This can sour your relationship with a parent or student if they continue to overuse your attempt to be “available.” You don’t want to find yourself in a sticky situation that could get you into trouble.
Keep Work At Work
Leave all of your grading and planning at school. Home should be your sanctuary, not a second office. Your family, pets, and brain will thank you for it.
Maintain Consistent Work/Office Hours
Try to arrive and leave at the same time each day. Make sure parents, students, and colleagues are aware of your daily “office hours.” Each day, I make a point to arrive no later than 7:15am and leave no later than 4:30pm. My “office hours” are 7:30-7:50am and 3:15-4:00pm. If a parent or student needs to meet with me, they know when I will be available.
Enjoy Family Time
Savor each moment you have with your own family. I love my job, and I adore my students, but I refuse to sacrifice precious time with my own family. I can never get that special time back. Grading papers, planning lessons, and returning emails can wait until the next day. So, file away those tender memories with your family without the guilt.
Protect Your Personal Social Media Accounts
Being “friends” on your personal social media with students and parents is not required. I am protective of myself and my family, so I stick to a few of my own rules for my personal social media account:
1) never be friends with a current student
2) students must be at least 13 years old (most social media services and apps require users to be 13 years old to join)
3) never be friends with a current student’s parent(s) or other family members
4) keep profile set to private
Social media can bring with it negative talk, upset feelings, and online bullying. I have no desire to get myself, or my family, involved in anything of the sort.
Don’t Check Work Email At Home
I review my work email on my school computer throughout the day, and in the moments before I shut the computer down to leave for the day. Then, I don’t check it until I arrive at school the following day. I used to have my work email synced to my personal cell phone. Big mistake. I found myself getting emotionally worked up at home about the occasional negative email from a parent or colleague. When there were “security” threats to our district email system (mostly viruses), my personal phone, along with all of my personal accounts, were at risk. Forget about sleeping when all I can think about is how I’m going to respond to the angry parent, or wondering if my phone would be affected because of a naive colleague who opened an email attachment from an unknown sender! Ditching my access to work email from home has significantly lowered my stress level (and I’ve even gotten a few more zzzz’s)!
Recruit Help
It’s okay to ask for help. Get a neighbor, a friend, a babysitter, or a grandparent to help you out at home if you need it. You aren’t superhuman! We all need a little extra support from time to time.
Be Realistic
Be realistic about what you can and can’t do. There may be nights that you won’t be able to cook dinner. That’s what delivery and take-out are for! It’s okay to bring a frozen, microwave meal for lunch (although that 5-minute cook time really eats into my lunch time). I promise, no one will judge you! Yes, it’s okay for dirty laundry to sit around in the hamper for a few days. You’ll get to it when you can.
Be Disciplined
Stick to it and mean it. If you crave more personal time, then be picky about your work hours, how you spend your time outside of school, and choosing to leave work at work. If you don’t think you can be disciplined, ask someone to help you by holding you accountable. Your partner or spouse can make sure you’re not checking work email, or bringing home papers to grade. Your best friend can check in on you to see if you’re keeping the right company on social media.
We’d love to hear from you! How do you create a balance between work and home?
This article is furnished by California Casualty, providing auto and home insurance to educators, law enforcement officers, firefighters and nurses. Get a quote at 1.866.704.8614 or www.calcas.com.