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Gift Giving for Good: Cool gift ideas from organizations making a difference

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Buy something that your person will love, while also giving love back to the community. Shop for gifts at these nonprofit organizations. There are a few national ones and a list of Baltimore organizations. Like shopping local, this is a way to spend your money to align with that is most important to you. All offer online shopping unless specified differently. Organization Name and Link Gift Items Sold National Nonprofits Rails to Trails Conservancy Get great gear! Support the trails you love. Equal Justice Initiative  Shirts, books and more for social justice. Smithsonian A lot of everything, just like the museums. Unicef Beautiful hand-crafted artisanal gifts  Sierra Club “Adopt” a wild animal! Get a stuffed version and a booklet about the animal, an adoption certificate, fun animal facts, a sticker sheet, and a map of American wildlife. Baltimore Nonprofits Baltimore Clayworks Beautiful ceramic items in their brick and mortar or online shop; also can purchase a gift card for a class
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Professional Development Offerings

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Uplift- Clarify- Thrive with Professional Coaching-- *NEW* Service Offering

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Giving LOVE to your wellness!

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Happy Valentine's Day! 💕 On this Valentine's Day, whether you are happily coupled, not so happily coupled, happily single, single and looking or whatever else,  why not adopt Valentine’s Day for your own wellness?   More and more, like many of you, “wellness” has been on my mind. From the perspective of a management consultant working with people in organizations, I see, hear and feel your stress. For all the tragedy and hardship of the pandemic, wellness, work-life harmony and acknowledgement of mental health has taken a forefront and I am grateful for that for all of us.   I humbly reach out to you as someone also working on my own wellness - gratitude, relaxation, fitness, joy and mindfulness. Below are some resources for you. A quick note - I’m excited to start a certificate program this week through Cornell University’s online program in wellness, focusing on organizations and their people. More to come as I incorporate this further into my consulting work and partn
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Hybrid Work: Let's Make it Successful For You and Your Team

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I LOVE working from home! I miss the office… but my dog will be lonely! My kids are still home - how can I balance this? I can do all of my work easily from home! I need the office environment to keep me focused. I’ve heard all of these and more. We all have feelings around this transition. There is definitely an element of stress in returning to the office, as well as excitement. For the sake of camaraderie, team spirit, Zoom fatigue and that real life interaction makes a difference, we will likely need to be in the office at least some of the time. At the same time following the pandemic, many organizations are becoming more comfortable with their teams working from home and many employees like that arrangement. Given this, many of us will see a hybrid work schedule in our futures, if not already.  A few things to consider for your team with a hybrid work schedule: Communication - Be explicit about the policies and options for your team. Clarify about shared desk/office space, ensur
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Planning in 2021 Brings Peace

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It's 2021, while enthusiastic, we are still grappling with unknowns😕, but we are ready to get things done. We have some experience under our belts with this pandemic and will navigate better. I have heard, “My people are too stressed to plan.” Yes, your people are still stressed, this is true. With a clear process, good leadership and realistic targets, planning can decrease stress. Planning helps your team have guidance and reassurance. Let your team know:       > What the intentions are and that the plan is flexible due to the unknowns.       > A ssure them that the organization is “people first” and will put the treasure of their                               talent   first and will focus on their well-being. Planning Tips Below are some fundamentals in a time with continued uncertainty.         It is often helpful to bring in an outside facilitator to assist teams with planning and goal setting. This is one of our strengths at KS Solutions Consulting (virtually or in
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Self Care: Just Do It

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"Massage for Kate- paid for" popped up on my calendar last week. I felt a wave of euphoria and gratitude come over me! Then a little bit of, "Do I have time? Should we be spending the money?" It is fair to say that historically, I have stunk at self-care. My husband knows this, which is why he scheduled and paid for my massage (he goes monthly for a massage and is much better at self care all around).So I have no room to be sanctimonious but want share methods I have found to be helpful, for me or others. And maybe to kick my own butt into gear... I used to think self-care was mostly woo-woo stuff-- just an excuse not to work hard. But now, finally, in my mid-life, I get it. It is wellness and self preservation. It is also how we enjoy our short time on this earth. I fully appreciate the younger folks who have come along with this life balance thing already figured out. I speak to clients regularly who share their stress, frustration and/or lack of life balance an
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