If you traveled or gathered with people outside your household over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, you were at higher risk of having contracted COVID-19 and could inadvertently be spreading it.
Come along for the joyride. Watch the award-winning short film “Joyride” that was recently featured in the D&I Digest.
The video is about two Latinx sisters who are enlisted by their abuelita Juana to break her out of her senior living facility for an adventure. On the journey, Juana reveals the painful family history. The film is written and directed by Edwin Alexis Gomez, a queer Nicaraguan-American multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker. Note: This films contains discussions about abuse.
What do you think of the film? Comment below.
The deadline to spend your Health Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) dollars is quickly approaching. You can spend your FSA or HRA funds on approved medical expenses including doctors’ office visits, prescription co-pays, eyeglasses, dental work and many other health expenditures.
You have until Dec. 31 to use your balance. If funds remain after Dec. 31, you may be able to rollover some of your unspent 2020 funds into 2021. Employees can carry over up to $550 into next year.
For a complete list of eligible purchases, please refer to ASI Flex.
If you are not sure how much you have left in your FSA or HRA, check your account balance through ASI Flex’s website.
Reminders:
Account(s) must be in active status at the end of the year to be eligible for rollover.
Dependent Care Flex Spending Account dollars do not roll over.
For more information on the Department of Human Resources’ Benefits division, visit their website on InSite.
Shop from your sofa this holiday season! Save money while shopping PerkSpot online for everything from groceries and décor to stocking stuffers and streaming services.
PerkSpot offers benefits and discounts through more than 400 service providers and retailers. Go to SDCounty.PerkSpot.com and shop. If you are new, click on “Create an Account” to register.
Each month, one of the most popular PerkSpot deals will be highlighted on InSite.
Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer
Holidays are all about traditions. Ones we share, and those specific to our individual families. We all find comfort in the routines.
It’s frustrating, even disorienting, to have that disrupted, as it will be this year as we continue to fight the pandemic.
I can’t sugarcoat it. The trends lately have been bad. Case numbers have skyrocketed, and just as the epidemiologists predict, we’re now seeing that turn into rising hospitalizations. We’re all thrilled by very promising news of vaccines, but they’re not here yet. For now, we’ve got to hang tough and use the measures we have available to minimize the virus’s impact.
Since it spreads from person to person, that means staying apart as much as possible. The exact opposite of what we look forward to and treasure for holidays. But the best thing you can do for family or friends outside your household this year is to celebrate separately.
Even if we have to give up on crowding around tables or football games, we can double down on the essence of the holidays. For Thanksgiving, we can draw a sharper focus on the things we’re grateful for. Each person you miss getting together with – be so thankful you have that person in your life, that you have someone that means so much to you it hurts not to see them. Let them know!
I’m full of gratitude for everyone at the County. You see what people are really made of when they’re tested. We’ve now spent the better part of a year weathering a crisis. From those I interact with directly to every one of you rising to the challenge of serving our residents under these circumstances, I can’t imagine enduring this time without you. You know how your stomach feels at the end of Thanksgiving dinner? That’s how my heart feels, ready to burst with appreciation for everything you’re doing.
I hope you share in the gratitude for such amazing colleagues and for work that gives us the opportunity to help people through an especially difficult time. And I hope even if your Thanksgiving celebration is scaled down that you still enjoy an overstuffed spirit of the day.
Thanks again so much for all you do,
There’s no safer place to shop this holiday season than from the convenience of your own couch. If you plan to shop online, be sure to visit AmazonSmile where a portion of your purchase will be donated to the San Diego County Employees’ Charitable Organization (CECO). That means buying everything from toys to technology can earn money for CECO.
AmazonSmile functions the same as Amazon, but the online retailer donates 0.5 percent of the product price of eligible purchases to a charity of your choice.
Using AmazonSmile is easy:
Go to smile.amazon.com (different from the regular Amazon link).
Sign in to your Amazon account or create one.
If it is your first visit, pick your own charitable organization. Type “San Diego County Employees' Charitable Organization” or “CECO” as your charity. You can also visit this link and CECO will already be chosen for you as your charity.
Shop as you normally would!
Bonus tip: Save the AmazonSmile link as a favorite and always shop from there.
There are several other ways to support CECO throughout the year. Make a biweekly donation via payroll deductions for as little as $2 per pay period. See CECO pledge instructions. Or you could make a one-time donation by contacting your CECO Department Representative or a member of the CECO Executive Committee.
The African American Association of County Employees (AAACE) and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Allies Employee Resource Group (LGBTQ&A) release the following statement:
The lighting of the County Administration Center (CAC) on Nov. 20 recognizes the solemn occasion of Transgender Day of Remembrance. Tragically, 2020 has already seen at least 34 transgender or gender non-conforming people killed by violent means*, the majority of who were Black and Latinx transgender women.
To honor these victims and countless others, we stand in solidarity by lighting the County Administration Center to remember each life lost. The visibility this lighting provides is a small step to bring awareness to a grim reality for one of the most vulnerable populations in our society. Transgender people also face disproportionate health disparities, harassment, and discrimination.
It is incumbent upon all of us with privilege to use our power to do more.
To learn more about intersectionality and the realities of Transgender people in the words of some of the County’s own employees, please visit this article.
For ways you can get involved, please visit these organizations:
The County Administration Center is lit up Thursday night for World Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Day. In 2020 an estimated 57,600 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the U.S.
Due to COVID-19, San Diego County Employees’ Charitable Organization (CECO) is hosting a virtual recognition event this Friday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 a.m. to honor the 2020 Grant Recipients who would have been recognized in March of this year. Join the event.
The County Administration Center was lit up in purple Tuesday night for World Prematurity Day. World Prematurity Day is observed on Nov. 17 each year to raise awareness of preterm birth and the concerns of preterm babies and their families worldwide.
