Highlighting UCA’s Self-Assessment Benefit

It’s been an exciting year so far for Unified Caring Association (UCA) members.  Now that Spring is here, we are in full swing with major new benefits!  If you are checking your inbox, you may have gotten the news that UCA has partnered with the adventurous organization of “Dear God, Are We There Yet” to bring global virtual volunteer opportunities to our members.  Additionally, we rolled out the exciting new benefit of Pet Wellness and Insurance Plans through Wagmo!  You can read more about that in the article 3 Reasons Why Pet Wellness Plans are Important.

Yes, that’s right, UCA is here to support you in caring for others, including your furry friends!  But we don’t stop there.

We know how hard it can be to put forth your best effort to support the people, causes, and pets that make up your community of caring.  That’s why we specialize in helping you care for yourself too.  Have you ever heard the saying, “You can’t give from an empty cup”?  Well, there is merit to that statement, and we’ve got you covered. 

You may be wondering if you are “good” at self-care. And, that is a great place to start. Why not take your self-care assessment to kick off your journey of filling your cup?  The best part of the assessment is making 3 self-care goals and assigning an accountability partner!  

UCA self-assessment sample

One of UCA’s members shared,

“When I took the assessment, one of my goals surprised me.  Sure, eat well/get more exercise and meditate for 10 -15 minutes every day being on my list were pretty predictable.  But, it was my first goal which surprised me, and even more surprising that it was my first goal.  I wrote “Buy myself new clothes.”  I was honestly surprised at my honesty. It seemed so selfish and unapologetic. Then I thought about it more and read the secondary part to the goal (how I plan on fulfilling it). I recognized the sincerity coming from my inner voice. I said I would put aside money every week to save to be able to buy new clothes. I must really want this for myself!  And it was true. Usually when I bought new clothes it was for my kids — probably a common thing for parents. 

What I gained about this is self-care is about at least recognizing my personal wants and needs, and making a plan of how to fulfill them.  By doing that, it keeps me out of a place of feeling lack.  It helps me to plan for attainment and an abundant life.”

For UCA members that have already taken the self-assessment, we want to hear what you learned. Contact us here (write in the subject line “self-care assessment”) to share how taking this assessment may have surprised you and changed how you look at your self-care. Can’t wait to hear about it!

If you are not yet a member of Unified Caring Association, join us! There are so many benefits for memberships that start as low as $15 per month.

We invite you to discover inspiring and effective ways to care for yourself and to serve others.  Now more than ever, caring is what we all need most. Caring for our self.  Caring for others around us.  Life now demands caring, resilience and compassion like never before.  So, become a Custodian of the Caring Movement and help create the world we need right now, the world we want for our future generations.

UCA resources available to help include the Turbulent Times Resources Center, Virtual Volunteering, radio show, publications and online store offering members huge discounts and always free shipping.

Caring Scholarships – A Platform for Young Voices

Caring Scholarships A Platform for Young Voices

Unified Caring Association (UCA) holds scholarship contests throughout the year. As of this month UCA has awarded over 100 scholarships to caring students. These students are all ages across the U.S. These essays are a platform for young voices to express their ideas and experiences which brings more caring into the world. UCA designed this scholarship program to both reward kids for caring while also encouraging their kind heartedness and supporting their advancement in education. 

The Essays

UCA’s nationwide and program specific scholarships are created to reward students who write short, 500-word, essays based on the prompt question provided. Some examples are:

-How do you plan to live a life that promotes peace and Unity? How will you create the journey to fulfill this purpose?

-If you were the President of the United States, what would you do to promote Peace and Unity?

-How can caring and kindness be implemented more in your personal life and in your school?

-If you were the “Caring Ambassador” at your school, what would you do to inspire other students to be more caring?

The essay entries are scored on a caring rubric that differs from a traditional academic rubric. This allows students who may not typically be awarded scholarships to be celebrated and awarded for their unique talent of caring and kindness.

Previously Awarded Scholarships

Below is a list of our previous caring scholarship topics. These topics have inspired hundreds of applicants to share their caring thoughts, actions, and creative solutions to help bring more caring into the world today.

Who Loves These Caring Scholarships?

School guidance counsellors, teachers and students warmly embrace our scholarship program. As the students write beautiful, unique essays on the topic of caring they engage their caring intelligence and are reminded of the importance of kindness. We find that our scholarship entrants touch hearts with their caring essays. It is so hard to choose the winners!

Want to read an example? Here is one of our previous winners who fills our hearts with joy!

Sarah Cline

“Genuine kindness is one of the most valuable traits a person can possess. Having real concern for those around you and caring about how they feel makes you stand out among everyone else. Nothing makes me feel better or lifts me up more than when someone goes out of their way to make me feel good and let me know they care about me. It is so important to treat people with kindness and respect, but this unfortunately is something that people forget to do all too often.

I was sixteen years old when, terrified, I was forced to move from my home in a small town in northwest Ohio to the city of Kaysville, Utah. Before this, I had rarely left the safety of the town I grew up in and leaving it for good was a rude awakening. The culture shock was brutal and my shy, quiet nature made it difficult for me to find friends in a place where I felt like an outsider. Starting over at a new high school was one of the most difficult experiences of my life. However, it eventually became one of the best because of the kindness I was shown by a few very special people. They became my friends, made me feel at home, and showed that they truly cared about me. They made me feel included, wanted, and even loved. The kindness they showed me during a really difficult time will stay with me for the rest of my life.

This experience taught me a valuable lesson. Life is hard when you are alone and don’t feel cared about. It makes everything difficult when you are struggling with feelings like these. However, even the smallest things can make a huge difference. A kind word or a simple question can change how someone feels. Caring and kindness can be incorporated more in everyone’s lives and in schools just by people making a decision to be more open, talk to someone, give them a smile, ask them how they are doing, be their friend. Be aware of who may need someone in their life or who may need to be shown some kindness and friendship.

Kindness and caring can be implemented by venturing out of cliques and going out of your way to make someone feel included. It can be implemented by inviting someone to eat lunch with you. It can be done by talking to someone new in class instead of only conversing with the friends you already have. It can be done standing up to a bully and standing up for someone in need. People need to be aware of their peers and be willing to reach out and make new friends. There were many times during that first year at my new school when just one person’s kind personality made my day better.  Kind acts, big and small, change lives. It only takes a little mindfulness and a little courage to go out of your comfort zone to be kind and show someone you care.”

Want to read more about UCA scholarship winners and get an extra dose of positivity on you news feeds? Read other caring scholarship blogs, scholarship blogs on gratitude, and or follow us on social media: Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram. We are looking forward to sharing more with you!

Lifetime Membership

Lifetime Membership

Unified Caring Association (UCA) has been sharing caring news and resources with our members since 1987. We love supporting and sponsoring caring projects that reflect values that C.A.R.E. (Children, Animals, Reforestation, and Elderly). As we grow, we add more to our products and services, like our health and fitness tools, Caring Community online store, community resources, and scholarships! We are always  listening to what our members are looking for most to select our next caring addition. This time, the addition is all about flexibility in membership options. We are proud to present the newest membership option: UCA’s Lifetime Membership.

Ask, Listen, and Receive

UCA’s new Lifetime Membership option is a response to our members’ changing needs through their adult life.  When many members needed to reduce their benefit selection, we began asking if each member would prefer to remain a part of the membership community at a base level of benefits. The overwhelming answer was “YES!”  So, we have introduced the new Lifetime Membership option to provide the flexibility to meet life’s needs and be as active as desired without worrying about monthly charges.

A great way to see if being a part of this quietly building caring community of over 150,000 people is with the basic $15 month-to-month membership.  Members sign in to their secure area of UnifiedCaring.org to access a wide array of benefits. These benefits include: self-care, care for family and pets, community connections, savings on a vast array of online purchases, sponsorship of caring impactful projects, positive and inspiring news, and access to a whole bunch more benefits that keeps growing with members’ needs.  

With society’s need to grow caring children, take care of our communities, and equally importantly to take of ourselves over a lifetime, the new Lifetime Membership option of a one-time $99.95 forever purchase. This lifetime membership keeps our members connected to the mission and benefits so needed today and tomorrow.

Our membership is diverse across the U.S.  There is one thing common to the vast majority of those wanting to join and stay a part of the association. Our members want to find ways to live a healthier life and have an impact as a community to put caring into action. If they can do both plus receive assistance in reducing expenses or getting access to products and services with big savings, then “all the better value.”

Stop by UnifiedCaring.org and check out our membership benefits summaries.  We hope to see you join our community soon.

We love sharing UCA caring news and resources, research, and caring acts in our community through our website and blogs. Or would like to receive more Unified Caring Association caring notes throughout the week? Follow us on: Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Twitter! We are looking forward to sharing more with you, our caring community!

It All Starts With Self-Care.

One of the first things we can do to care for others is to care for ourselves. It is really difficult to be of service to others if you are not caring for yourself. This feeling is like standing up with one leg buckling beneath you. Self-care is a pillar we can build upon, and Unified Caring Association has many tools to promote and aid in self-care health.

The UCA website has a section under Member Benefits that has resources for self-care. There is a wonderfully easy and insightful self-assessment tool we created to help you learn where you are strong and where you might need to improve to be healthier and happier. There is also access to the Personal Well Being Survey™ designed by the HeartMath Institute. This survey gives you an idea of your stress management techniques and general level of your well-being at the current moment. Once you have an idea of where you are now, it is easier to decide on tools for where you would like to be heading next.

Our Unified Caring Association website provides links to resources that provide fitness and nutrition tools for our members to enjoy. (Keep an eye open for those membership discounts on these types of products!). Another part of self-care is the the health of your mind. Unified Caring Association has a portion of it’s self-care resource section dedicated to many kinds of meditation and mindfulness activities. These tools help you relax and feel rejuvenated, find inner peace, and support your inner healing. All of these can help inspire and spur you on with your new healthier lifestyle choices and much more! Wheew, so many resources to help you take care of yourself!

Earlier we mentioned it is important to take care of yourself so you can take care of others as well. So why is this so important? “Self-care means paying attention to and supporting one’s own physical and mental health … But, it’s also one of the first things to fall by the wayside in times of stress, especially for those who are primary caregivers.”

(https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/self-care-4-ways-nourish-body-soul-2017111612736) Self-care is important so that you can continue to be effective and energetic in all aspects of your lives, including taking care of your self-esteem, self-efficacy, maintaining and building relationships with friends and family, and so much more.

Once you have taken steps to care for yourself, caring for others becomes easier and more sustainable because you have more band-width, energy, and fortitude to care for others. We love to see people diving into self-care, because it means that there are  more caring acts happening in the world. We can all agree that more caring and positivity in the world is a great thing!

Want to read up on more ideas to promote caring acts? Check out our Caring Challenge Recap and check out our other blogs like Caring Through the Gift of Time.

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