I started Sac State this week. While it is really exciting, it is also extremely nerve-racking and stressful. I walked into my first class and one of the first things the professor said to us was remember to breathe. What good, simple advice! Advice I wanted to share with you all today.

Yes, while just simply breathing is important for actual living, breathing correctly and deeply can help reduce stress, improve mood, remove toxins, increase body strength and keep you performing at your best. Keeping all SlideBelts crusaders performing at their best is always important. So here is a mid week lesson for you all on how to breathe deeply:

Reminder from Cassidy: If you're wanting to contribute to the Louisiana flood donations, they are due by end of day today! I sent out a reminder through Bamboo on Monday afternoon with instructions on how to donate right through your Gusto account, so if you didn't get that note and would like to donate, please see me and I'll walk you through it. Additionally, if you would rather donate via cash or check, those can be given directly to Navi. Don't forget, the company is matching everything we give, so no amount is too small. Thanks, team!

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - Francis of Assisi

***Reminder from Cassidy: I sent out Louisiana Flood donation instructions yesterday via Bamboo. If you didn't get the update, or if you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to stop by my desk or shoot me an email! Donations are due by end of day tomorrow!

The devastating storms that recently hit the Southeastern Louisiana region resulted in catastrophic flood damage. The storms, which have since been deemed the worst natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy in 2012, have claimed 13 lives and tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

I think there's often, and understandably, a human tendency to feel "tragedied out" - where, with so many heartbreaking things occurring worldwide, individual efforts for help can feel so inconsequential. That seems to be the case with Louisiana, where the Red Cross has said it will need an estimated $30 million for relief and rebuilding efforts, but has received just $4.4 million in donations as of last Monday.

Reading that, I realized there's so much more I should be doing personally. In addition to making a few donations to organizations on the ground, I thought this could be a great opportunity to harness the power of the incredible community we have at SlideBelts to do even more, as a collective, for the devastated people and animals of Louisiana.

That being said, Brig and Michelle have graciously offered for the company to match every dollar that we donate as employees. If you're interested in contributing, donations can be made right through your Gusto account. You can easily set a donation amount to be held out of your next paycheck (9/6) and Gusto even takes care of your W-2 reporting for you - no need to save the receipt for tax deductions next April! I'll be sending out a company-wide email later today with instructions on how to set up your donation through Gusto, so keep an eye out if this is something you're interested in contributing towards.

"No one can do everything, but everyone can do something."