The Recent Trend in Employee Benefits

The latest trend in employee benefits is a shift towards more personalized and flexible offerings that cater to the needs and preferences of individual employees. This trend is being driven by several factors, including the growing importance of work-life balance, the rise of the gig economy, and changing demographics in the workforce.

One example of this trend is the increasing popularity of "cafeteria-style" benefits plans, which allow employees to choose from a menu of options to create a personalized benefits package. This can include options such as health insurance, retirement plans, and wellness programs, as well as more unconventional benefits such as pet insurance or paid time off for volunteering.

Another trend is the focus on mental health and well-being. Many companies are recognizing the importance of supporting employees' mental health and are offering benefits such as access to counseling services, mindfulness and meditation programs, and flexible work arrangements.

Finally, companies are also recognizing the importance of financial wellness and are offering benefits such as student loan repayment assistance, financial planning services, and access to low-interest loans.

Overall, the latest trend in employee benefits is a move towards more personalized, flexible, and holistic offerings that reflect the changing needs and priorities of today's workforce.

The Pittsburgh North Regional Chamber offers its members access to My BenefitAdvisor as a solution for employee benefits, including voluntary offerings. For more information about My BenefitAdvisor, visit our website at www.chamberchoice.net or contact Craig Pritts at (800) 377-3539.

Your Chamber membership is a valuable business tool that is complemented by our Affinity Program partners who help you to save time and money. Save on everything from payroll to energy and you don’t have to spend your valuable time researching - your Chamber has done it all for you!

Nonprofit Name: Team Fishguy Transplant Foundation

Mission: To support transplant patients, donors, and their families while raising awareness for organ donation.

What impact does your organization wish to make in the world?

Team Fishguy Transplant Foundation was formed after Bill Hutz (The Fishguy) received his gift of life. He was on the transplant list for almost three years. Thanks to his wife’s ex-husband’s sister, he recently celebrated his Kidney Transplant 5th Anniversary! The expenses were outrageous but because of support and volunteer efforts, his financial expenses were covered.

Our impact is two-fold. As a small grassroots nonprofit, we seek to help donors and families with expenses not covered by insurance. Our contributions range from lost wages to airfare, rent, and hotel stays. Our goal is to reduce the financial burden of organ donation. Our FUNraisers include an annual Night at the Races and the famous wintertime Drive-In Purse Bash at Starlight Drive-In Theater. Attend one of our events and see how Paint Sticks help us raise large sums of money.

We want to ensure every recipient receives a needed organ in a timely manner. We hold awareness events throughout the year encouraging people to sign up as organ donors on their driver’s license. Pennsylvania is not an automatic renewal state so each time you renew your Driver’s License, you must re-register to be an organ donor. Team Fishguy Transplant Foundation also supports living donors for kidney and liver patients.

Family Fun Night –

Wednesday, July 26 at Mars-Bethel Golf (next to Mars HS) from 6-9pm Night at the Races – Saturday November 18 at Vagabond Event Center in Butler Comedy Night – Spring 2024

What needs would help your organization to put your mission into action?

Every fundraiser and awareness event comes with a cost. We depend on sponsors of all sizes to offset these costs. We can only achieve our mission with the assistance of generous donations and volunteers from members of our community. Volunteers are the backbone of our organization.

Team Fishguy Transplant Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving transplant families since 2018.

Safer Driving in Summertime and Beyond

Entering the busy summer driving season is a perfect time to think about ways of being a safer driver. Although vehicles have more safety features than ever before, drivers still need to be active participants in the driving experience. I have condensed the major defensive driving models into the following two letter acronym “AS”. “A” stands for Awareness. A defensive driver practices situational awareness to identify possible hazards. You aim high in steering and are looking at least twelve seconds down the road. You also are keeping your eyes moving so you can get the big picture as to everything that is going on around you. You should be checking your mirrors constantly to be actively perceiving potential hazards and formulating contingency plans to react to those hazards.

The major interference with Awareness is the omnipresent distracted driving. According to a recent National Highway Safety Administration study: Six percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2019 were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. Nine percent of drivers 15 to 20 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted. Distracted driving is comprised of three categories. Visual distracted driving is when you take your eyes off of the road. Manual distracted driving is when you take your hands off the wheel. Finally, cognitive distracted driving is when you are taking your mind off of the driving task. Of course, the distraction can fall into several of these categories at the same time. Examples of distractions while driving include: texting, eating or drinking, applying makeup, shaving, reading, focusing on the radio or GPS, as well as being distracted by others in the vehicle, such as children or pets. Even using a hands free phone can be a distraction since you are focusing on the conversation. Keep in mind, taking your eyes off the road for five seconds at 55mph is the equivalent of driving the length of a football field blindfolded.

The “S” in the “AS” stands for Space. You must be able to react to avoid potential hazards once you become aware of their existence by managing the space around you. You have the most control of the space ahead of you. Having adequate space ahead of you gives you the ability to stop in time without colliding with the vehicle in front of you if that vehicle makes a sudden stop. You can do this by practicing the four second rule: keep a distance of at least four seconds between your vehicle and the vehicle ahead of you. This distance should be doubled in inclement weather. Moreover, you should try to maintain a space cushion around the entire perimeter of your vehicle. You can do this by changing lanes if necessary and by adjusting your speed. When switching lanes we teach another acronym “SMOG” which stands for Signal, Mirror check, Over-the-shoulder blind spot check, then Go. Most vehicles have blind spots. That is why newer vehicles come equipped with blind spot detectors, but they are meant to be a supplement not a replacement for checking your blind spots. In conclusion, until all vehicles are fully autonomous, we need to practice these and other defensive driving techniques in order to be safer participants in the driving environment!

Timothy Rogers President