The United Way of Whiteside County was the proud recipient of $1,700.50 from SBM’s Private Label Copy Paper sold in Whiteside County last year. SBM generated this donation in direct proportion to the number of cases of paper sold in the Whiteside County area.
While we have made great strides in breast cancer prevention and treatment, much remains to be done. According to the National Cancer Institute, about one in eight American women will develop breast cancer sometime in their lives, making it the most commonly diagnosed cancer after skin cancer. And, it’s the second leading cause of cancer death in American women right after lung cancer.
Since about 85 percent of breast cancer occurs in women with no family history, everyone should be vigilant (breastcancer.org).
Despite these sobering statistics, there’s still reason for hope. Contributions made to breast cancer’s Pink Campaign have made a significant difference in the lives of millions of women (and men) with generous funding for awareness, support, research, and treatment.
Go Pink in October
Since October is breast cancer awareness month, you’ll see pink everywhere – from yogurt and bottled water to jewelry and sweatshirts. Even national sports teams go pink.
Here are just some of the ways contributions help improve and save lives.
• Transportation to and from treatments – Available in many locations, simply getting to and from appointments remains a top concern. Patients are typically paired with another cancer survivor who provides a needed service along with companionship.
• Free temporary lodging for patients and caregivers – For the best cancer care, patients sometimes need to travel far from home. Contributions to the Pink Campaign help provide comfortable, safe, temporary lodging free of charge.
• Support via an 800# and online – Support and information for cancer patients, family and friends is available day and night. Having someone immediately available is especially important for the newly diagnosed.
• Advice and techniques to improve appearance – Led by volunteer beauty consultants, this service provides advice to women on how to look and feel their best during treatment.
• Guidance to assist with the health care maze – Patients and caregivers will encounter many health care questions. Specially trained assistants work with a range of treatment facilities and can offer guidance.
• Email mammogram reminder service – Annual reminder to schedule your check up.
• Newsletters and the latest information – Up-to-date research and treatment breakthroughs, inspirational first-hand accounts and guidelines.
• Non-medical financial aid – This provides basic living expenses such as car payments and utilities for a given period of time.
• Specific support for young women – Education and assistance for an often-neglected segment of breast cancer patients.
• Research into the cause, prevention and treatment of breast cancer, including new chemotherapy drugs, targeted therapies and vitamins.
• Work with lawmakers to ensure funding continues to be top priority.
Do your part to support breast cancer awareness by going pink in October. Looking for ways to show you care at work? Stop by SBM, 501 Locust St, in Sterling, Illinois. There you will find an array of pink products – paper, scissors, writing instruments, letter openers and much more. Stop by today.
The U.S. AbilityOne Commission recently notified SBM (Sterling Business Machines, Inc.) that our organization has been designated as an “Outstanding” Ability One distributor for the year 2013.
The U.S. AbilityOne Commission® is pleased to announce that Sterling Business Machines, Inc. has been recognized as an “OUTSTANDING” AbilityOne Program distributor due to your continual efforts to support the AbilityOne Program during Fiscal Year 2013.The AbilityOne Program generates jobs for individuals who are blind or have other significant disabilities through Federal Government purchases of certain products and services provided by nonprofit agencies employing such individuals.
We appreciate the effort that Sterling Business Machines, Inc. has made over the years to support the AbilityOne Program.
SBM is one of just 26 AbilityOne distributors across the entire country to earn this designation, and we couldn’t be more proud of this accomplishment.
Among the many factors that contribute to this “Outstanding” designation, including our GSA catalog and marketing efforts, we maintain that the most outstanding thing we do has little to do with our products — and more with our people.
As an AbilityOne distributor of blind-made SKILCRAFT products — we make it simple for Federal customers to learn about and order those products. But it’s the sales of those products that lends itself to a more important task: offering jobs to outstanding blind professionals.
We look forward to another year of working to be an outstanding AbilityOne distributor.
Headaches, muscle stiffness, and eye fatigue are common signs that you could work more comfortably. Keeping everyday items within easy reach is a great start to lessening strain but when your office is set up with ergonomics in mind, you’ll stay fresh longer and work more productively! See how you can make your work area more comfortable below.
The right chair makes all the difference in being comfortable all day. Choose a chair that can be adjusted for your comfort. The height should be set so that your knees are level with your hips when your feet are on the floor.
COMPUTER STANDS, ANTI-GLARE SCREENS & COPY HOLDERSHeadaches can put a damper on being productive. Set up your computer monitor so that the top of the screen is just below eye level, about an arm’s length in front of you. Copy holders are available with highlighted line guides and adjustable viewing placement. Anti-glare filters and screens will also relieve eye strain.
FOOTRESTS & BACKRESTSFootrests elevate feet and legs to relieve lower back pressure while backrests support your back and spine promoting good posture. Both can relieve pains associated with long periods of sitting.
SSoreness and fatigue in the hand, wrist and forearm is uncomfortable and preventable. Increase comfort and support and relieve pressure points with wrist rests and therapeutic gloves.
If you’ve pumped gas, used a grocery cart, or touched an escalator handrail, you’ve come into contact with a few of our most germ-ridden public places. But what about less public spots, like your office? Turns out that’s a hot bed of bacteria too. Before cold and flu season gets into full swing, let’s take a look at the top 10 germiest places at work.
1. Office phone – According to University of Arizona research, your office phone gets coated with bacteria from your mouth and hands, harboring about 25,000 germs per square inch. Yikes!
2. Keyboard and Mouse – Unavoidable and constantly touched.
3. Desktop – Most of us don’t wipe down our desktop before and after eating lunch or a snack, yet food particles can be a breeding ground. And if you place your purse or briefcase on top your desk, you’ve just added to the petri dish.
4. Fax and copier machines – While the toilet seat gets regular cleaning, have you seen anyone sanitize these recently?
5. Communal kitchen items – The communal coffee pot, refrigerator, and microwave are all laden with illness-causing germs.
6. Water cooler – The spout rarely gets disinfected and you often see people filling their already used water bottles or cups with it, sometimes touching the spout directly.
7. Shared pens – You might want to think twice about letting a co-worker use your pen. On average, surface germs lurk for up to 72 hours.
8. Common areas – Conference room armrests, doorknobs, light switches, and railings, touched by many hands and cleaned only occasionally, if that.
9. Vending machine – Beware the innocent vending machine. Fingers, money, and food – a great combination for harboring potential pathogens. Neither the vendor filling it nor the cleaning crew wipe down this germy beast.
10. Elevator buttons – There’s a reason you see people using their elbow to press their floor.
Even the cleanest person comes into contact with various bugs and bacteria on a daily basis. While frequent hand washing remains your best defense, add an extra layer of protection by using disinfectant wipes on frequently touched items and keeping a hand sanitizer available. And, just in case the bug bites, be sure to have a fresh supply of cold and flu medicine on hand. With these tips in mind, you can stay strong and healthy this season and all year long.
August. It’s the month when teachers start updating lesson plans and preparing supply lists for the fall. With shrinking budgets and increasing expectations, now more than ever educators need to stretch their dollars while continuing to enhance the learning experience. Here are a few tips that can help.
1. Be creative. Post your classroom wish list of educational games, classroom learning tools, equipment, and books at sites that match donors with teachers including Adopt-A-Classroom.com, donorschoose.org, and supplyourschools.org. In the spirit of nothing’s better than free, check out freecycle.com for gently used audiovisual equipment, posters, rolling carts and more. You may need to pick up the items, so look local first.
2. Gain parental involvement – no pressure needed! Establish one-on-one relationships with parents. Early in the year as you discuss your educational philosophy and classroom plans with them, let them know what projects you’d like to undertake, what the students will learn, and what specific supplies are required. A surprising number will step up without your asking. Another subtle technique: Post a wish list of supplies on your bulletin board or chalkboard during parent-teacher conferences that parents can read while waiting for an appointment.
3. Choose quality over quantity. In some cases, like electronics, floor mats, storage cabinets, and shelving, quality makes a difference. You’ll spend more money upfront, but save in the long run because the items will last for years.
4. Start early. Prepare your classroom wish list and your students’ supply list at the end of the year and make both available to parents. This way everyone knows what’s needed, it allows expenses to be spread over time, and lets you shop sales.
5. Talk to the staff at SBM Your office supply store manager is a valuable resource and can help you look for creative solutions to outfit your classroom and get the biggest bang for your buck. Some stores offer special teacher discounts or participate in donation programs. Let them know what you need and they will find a way to help.
May is the perfect month to begin planning for the new school year. Create your list and start shopping and saving today.
Some Great Ways To Reuse Your Supplies!
By Mary Mazzoni
Office supplies are often sold in bulk, meaning the majority of that 2,000-count box of paper clips may sit forgotten in the back of a desk. Help keep useful items from collecting dust or going to waste by finding creative ways to re-purpose office extras at home. Read on for 10 ideas we love.
At SBM we have always had a commitment to our community. We participate in numerous fundraisers and projects that contribute to the betterment of our communities. This year we added a new program that would increase the awareness of our community’s needs. So in the second half of 2012 SBM decided to use a portion of the proceeds of our sales of our private label copy paper as our means of raising funds for all United Ways in our selling area. We designed our carton labels to show commitment to this campaign. The United Way logo is proudly displayed on each carton showing the commitment SBM has to helping our local United Ways. We then had our staff promote the paper and the campaign to our existing customers. (This paper is the same great paper we have sold for years, but with a new label.)
Our customers embraced the promotion and support of their United Way. We tallied our sales and calculated the proceeds for your United Way. It is with great pleasure that we were able to present the United Way of Whiteside County with over $870 to use on office supplies, break room, and janitorial supplies from our online ordering site at www.callsbm.com. In all SBM was able to obtain proceeds for 12 are United Ways.
I don’t know about you but my desk is littered with sticky notes, even as we speak. There is not a spot in my work area that is safe from these sticky little guys. As a matter of fact, even the notes I have for this blog post can be found sitting next to my keyboard. See pic below.
Sure, no one else can read my rushed and frazzled chicken scratch. Nor can anyone understand the method at which I make out my notes. Sounds pretty unorganized right? Not to me! I honestly don’t think I would make it through the day without the use of my sticky little friends.
As much as we use the sticky note or post-it note (call it what you want), the invention of the post-it note was actually a mistake. A man named Spencer Silver, a scientist from 3M created the adhesive backing by mistake in 1970. He was actually trying to develop a stronger adhesive but instead created a repositionable adhesive much weaker than what 3M was already manufacturing at the time. Not being able to use his newly developed adhesive, the product went on the shelf. Luckily for us he did not discard it.
Now, fast forward six years later. Another 3M scientist, Arthur Fry, was singing in his local church choir and had a difficult time keeping his place in his hymn book. He tried using markers but they kept falling out of the book. Frustrated, he wished he had something sticky that would stay put without ripping the pages in his book. He soon remembered his colleague’s invention a few years earlier and coated his marker’s with the light adhesive that Spencer Silver had created. The new adhesive worked wonderfully and the rest is history. 3M began distributing the Post-It note in 1980.
With 32 years under its belly, the Post-It note has become somewhat of an icon. For years people have been finding creative and unique ways to use one of the most trusted office supplies. The shapes and colors have evolved as well with hundreds of different shapes, sizes, colors and more.
This Valentine’s Day show your office co-workers some love with a fun heart-shaped Post-It note dispenser and pink post it notes. You won’t go un-noticed!
I Want My SBM 