Holiday food drives

The holidays are approaching — and so too are holiday food drives.

• Davis campus Mail Services and Sacramento campus Mail Services are conducting their fourth annual canned food drives, Nov. 16 to 20. Donating is simple: leave your donations with your outgoing mail, and Mail Services personnel will pick them up.

Davis campus donations go to the Food Bank of Yolo County, while Sacramento campus donations go to the Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services.

• The Activities and Recreation Center will be collecting food from Nov. 23 to Dec. 23, to be turned over to the Food Bank of Yolo County.

According to a news release, collection bins will be set up near the information desk in the lobby. “Help us beat last year’s donation of 450 pounds of canned goods,” organizers said. Donors can receive ARC incentive items, while supplies last.

CollegeWeekLive

Undergraduate Admissions is setting up a virtual booth for CollegeWeekLive Fall, an online college fair that was scheduled to start Nov. 4 and run through Nov. 7. More than 200 colleges and universities were expected to participate.

During this free event, prospective students can watch student and campus videos, “pick up” admission materials, apply for scholarships, and chat live with admissions representatives.

The Web address is collegeweeklive.com. Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. PST today (Nov. 6) and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 7.

The application period for UC admission for fall 2010 runs through Nov. 30. More information: admissions.ucdavis.edu/apply.

Fall commencement gear

The Central Storehouse is taking orders from faculty for fall commencement regalia: bachelor’s, master’s, M.D. and Ph.D. robes; caps and tassels; and UC Ph.D. faculty hoods. All items are for borrowing, free of charge, to be picked up from will call at the storehouse or delivered to campus addresses for a nominal charge.

Department representatives are asked to compile lists of faculty who need commencement attire and what they need. Orders can be placed online: capsandgowns.ucdavis.edu, or, department representatives can ask for hard-copy order forms.

For order forms, or to arrange delivery of commencement attire, contact Terry Chase at (530) 752-9184. Orders are due at the Central Storehouse by Nov. 20.

Open enrollment

Open enrollment for 2010 is under way. The last day is Nov. 24 — and remember, the deadline is 5 p.m., not midnight as in past years.

During open enrollment, you may enroll in or opt out of medical, dental or vision plans; transfer to a different medical or dental plan; enroll in the legal plan; add eligible family members to your medical, dental, vision and legal plans; and enroll or re-enroll in tax-saving flexible spending accounts for dependant care and health care.

The legal plan is not open every year — so, if you want in, now is the time. During open enrollment, all employees are invited to download the legal plan’s living will and health care power of attorney forms for free: ARAGgroup.com/ucop.

If you need to do anything listed above, you must do it online: atyourservice.ucop.edu. Employees without computer access should contact their unit offices or Human Resources, (530) 752-0530 on the Davis campus, or the HR benefits department, (916) 734-8099, on the Sacramento campus.

If you are not doing any of the above, then you can sail through open enrollment without doing anything!