LIVE UNITED Y’All!

By Sommer Lally

The first day of Spring is tomorrow and I don’t know about you but, for me, it can’t get here soon enough!  Maybe it has something to do with my name but I hate cold weather like a cat hates water so, the arrival of Spring is always something I look forward to.  But this year I am especially excited.  You see, I bought my first house last fall and I’ve not yet been able to enjoy basking in the sunshine in my new yard. 

My husband and I already purchased and assembled (okay, okay, he assembled) a grill and have plans in the works for patio furniture.  Even better, I’ve talked him into making improvements to our landscaping.  As you can see, right now the landscaping leaves (no pun intended) a little to be desired.

I’m thinking some nice evergreen shrubs and some leafy bushes might do the trick.  There’s just one little catch.  As I’ve been reading up on landscaping tips, it has become clear – much to my chagrin – that we won’t reap the benefits immediately.  It will take years for the shrubs and bushes we plant this spring to grow and mature into the beautiful landscape of my dreams.  Slowly but surely, it will get there.  I just have to be patient, which is not my strong suit.

When I think about it, landscaping is kind of like the work around community change that we’re doing here at Metro United Way.  Community change doesn’t happen over night, it takes years to see the results of the work you’re putting in today.  But you better believe when 2018 rolls around and all of the children in our community are prepared to enter kindergarten and half as many high students are dropping out, we will know that our efforts were worth it.

What about those of us who need to see the immediate results?  I would put myself into this category which is where the grill and patio furniture come in.  They’ll allow me to enjoy my yard immediately, albeit in a different way.  The same is true for our focus on basic needs here at Metro United Way.  Our investments in early childhood education and drop-out prevention will pay-off in the future while those in basic needs help the community right now. 

It helps me to think of our work in this way.  How do you think of Metro United Way’s work?  What helps you to better understand and communicate to others what we do?

Education, General Children, community change, early childhood, making a difference, Metro United Way

By David P. Calzi
2009 Metro United Way Community Campaign Chair

Photo by Walt Norris of Dave Calzi at the Metro United Way 2009 Community Campaign end event at Neighborhood House. Click on the picture for more photos from the event!

The results that Metro United Way achieved during 2009, raising $27.1 million, will help continue to make a difference in many lives in our community. To all of our donors and volunteers who have supported us so generously, we are very grateful and hope that you feel a sense of pride in all that has been accomplished this year.

We realize, however, that the difficult times are not yet behind us. Over the past year, Metro United Way has continued to see an increase in requests for assistance with basic services — food and shelter. Many of these requests are from people who have never had to ask before. This means the needs are greater than ever and our work will continue to be important. We, as a community, will need to stay vigilant and address these challenges in 2010 and beyond.

It’s been an honor and pleasure to serve as your 2009 Metro United Way General Campaign Chair. I treasure every minute spent with the Metro United Way staff, volunteers and agencies and am appreciative of all that they have taught me and the opportunity I have had to serve our community.

I thank each of you for your support and know that you will continue to champion the cause of Metro United Way for many years to come.

Live United!

Sincerely,

David P. Calzi
2009 Metro United Way Community Campaign Chair

Giving community campaign, thank you

By Jan Sherrell

photo by David Reece - click for link

It feels like Metro United Way is in the midst of big changes and changes are unsettling. Wednesday I had a flash of a moment that encouraged me – that change is positive … in due time.

Over 5 years ago Metro United Way rocked our agency world by implementing new submission requirements – asking for outcomes and indicators of all our programs. We wanted to know what changed in the clients’ lives and how did agencies know that change happened. We were met with much resistance and it was a “change is tough” time.

Wednesday I facilitated a meeting at Jefferson Alcohol & Drug Abuse Center (JADAC) to review their year of service Metro United Way funded. I had such an affirming comment from the director, Diane Hague. JADAC houses a substance abuse treatment center with a $6.5 million budget. Metro United Way funds $27,780 for their Concerned Persons program. This is a program that JADAC feels is imperative for friends and family of the addict. It teaches them what is helpful behavior and what is not supportive behavior when dealing with addicted loved ones.

Diane’s comment was:

When we first started attending the Metro United Way info meetings and trainings about outcomes, indicators, etc, etc, my first reaction was —“More hoops to jump through for Metro United Way.” I even went so far as to think—“Is it worth it for us to have to do all of this for the amount of money we get from Metro United Way?” Finally after the training and looking at what we would need to do for our Metro United Way program in order to conform to the new requirements about outcomes, the light bulb came on. I understood. Why would anyone want to pay for something if they didn’t know what the outcomes were? We began looking at what we wanted for outcomes in our Metro United Way program and what was the best way to gather that info.

We decided the best way to get the info about the outcomes was to ask the participants. We were already doing client satisfaction surveys so we added our outcome indicator questions on those surveys.

Then another light bulb, why not do this for all of our programs? We were giving out client satisfaction surveys in all of our programs, why not ask outcome indicator questions for all programs on these surveys? We started with a few programs and then expanded to all programs and even expanded the number of indicator questions in many programs. We now have a whole report called Outcome Predictor Responses which shows each program and its 2 to 10 indicators and responses by quarter. We review this report every quarter in our Quality Improvement committee and make changes in programming as a result.

So we have Metro United Way to thank for jump starting us into thinking about what was it we were looking for in terms of outcomes in all of our programs. How do we know we are truly making a change in the client’s lives? We continue to make needed changes as a result of the survey responses

So a belated very big thank you to Metro United Way for this initiative!!!!!!

General Agencies, change, outcomes

1. Attend the Taste of BoomBozz on Wednesday, March 24th from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.
2. Enjoy yourself! $15 gets you in for a pizza & appetizer buffet and wine & beer tastings.
3. Feel GREAT knowing that your attendance is helping to support your Metro United Way!

BoomBozz Taphouse is generously donating 100% of the proceeds from the Taste of BoomBozz event to Metro United Way. So your $15 admission not only gets you in to enjoy the event, but also means that more people are helped through Metro United Way funded agencies and programs, initiatives like Success By 6 and services like 2-1-1.

BoomBozz Taphouse
1448 Bardstown Road
Louisville, KY

March 24th, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Please join us! Simply purchase your tickets using the Google Checkout button below. (No ticket or receipt is needed to get in. Just give the name of the ticket purchaser at the door!)

Events BoomBozz Taphouse, fun!, fundraiser, Taste of BoomBozz

By Kerri Cokeley

Today, I had lunch with a friend who is a mental health provider. We had a specific agenda to discuss, but ended up having the kind of conversation I wish more people were having.

The purpose of our meeting was to talk about the huge need for mental wellness services in our community and what we could do about it. We talked about three-week-long waiting lists for people who finally decided to seek help, the exorbitant cost of treatment (both on providers and patients), and the fact that there are still many people who could benefit from counseling services but don’t realize or admit it.

A little later, we got on the topic of data. Did you know that in the 2009 Attitudes & Behaviors survey, over 80% of Clark County 10^th graders reported that they had felt sad or depressed in the past month? And that 19% admitted to trying to kill themselves at least once in their life?!?

It’s disturbing. Very disturbing.

We then discussed next steps and the leaders we would make appointments with to ask for their partnership to make more services available. We committed to making this happen. But, what followed was the conversation that everyday people, here in our hometown, need to have more often.

We shared our own experience. Acknowledged the rollercoaster of life, its many ups and downs. The points in life when we didn’t know how to handle the grief, trauma, and stress that’s inherent in just being human. The fact that we tend to suppress our feelings, until things spin out of control. And how hard it is to reach out for help when things seem dark. Thankfully, we have both found the strength at different points in life to reach out when we needed support to make it through. We understand the concept of mental wellness, that it’s about trying to find and maintain balance.

After the check was paid and hugs were exchanged, we went on about our afternoon. But hours later, I sit here with the topic heavy on my heart. How is it that we so often gloss over the darkness, the depression we all experience in life? Why does being melancholy have to be taboo? Why don’t we talk about it and help each other work through pain more often?

I wonder what it would be like if we didn’t suppress our feelings so much? And if people recognized a problem with someone they would extend a caring hand? And if we all could work through painful feelings with support and without judgment?

What if, when we greet our acquaintances by saying, “How are you?” we really meant it?

Health Health, mental health, Mental Wellness

By Kelly Thompson, Director of Engagement Initiatives

As the saying goes, “It is not a question of IF, but WHEN.” When disasters strike a community, a county, a state, a nation, we all hope and pray that some kind of preparedness plan is in place. Very often, there is a plan, but it turns out to be a partial or uncompleted plan for action.

As a community we’ve watched as many disasters have affected our community in the past two years: the windstorm, the ice storm, and the flood of August 4^th, 2009. As a world we watched in horror the naturally occurring events that affected our brothers and sisters in Haiti this year and in 2009 our neighbors in Indonesia.

In all of these instances we’ve asked ourselves, “What can I do to help?” and “What can I do to protect myself and my family?” These questions are important to ask and even more important to contemplate as a part of a preparedness plan.

At Metro United Way we’ve witnessed first hand the overwhelming outpouring of caring, and volunteer time given by those in our community to help those in extreme need. This past fall we welcomed over 500 volunteers who came to aid of those needing flood clean-up assistance; these responders, and those participating in previous disasters were instrumental in creating the rapid action required to get help to people as soon as possible.

What we’ve learned from these experiences is that we would like to formally create a list of “Ready-Responders” joining an elite list of volunteers who agree to heed the call of duty when a disaster strikes.

Are you interested in becoming a member of this special group? Chances are if you have responded to our calls for flood volunteers, or windstorm volunteers we’ve got your name, but we want to hear from you just in case!

You can drop us a email at the Volunteer Engagement Center at patty.belden@metrounitedway.org or stopping by our Metro United Way booth at the upcoming Emergency Preparedness Fair on Saturday, February 29^th from Noon until 4pm.

Louisville Emergency Preparedness Fair

Saturday, February 27, 2010

11:30 am  Kickoff with Mayor Jerry Abramson

12:00 – 4:00 pm

The Salvation Army Male Campus

911 South Brook Street.

Free Admission

Bring a canned good for Dare to Care Collection

Door Prizes  –  Children’s Activities   –   Food & Drink

Come learn what you can do to be better prepared  - as an individual, a family, a block or street, a neighborhood,  suburban city,  subdivision,  condo association, church group, Scout group, service group, etc.

Education for Everyone! Take advantage of these free trainings at the Fair:

• Family Emergency Planning
• Power Line Safety
• Generator Safety
• Making a 72-hour survival kit
• Document storage – what documents do you need and storage options
• Red Cross Training
• Heating and cooking without power
• Caring for Pets in an emergency

Are You Ready for an Emergency?

Do your have ready for yourself, your family & your neighbors:

• A 72-hour survival kit
• An Evacuation plan
• Food & water for emergencies
• A plan for no electricity
• Know your neighbors

Events, Volunteering Disaster, emergency, emergency preparedness, Haiti

By Kelly Hutchinson, Donor Relationship Manager

Talk about pomp and circumstance! One can only imagine what a great and inspiring commencement address students and proud family members would hear if President Barack Obama delivers the graduation address message to the Eagles at Eastern, the Yellow Jackets at Central High School or some lucky Bulldogs at New Albany High School. I am sure any school in our region would never be the same.  

Well if you haven’t heard yet…this could really happen thanks to an exciting contest that is underway and dubbed as The Race to the Top High School Challenge. The “Race” as I will call it, encourages schools to share how they are making strides on personal responsibility, academic excellence and college readiness.

What a great opportunity to spread the word and encourage your favorite school or student you know to check it out, enter the contest and GO FOR IT!  Don’t delay as the deadline is fast approaching for March 15^th and President Obama will select the winner of the contest from the entries who make it as finalists. The application has four essay questions that focus on demonstrating how your school is helping prepare students to meet the President’s 2020 goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

Regardless of your political views, we can all agree that we all win in our community when children succeed in school, graduate on time and continue to college or gain technical skills for employment in today’s economy.

As a proud member of the EHS class of 1982…I do not remember who spoke in the hot gym at graduation. I bet if it had been the President of the United States of America I would have!  To learn more visit     http://www.whitehouse.gov/commencement

Education, Events, General Cental High School, Eastern High School, Graduation Commencement, New Albany High School, President Obama, Race to the Top, School Contest

“I’m starving!” How many times do we say this with out actually considering what it means to truly be starving? Better yet, how many times do we say this while we’re in the McDonald’s drive-thru waiting on our two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a sesame seed bun? Don’t forget the fries, diet coke, and yes, I think I will super-size!

My point is that most of us have not experienced true hunger. Most of us have not struggled to scrape together enough money each week to feed our family. Skipped our own meal to allow enough food for our kids. Picked food out of a dumpster or crossed our fingers that the diners we’re waiting on will accidentally leave their doggie-bag behind. That is starvation; hunger. It’s real and it’s all around us. According to Dare to Care Food Bank, “Over 175,000 people in Kentuckiana struggle daily to get the food they need to be healthy.” This number takes a minute to digest (no pun intended).

The good news is that there are organizations working to change this. Today I want to talk about Dare to Care Food Bank and the great work they are doing particularly with mobile pantries.

The traditional food bank model relies on neighborhood food pantries to get food to people needing help. Dare to Care provides the partner church or other nonprofit with food and they then distribute the food to those needing emergency food assistance.

Many families and individuals, however, need help but live in neighborhoods lacking these partner pantries. They may have other issues that also prevent them from accessing a traditional pantry.

The Dare to Care Mobile Pantry is a direct service to reach those in crisis who are struggling to access the help they need. With the Mobile Pantry program, Dare to Care brings the pantry to the neighborhood. Partnering with an agency that wants to help its neighborhood but doesn’t have the ability to operate a regular pantry, Dare to Care will schedule a time when it can deliver perishable and non-perishable food for immediate distribution. Dare to Care staff stay with the delivery truck to assist with the program.

This innovative program has improved nutrition in areas of Kentuckiana where fresh produce and emergency food are otherwise inaccessible.” (This information was taken from the Dare to Care website, click here to learn more.

Since beginning my career with Metro United Way in July 2009, I have had the pleasure of volunteering at five Mobile Pantries. The experience has made me very thankful for the life that I have. Recipients line up early, sometimes before the truck arrives, with old grocery bags, laundry baskets, boxes, anything they can use to carry their food. One Tuesday in December, it must have been 20 degrees, I remember being cold in my thick winter coat, gloves, hat, and scarf. When I pulled up to the volunteer, a least a fifty people were already waiting. Many of them had small children and hardly any of them had coats. These people were willing to freeze to get a few bags of food. This is starvation.

Mobile Pantries are happening each month, click here to help or contact Mary Sullivan at mary.sullivan@metrounitedway.org.

Volunteers setting up at City View Park.

Advocacy, General, Volunteering dare to care, hunger

By John Nevitt

photo by DavidDMuir - click on photo for link

Just about everyone is feeling economic pressures these days in one form or fashion. At one extreme are families who have lost their home due to foreclosure, or who have lost their job through no fault of their own. These families are faced with making tough decisions about how to meet their most basic needs.

For the rest of us, we are deeply concerned about large dips in our retirement savings and investments, and we are fearful about the next downsizing at work.

Whatever an individual’s circumstances may be, it is safe to say that financial worries abound, and there are lots of good, hard-working folks in our community who are struggling to make ends meet and to provide for themselves and their families.

Let me tell you about one valuable service in our regional community supported by Metro United Way – free tax services. Through a long-standing partnership with the IRS and an effort known as VITA (volunteer income tax assistance), and a large number of community based organizations, volunteers are trained to complete your federal and state tax returns, and file them for you – at absolutely no cost to you if your household income is less than $49,000.

“What’s the catch?” you might wonder. “How can this be free?” “What strings are attached?” These are all good questions to ask.

As you may know, Metro United Way’s mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community. Free tax services help us fulfill our mission. For many families, a tax refund represents a significant amount of their annual income, and comes in one lump sum. The goal of this program is to increase income by ensuring individuals and families are claiming all of the tax credits for which they are eligible, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. We know nationally that as many as 20-25% of families who are eligible are not claiming this credit due to lack of awareness, or because they don’t know how to complete the required tax forms. This represents tens of millions of dollars for our regional community – money that could be helping families during tough times, and benefitting our local economy.

Working with the IRS, volunteers are trained to determine if you are eligible, and to claim this credit that can bring as much as several thousand dollars back to families, can be significantly more depending on household size and income. By having your taxes done at one of the many VITA tax sites located across our regional community, you can be assured that there are volunteers certified by the IRS to assist you, maximize your tax refund, and leave you with a smile on your face, because there is no cost to you other than your time, and there are no strings attached! Filers with bank accounts who choose direct deposit can have their return in as little as 10 days or less.

If you need help, visit one of the free VITA tax sites supported through Metro United Way, in partnership with the Louisville Asset Building Coalition (LABC) for Jefferson County, the Southern Indiana Asset Building Coalition (SIABC) for Clark, Floyd and Harrison Counties in Indiana, and HJW Career and Financial Literacy Institute for Oldham and Shelby Counties.

If you would like to volunteer to help with free tax services, please contact the appropriate organization for your region. Last year, these efforts served 10,000 filers in our regional area, and additional volunteers are always needed as we strive to serve more.

Income free tax preparation, HJW Career and Financial Literacy Institute, LABC, SIABC, taxes, VITA

By Angie Ditsler

Photo by guldfisken - click on photo for link

Russ told me once that his earliest memories as a child are of his mom walking him to the Crescent Hill Library every week to read to him and let him pick out books to take home. He told me that even as an adult he still vividly remembers the smell of the books in that library, and they conjure up fond memories for him every time he drives past it to this day.

Needless to say, this has led to ongoing jokes in our family about “smelling books.” Whenever I can’t decide which book to pick up next to read, Russ’ typical response to me is usually something like “Well, which one smells better?”

On a more serious note though, we’re both grateful to have been instilled with a love for reading in our childhood. Evening routines for us usually involve a glass of wine and a good book, and one of our favorite things to do on Sundays is to peruse the aisles of Books-a-Million or Barnes and Noble then relax and read until the store closes.

An aspiring writer himself, my husband devours books at about twice the rate I do. Russ accomplished a long-time goal of his when he recently published his first novel, a political thriller called Agent of Influence. He spent six years researching and writing his book, and the past year and a half has really been a team effort as we’ve worked together revising, editing, and trying to get it published. Being exposed to books at an early age has really inspired us and honed our talents in different ways: I always remind Russ that he is the creative genius in the family, while I have eye for detail.

Now that I get to work on various Success By 6 initiatives in my professional life, the importance of exposing young children to positive and healthy experiences early on like reading really hits home for me. One thing that my husband and I agree on is that when we have children of our own some day, we want them to grow up smelling books the same way we did. Who knew that a memory like the smell of a book could have such an impact on someone’s life?

Education, General Agent of Influence, books, reading, Success By 6