LIVE UNITED Y’All!

Last fall I met a local Shelby Co. resident who is passionate about his community.  Another volunteer connected the two of us and told me that I just absolutely had to meet Lee because he’s bubbling over with enthusiasm and a desire to make his community the best place to live in America.  After several get-togethers over lunch, Lee shared with me his wish to create a video about his community that inspires every single person who watches it to get up and do something for somebody.  My mind starting going about a mile a minute as ideas starting spilling out of me.  Ultimately, Lee and his videographer friend Steve offered to sponsor a video about how Shelby County lives UNITED. 

Our little team has been working hard the last several months interviewing local Shelbyvillians, visiting Metro United Way agencies, and taking in the sights and sounds of Shelby County for one single purpose: not necessarily to highlight the needs that exist; but rather to show the world just how amazing this small rural community really is and how much its residents really do care.

I feel really privileged to have had the opportunity to introduce Lee and his friends to people like Jose, a client at the Shelby Center for Disabilities who likes to sing “La Bamba” over and over as he works assembling parts for Deans Milk at the Center’s job training workshop; and Yolanda, who together with her father prepared dozens of tax forms for local residents at the Shelbyville VITA site this year.  I also feel lucky to have been able to have introduced these folks to Lee, so they know that there are people in this community who want to hear their stories and appreciate who they are and what they do to give back to their community.

Today was the “finale” of our video production days.  At 9:30 a crowd of local Shelby County residents including the Mayor, business persons, community volunteers, children, and recipients of Metro United Way services gathered in front of the fountain in downtown Shelbyville to proudly wear our LIVE UNITED t-shirts and show this community just how much can be accomplished when people stand together.  It was a great turnout, a great day, and a reminder that videos are great, but the process of creating one, sharing stories, and coming together for just one day is even more powerful.

General Shelby County

I was lucky enough to score tickets to opening day at the new Yankee Stadium a couple of weeks ago. Though I am a die-hard Mets fan and a huge proponent of the National League (Designated Hitter? Why?) how could I not be awed by the history being made and the excitement of reigning in a new era? As I toured the new stadium and all of the enticements it had to offer, I couldn’t help but notice one thing that excited me above all else…the concession stands had their menus labeled with calorie counts. Suddenly I found myself choosing the 320 calorie hot dog over the 1100 calorie bag of roasted peanuts in the shell.

Why is this so exciting, and not just to a nutrition nerd like me?  Menu-labeling (as it is called in the food policy world), is not a novel concept. We have all looked at food labels at one time or another in the grocery store, helping us decide perhaps which cookie is “healthier” than the other, but having clearly posted menu labels in restaurants (particularly fast food and chain restaurants) has never been readily available to help us make an informed choice before ordering that double cheese burger and chocolate shake.

Indiana and Kentucky lead the nation in obesity rates and the many complications that go along with being overweight. There are lots of debates about how we can best address these very serious threats to our community’s overall health, but in a world filled with increasing value and convenience by dining from the dollar menu, it is generally agreed among those advocating for improvements in public health that menu-labeling would allow Americans to exercise personal responsibility and make informed choices for a growing part of their diets…fast food and chain restaurants.

“Few people would guess that a large chocolate McDonald’s milkshake has more calories than a hamburger, small fries, and a small coke!”

More than twenty states and localities are considering policies that would require fast-food and other chain restaurants to provide calories and other nutrition information on menus and menu boards—four have already passed policies.  Kentucky and Indiana should seriously consider joining this effort. Senator Denise Harper-Angel has introduced menu-labeling legislations through SB 133, to learn more about this proposed bill: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/09rs/sb133.htm

In fact, we have a real hometown hero right here in Louisville, YUM! Brands. In October of 2008 YUM! made a groundbreaking announcement that it will add calorie counts to menu boards at KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Long John Silver’s is fabulous news for health-conscious consumers. Talk about thinking outside the bun! YUM! has also gone an important step further by voicing its support for legislation that would require restaurants to list calories on menus and menu boards

More links to learn about the benefits of menu-labeling:

http://www.cspinet.org/menulabeling/

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3054233

Advocacy, Health nutrition, YUM!

My mom came to visit this week from her home in Florida. She is adjusting to a new life alone and managing grief. She brought me a book that she made with lots of pictures. Pictures of her and her husband Bill who recently died. Pictures that now serve us to remember a loved one and all the good times. So, I have been thinking about pictures: How pictures can tell a story, capture a person, create a feeling when you look at them, and can inspire, motivate, provoke thought or linger.  So I promise to try to tie up these thoughts into a nice neat blog and then we can even tie a fat bow around it and call it done….get the picture?

I also used to have a picture in my old office that was a picture of a dog, riding on a shiny red tricycle that had a cat standing on one foot balancing on the dogs nose and the cat had a tiny mouse standing on its head and the mouse was juggling 5 balls. The caption read “The trick to life is to make it look easy.”  I enjoyed that picture but decided not to bring it with me when I joined Metro United Way. Frankly, I have lived long enough now to know…life isn’t really easy. It’s beautiful, surprising, challenging, but really not easy.

Shortly after joining the team here, we hosted our annual campaign silent auction fundraiser for Metro United Way.  I saw my new office picture there.  It’s a beautiful oil painting on canvas that features a lady staring off at a group of several children who are happily playing in a water fountain. One of the children has small braids all over her head with round colorful barrettes adorning all the braids. This picture titled “Urban Village” is at home on my wall.

As you know, at Metro United Way we work to create the most vital, caring community in the nation. It takes all of us doing our part to connect to friends, family, our neighbors, strangers and the world and to make sure we all have the basic things we need for a good life. That’s what Living United is all about. How do you picture Living United?  What will our local community look like for our children and grandchildren? Do you have a picture in mind of a vital, caring community? 

To our legion of 80,000 donors who give from their hearts during these challenging times to help their neighbors, co-workers, and people they may never meet: THANK YOU for partnering with Metro United Way to make a difference. If you have never gotten involved with us, then join with us now and together we can help make things better for all of us. We really do wish you were here.

Advocacy, General, Giving Community, donors, Live United, neighbors, United Way

By now you may have seen the video of Susan Boyle, the contestant on the TV show “Britain’s Got Talent.”   This uncool, plain-looking, middle-aged Scottish woman sang “I Dreamed A Dream” from the musical Les Miserables and earned a standing ovation from the audience and the judges.  Despite the fact that her appearance inspired rolling eyes and derision when she took her place on the stage, she evoked gasps and cheers when she broke into song and her voice soared.  Millions of people have watched the video of her audition on YouTube, have watched it over and over again with tears in their eyes.

Why are we so surprised that such a sublime gift could reside in a plain package?  Haven’t we learned by now that everyone has gifts and talents to share with the world?  How often do we discount people thinking they have nothing to offer when, with the right opportunity and encouragement, they may blossom into a more fully-realized person.  Ordinary people are capable of doing extraordinary things when given the opportunity.

Not all of us are blessed with a beautiful singing voice, but each of us has one or more gifts that the world around us desperately needs.  Reach out to our community this week and share your gifts with the rest of us, and encourage and appreciate the gifts you recognize in the people around you.  Remember, the most amazing gifts may come in the most unassuming of packages.

General Community, gift, opportunity, sharing, surprises, talent

This week is Earth Week and as we all know, the Kentucky Derby Festival is now in full swing.  Thunder has rocked the city, balloons will soon be glowing along the waterfront, and several of my colleagues will be running in the mini-marathon this weekend.  The most famous 2 minutes in racing is right around the corner along with the biggest party of the year.

We all know what comes with all this fun and celebration… a lot of visitors to our hometown.  We need to make sure that our visitors see what a vital and caring community we live in.  In order to do this, we should all remember to take the time to make sure that our streets are clean and our community meeting places are in tip-top shape, not just for the festivities, but for everyday.

Get together with your community members for a weekend of picking up litter from the streets in your neighborhood and let’s spruce up our community. Throw a community wide yard sale.  Attendance might be great with all the visitors in town.  Afterwards, carpool out to the Derby Festivities to celebrate a job well done or relax by using some of the proceeds to throw a potluck dinner party and watch the Festivities at your local community center.  You can donate any leftover proceeds to a local charity.

What are you doing to help make Louisville the ultimate hometown?

Photo credit: kartografia

General Community, environment, green, Louisville

 

Flickr photo by victoriabernal

It’s just about time for annual performance reviews here at Metro United Way. At this time of year the staff all look over our goals and see how we did. Everyone’s goals are different – some goals are about reaching out to more volunteers, some are vital to ensuring a strong Community Campaign, and yet others are tailored to ensure that we are good stewards of our resources. 

All of our goals have one thing in common. They serve our mission: improving lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community.

I am curious to hear how you feel we’re performing! Did you make a donation, help spread the word about something we’re doing or maybe give your time as a volunteer? Did you have a good experience? Did we communicate well with you about the information that you wanted to know? Or maybe we touched your life in some other way?

Go ahead- give us a review. Your opinion matters!

General performance, your opinion

Advocacy: (Noun) active support of a cause or course of action, from Collins Essential English Dictionary 2nd Edition 2006

One of the ways that we hope to LIVE UNITED is by asking people in our community to ADVOCATE. For the past 2 years, I’ve been privleged to serve on the board of YPAL, Young Professionals Association of Louisville. YPAL strives to connect and engage Metro Louisville’s young professionals through community, professional and social opportunities. As VP of Community, I was asked to put together an event on advocacy to help educate our members on this important leadership skill.

Simply put, advocates are passionate leaders who step up and speak out to drive change. To drive change for our community, you don’t have to be a lobbyist in Frankfort or a paid political figure. As a citizen and leader, you can champion an idea, issue or action to build a better Louisville. I invite you to learn more at the YPAL Leadership Lunch on April 24 to discuss advocacy as a leadership responsibility and learn how you can put your leadership into action for your community and the world. This interactive panel will feature professionals experienced in advocacy from a variety of backgrounds.

Charla Young of WAVE 3 TV will moderate the panel including:

-Sheila Schuster, Executive Director of the Kentucky Mental Health Coalition
-Dana Mayton with the Office of the Attorney General and Past President of the United Way of Kentucky
-Christopher 2X, Fight Crimes Against Children Partnership

Anyone can attend, YPAL members and nonmembers of any age.

Go here to register: http://www.ypal.org/mc/community/eventdetails.do?eventId=219911&orgId=ypal

Advocacy advocate, change, Community, Live United, YPAL

I was making revisions to the disaster recovery plan that we have here and it made me think, “Do we have a life continuity plan in place when hard times or even disaster hits?”  In the course of my day I deal with many things as it relates to general operations of our facilities.   My primary responsibility here at Metro United Way is to keep our operations going in all of our offices.  In doing so, my thoughts are often brought to questions of safety and preparedness.  Do we have a back-up plan to the back-up?  Are we testing everything that should be tested and if not – why?  Can our operations function, if we were to have a localized emergency or a more far reaching community disaster?  All are valid questions when thinking about business continuity plans.  But do we take the same thought when developing our “back-up” plan in life?  There are personal goals that may align with your career goals that we need to take some time out of our schedules and start making the plans to implement. 

What I have learned from working on a business continuity plan is that you can not always predict the emergency, nor the effects it may have for years to come.  You can only plan for the worst, as you know it, and be prepared to make revisions to the plan.  It has to remain organic; free to shift and change.  I guess this is most fitting during this time of change and uncertainty.  If you have a plan collecting dust in the far corners of your mind, it is time to pull it to the forefront and make some revisions.

Education, General continuity plan, preparedness

Just about everyone has heard the adage, “If you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime.”  Many have also heard the parable of the babies in the river.  The story goes something like this: There was a village situated on a river and one day a villager saw a baby floating down the river.  Being a good and kind person, he jumped into the river and swam out to save the baby from drowning.  The next day, he saw two babies in the river.  Calling for help, the babies were pulled from the river and saved from drowning.  The following day, there were more babies in the river, so more people swam in to save babies.  Every day there were more babies in the river, and a rescue team was organized to swim in and save them.  As the number of babies increased, the villagers found that they couldn’t save all of them, but felt good that they were saving many of them.  One day, someone said, “Wait a minute.  Where are all these babies coming from?  We should organize a team to go upstream to find out how all these babies are getting in the river in the first place.  If we can prevent that from happening, we’ll be more effective in saving babies.”

One approach to problem solving is to respond to the immediate need.  There are many needs in our community: poverty, crime, substance abuse, homelessness, and hunger, to name a few.  We’re blessed with many organizations that are working every day to meet the needs of those affected by these conditions and I applaud the wonderful work that they’re doing.  But we also need to ask the bigger questions of why these conditions are present and what systemic issues are creating these situations.  If we can look past the urgent, if we can figuratively go upstream to work on preventing the conditions that are causing the problems in the first place, we’ve got a better chance of reducing or eliminating the problems downstream.

Metro United Way recognizes the importance of dealing with both the urgent and the important.  At the same time that Metro United Way funds and supports a network of health and human service agencies, we’re also collaborating with others in the community who are taking a hard look at systemic issues.  The better we can understand the root causes, the better we can affect the outcomes.  If you’d like to join in this work, please contact Metro United Way – we’d love to have your input!

General change, Community, important, making a difference, urgency

A recent survey of Metro United Way agencies indicated that many people in our community are struggling for a basic necessity- food. Our agencies that provide food assistance have seen a 40% increase in “first-timers” or people who have never sought food assistance before.

The statistics are astounding, but what really makes my heart ache is seeing how this affects so many people in our community- three children splitting one “happy” meal at the local fast food restaurant, seeing an elderly man dig through a garbage can on my commute home from work, hearing that a family friend lost his job, then his house, and ultimately his ability to feed his family of five. Its easier to read faceless statistics than to remember that this isn’t about numbers-its about people, right here in our community who don’t have enough to eat, and I’m sure you will agree that even one child in our community going to bed hungry is one too many…

You may be wondering, what can I do to make a difference?

Volunteer

In an effort to provide more food to more people, Metro United Way has partnered with Dare to Care to supply volunteers for additional Dare to Care Mobile Food Pantries around town. We are looking for groups of 10-12 to help distribute food at local Dare to Care mobile food pantry sites- please visit our website to sign up your company, church group or club.

Speaking of, the first pantry as a result of this partnership is happening today!! A big thank you to Youth Build and D.D Williamson & Co. for volunteering!

Advocate

Do you know someone who is struggling to feed his/her family? Whether it is food assistance or foreclosure advice, tell them to dial 2-1-1 for Metro United Way’s free, confidential health and human service assistance line. Help is available 24/7 in over 100 languages.

Give

To help families in our community who are in crisis, please consider a donation to Metro United Way. Did you know that a donation of $5.00 per week will provide one hundred warm meals to individuals at the Salvation Army Louisville Center for Hope?

For more information on how you can Live United please visit metrounitedway.org.

Photo by petit plat by sk_

Advocacy, Events, Giving, Income, Volunteering 2-1-1, advocate, Common good, Community, Giving, Live United, Louisville, Metro United Way, Volunteer