LIVE UNITED Y’All!

By Kelly Hutchinson, Donor Relationship Manager

You know the old saying…March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. I can still picture this phrase on colorful bulletin boards lining the elementary school hallway. You saw this saying when you were a kid too didn’t you?   I think this is why “weather” is fueling my thought process this time of year. Nothing draws your attention to a barometer, thermometer and a 7 day Outlook more than a change of seasons.

There is a strong nor’easter blowing down the hallways at Metro United Way and it all has to do with the “big picture”.  What’s the Big Picture you ask?  Well I will tell you…it is EDUCATION.

If you have spent anytime here at Live United Y’all then you know we are all wrapped up, we are all tied up, we are all tangled up in education-and we are all wrapped up, tied up and tangled up in education -because it is precisely the key to pre-empting the storms of life and thereby improving the opportunities for health and income stability for everyone in our community.

Yes, it will be the same blue skies, a warm and sunny forecast for me, for you, for that guy working in the cubicle down the way, and for the kid up the street -when you look at how getting an education affects the big picture. Oh sure, there will be storms in life for all of us. You can count on that. But, you will be ready, resourceful and have some shelter from the storms of life.

Education is linked to better physical and mental health, longer lives, fewer crimes, less incarceration, more voting, greater tolerance, and brighter prospects for our next generation. More education is good for individuals who stay in school to earn a high school degree or who enter and graduate college, but it is also good for all of us, paying big dividends in the form of increased civic engagement, neighborhood safety, and a healthy, vibrant democracy.

Now it’s your turn. Try your hand at predicting the weather where you live first to see what you learn.  Now you can check out what expert forecasters have to say here. What do you think? Is it Cloudy with a chance of Optimism? Are brighter days ahead?  Or are we going to be in for one wild ride when the next gust of pressure blows in?

Advocacy, Education, General Common good, Education, Metro United Way, opportunity

by Kelly Hutchinson, Donor Relationship Manager

Ok, I am not going to share a diatribe about the allegiance I feel for the University of Louisville Cardinals…we can save that for another post. I am talking literally about my blood. The blog-goddess aka Erin at Metro United Way suggested this month we share posts that reflect a commentary on diversity. Hence, I have given “diversity” a lot of thought. It’s posed a bit of challenge for me and I think I have come to figure out why. You see my inclination when I meet people is to readily start seeking ways we are similar and I strive to overlook or ignore differences. Whether it is race, religion, culture, politics, work styles…in my day to day life, like you, I encounter “diverse” people (aren’t we all?) everyday but actually seem to usually notice more quickly ways that we are alike rather than different.

This approach is pretty good for me usually but is not beneficial when it comes to blood. You see we do really ALL bleed red blood but, our diversity is in fact represented in our unique blood. In the blood-giving world diversity is truly very, very important and something that is not to be ignored. It is life-saving in fact.

Because we live in a diverse world there is also a need for that “diverse” red blood.  Certain blood types are unique to specific racial and ethnic groups. Therefore it is essential that a blood donor’s diversity match the patient diversity. For example, U-negative and Duffy-negative blood types are unique to the African American community. When blood is closely matched patients are at a lower risk for complications. For this reason, it is extremely important to increase the number of available blood donors in our community from all ethnic groups, minority and diverse populations.

If you would like to help make a difference, check in and see  for yourself if you bleed red blood too, then mark your calendar and spread the word. The American Red Cross bloodmobile will be hosted at PBI Bank on March 1^st from 11:30 am to 4:40 pm, at 2500 Eastpoint Parkway. This is one easy life-saving way to support a Metro United Way partnership where everyone wins and it will feel good to be a part of helping save lives – and add to a diverse supply of blood being available in our community. Bring a friend.  PBI Bank employees in our community LIVE UNITED by sharing the opportunity to give, advocate and volunteer and they are excited to support the community by hosting this upcoming blood drive.

Advocacy, Events, Giving, Health diversity, Donate Blood, PBI Bank, University of Louisville

by Judy Schroeder

If there were only one lesson that I have taken away from my teachers in the civil rights movement, it is the great charity and faith that believes real pride will welcome diversity.  Not “chauvinism,” which is that need to place yourself and one world view on top of all others. Legitimate pride builds real dignity and the confidence to keep working for justice and fairness.

It may seem odd, but I think the more I appreciate the sacrifices, coincidences and privileges of my own background, the more I’m able to listen to and learn something from the point of view of people who seem very different.

It’s a lesson I was actually taught by my first role models in the civil rights movement. African-American men and women, who raise their children with a strong sense of pride in who they are, inoculate those young people against fear and prejudice and small-mindedness.

Real pride welcomes diversity in thought and cultural expression because it prepares us to engage!  Seems like a conversation more of us should get into in these times when so much fear and blame is allowed to divide us.

Here’s a couple of thoughts from Metro United Way’s handbook:

di-ver-si-ty: (d-vurs-t,d-) n. pl. di-ver-si-ties: the quality of being different or unique at the individual or group level. This includes work style, parental status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, skin color, language, age, mental and physical abilities – and more. Even when people appear the same on the outside, they are different.

In-clu-sion: (n-klzhn) n.: a strategy to leverage diversity. Diversity always exists in social systems. Inclusion, on the other hand, must be created. In order to leverage diversity an environment must be created where people feel supported, listened to, and able to do their personal best.

How do you welcome diversity?

Advocacy, General diversity, inclusion, inclusiveness

by Kelly Garvey, Director of Engagement Initiatives

On Tuesday, January 25th, United Way Worldwide joined First Lady Michelle Obama and some of the biggest names in education to talk about what we can all do to cut by half the number of young people who drop out of high school.

The First Lady proposed The Corporate Mentoring Challenge. It’s a call for U.S. companies to launch new mentoring programs, expand existing employee mentoring programs, and provide resources to support local mentoring programs that help youth gain leadership skills, achieve their educational goals, and increase their confidence. A few of our local Louisville corporate partners already plan to answer the call — Deloitte, and AT&T among them — and Metro United Way will be working hard in the months ahead to help channel this national effort to spread the Live United spirit into our local schools and communities.

Metro United Way already helps to support strong mentoring programs locally, like Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Kentuckiana, To see how you can get involved with great programs like BBBS click HERE.

Take The Education Challenge!

Before you go please consider taking the Education Challenge below and email us for more information about how to get involved at kelly.garvey@metrounitedway.org or call 292-6153.

The Challenge (Raise you right hand and say…)

I believe that education is a building block for a good quality of life, that we all win when a child succeeds in school, and that our country’s success tomorrow depends on how well we educate our children today.

I believe that every child deserves great schools and great teachers, but they alone are not enough. We believe it also takes strong families, a stable home life and good health.

I believe that high school dropouts are years in the making and that early intervention is the key to success. Our vision is that every child will enter school ready to learn, read proficiently by 4th grade, make a successful transition to middle school, and graduate from high school on time.

I believe in the power of parents, teachers, students, companies, elected officials and members of the community, working together for the common good.

I believe in making choices based on what the research says.

I believe the time to stand up and LIVE UNITED for Education is now—for our kids, our community, and our country.

Advocacy, Education, Volunteering AT&T, community service, Deloitte, mentor, mentoring, Obama, youth

by Chris Locke

Here we are, roughly three weeks into the New Year, and some of us have already started to falter on our ambitious 2011 New Year’s Resolutions. You know the ones where we swear to do exponential numbers of crunches, push-ups, sit-ups and to run miles in our beautiful regional parks. We vow to eat differently, be a little nicer, become a little wiser, and act a little more stately when we get upset. We promise to pinch a least one or two more pennies, and learn at least one new thing a week so we’ll be more engaging during social chats.

Well, my endorsement of these sorts of aspirations does not necessarily solidify the fate of the aforementioned list getting deemed as great things to aspire to, but what “reasonable” person would see any of them as bad things in which to aspire?.

So when we turn to look at what it takes to accomplish our resolutions, things can begin to get a little tricky. Often, by the end of January many of us start to adjust our thinking a little as we lower the “resolution bar” a notch or two. All the while thinking… this is too much!  So, we begin to rationalize about the beauty of achieving  just one of the lofty sorts of resolutions listed above.

Consequently, over the course of the last couple of weeks ,I have thought about resolutions a little more than usual and how Metro United Way has revealed our resolutions for 2011 and beyond. I thought about Metro United Way’s 2011 resolutions along side my personal resolutions and I am excited about the fact that one of our goals focuses on achieving the same outcome: supporting education success.

Two weeks ago, I received a generous invitation from a middle school to be a part of an effort to motivate students for the second part of the school year.  In seizing the opportunity, I had the pleasure of speaking to over 1200 students at Noe Middle School about developing their own personal vision to victory in education and life, and how having a personal vision for success can give students a reason for giving just one degree of extra effort towards being successful in school, getting prepared for college, work and life.

So consider this bold resolution: By 2018, 87% of students in the Metro United Way region will graduate on time. Pretty ambitious huh! Sure, it will certainly require a deliberate commitment with specific actions steps to inspire every young person to value success in school and to work with our entire community to create a college going culture.

With Metro United Way’s resolution in mind, I am proud and privileged to report that as we near the end of January, one of my personal resolutions remains intact, and I am happy to say that I am contributing to helping Metro United Way meet one of its resolutions. I think with hard work, dedication, and commitment from all of us together, Metro United Way’s bold resolutions can be achieved. Let’s move forward in 2011, with the dream that ALL of our resolutions are achieved, but with the determination and commitment to fulfill a very important one: working together to better all of our children, youth and our community

Advocacy, Education Common good, community service, Education, High School Graduation, opportunity, success, youth

By Kelly Hutchinson, Donor Relationship Manager

If you’re like me, every year you resolve to lose weight, eat healthier, exercise, quit a habit… Health is no doubt very important but what about other areas of our life where we may be less accustomed to setting a resolution. Do you include these too? What about resolving on some things that will also positively impact and improve the lives of others? Would you gain a sense of accomplishment from resolutions for others as much as you feel like you would from your personal ones like exercising more or losing 15 lbs?

Here are a few thoughts on other resolutions that, simple and obvious as they seem, can truly help improve your life and the lives of all in 2011. 

Give:  In order to either start giving or increase what you currently give then you will want to make sure you have something to give, right?  Giving a charitable donation is meaningful for yourself and those who are helped -whether you decide to support many causes and spread out your generosity or make a significant investment in work that matters to you—the bottom line is still the same. Steps to help you increase your giving might include increasing your financial stability, eliminating credit card debt and saving.   Looking for inspiration? Check out Carlo at Living Philanthropic. Carlo is a man of modest means but he vowed to give to charity every single day for one year. His mission is you only need to be rich in spirit and is built on a belief everyone can make a difference. He gives everyday. He is very cool in my book.

Advocate: Find your passion and share your opinions. Sign a Pledge to support education and check out how things might really change in your region if educational attainment was improved. Sustainable progress often requires changes in public policy. Do you know who your legislators are? Why not reach out to them? Join the campaign for the common good and work with United Way in your community and across the nation to cut the high school drop out rate in half. If you are still reading this then you could probably also thank a teacher.

Volunteer:  Resolve to give more of your time.  Whether it is an hour a week or an hour a month there are so many ways that you could honor and keep a new year’s resolution around volunteering. Have you checked out the needs lately in our community? Curious about the homeless population in our community? Want to help? Start here.

Advocacy, Education, General, Giving, Health, Income, Volunteering

Judy Schroeder 

In this season of giving, when we care so much that every child has a gift, do we need to remember that the best gift we ever give is the love that child needs so much?

I was in a remarkable gathering on my birthday this month. Yes, my family and friends are most remarkable, and I was blessed with very loving parents. But I was thinking about the group of parents I visited with that morning.

“2Not1.” Can you guess what it means? 

It’s actually a great title because it says exactly what it means:  Children deserve two parents, not only one.  Adults may have to live apart, but our children deserve both their fathers and their mothers as much as we, the adults of this world, can make that happen. 

There’s even a rising national movement among fathers who are creatively reclaiming their parenting role after separation from their child’s mother.

According to the National Drop-Out Prevention Center, parent engagement still makes the critical difference in young people’s lives. Students with involved parents, no matter what their income or background, are more likely to do better, try harder, be more involved, have better social skills, and finally graduate from school to hold jobs with incomes almost $10,000 better each year than the students who gave up and dropped out. Unfortunately, the National Principals Association also reports that 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. 

It’s just that much harder to be an involved parent when you are the only adult paying attention.

That’s why the extended family and community supports for both parents in a child’s life are so important.  

Empowering parents to support a child’s success is the best and longest-lasting gift we can give a child. That’s what we do in the Gheens Bridges to Tomorrow program. That’s what is working for Shawn Gardner as he organizes 2Not1. That’s why we ask every parent of an infant or toddler to fill out the Ages & Stages Questionnaire. That’s why our Neighborhood Engagement is focused on building Parent Networks. 

Loving, involved parents give a gift that lasts.

Advocacy, Education, General, Giving Children, Community, Education, Louisville, Neighborhoods, parenting

By: Mary Ann Steutermann

This time of year, thoughts turn to festive holiday gatherings. I have warm memories of family gathered around the Christmas tree laughing as presents were exchanged. Sometimes these gatherings were the only times during the year we’d see out-of-town relatives, and the opportunity to catch up with them was sometimes more fun than opening the gifts they brought.

Just this week, Metro United Way hosted a gathering of sorts. Fellow United Way personnel from Atlanta, Richmond, Nashville, Chatenooga, and Cincinnati joined us here in Lousiville. Each of our United Ways is working on developing plans to increase educational attainment in their communities through an initiative called Ready By 21. And the focus of this gathering was, well, gatherings.

We spent 3 days with our colleagues learning about new strategies for leading community gatherings that will help us learn much more about our communities aspirations for itself and how education connects to it. Sometimes in community work, we gain tons of “expert knowledge” at the expense of collecting “pubic knowledge.” The gathering this week taught us about how the very nature of gathering people together to share that goals and concerns has a power in itself.

This week’s gathering of United Ways had no real gift-giving and certainly no spiked eggnog, but being able to bring people together to learn new and better ways of bringing people together was itself a wonderful present.

Advocacy, Education, General advocate, Community, community change, Education, Live United, Metro United Way, Neighborhoods, United Way, youth

By Erin McMahon

Whether you’re celebrating or mourning the outcomes of yesterday’s elections, there’s one thing we can all agree on – and that’s LIVING UNITED by giving, advocating or volunteering through Metro United Way.

I want to thank Greg Fischer, Jackie Green and Hal Heiner for LIVING UNITED by lending their support to us through the production of the video below.

And – thank YOU, dear readers for sticking with us on this blog. Extra big thank-yous if you share this blog with someone today!

Advocacy, Giving, Volunteering Live United, Louisville Mayor-elect, mayoral candidates, mayoral race

By Maggie Elder
Vice President, Community Impact

Metro United Way has a strategic goal that states:  Through 2018, Metro United Way sustains a quality, compassionate network of services to address current human needs.

We know that sustaining a quality, compassionate network of services to address human needs takes more than allocating annual funding.  We also know that we can’t meet the growing need for funding on our own.  So, we have to think about what we can do.  We have to think about non-traditional solutions.

On September 2nd, we announced that the Arcadia Community Center was merging with the YMCA of Greater Louisville.

The merger of Arcadia and YMCA was a non-traditional solution.  Arcadia approached us knowing they could not sustain themselves as a stand-alone organization.  They also recognized they had important work – and results! – for a population with limited services tailored to them (refugees and immigrants).  We recognized that the population of refugees and immigrants was growing and our community needed to grow our capacity to provide them services.  We dreamed of Arcadia joining with a well established, better resourced organization that could serve Arcadia’s current clients and meet the growing need.

Metro United Way introduced Arcadia to several organizations.  Arcadia’s Executive Director and Board leadership met with them and looked for the best fit.  YMCA turned out to be that fit.  Metro United way also provided two one-time grants totaling $50,000 in order to support the transition and merger.

So…. Arcadia lives on in a different form. The clients they serve will be provided services for at least two more years (YMCA’s minimum commitment) and the community has grown our capacity to serve immigrants and refugees.  Metro United Way has learned what it takes for a small organization on the brink of closure to live on in some form.

If we hope to maintain a quality, compassionate network of services we’ll have to continue finding ways to build our community capacity to meet the growing need.

[Editor's Note - stay tuned for a follow-up post from Jennifer Hurley, Arcadia Program Director, to hear more about this transition for her point of view.]

Advocacy, Education Agencies, Arcadia, Arcadia COMmunity Center, YMCA, YMCA of Greater Louisville