LIVE UNITED Y’All!

By Natalie Harris

I came across this article,  The Case for $320,000 Kindergarten Teachers, by David Leonhardt, in the New York Times business section this morning, and with all the buzz about our recent Kindergarten Countdown event at Slugger Field, I thought the timing was too good to be ignored.

While the article is a bit of an opinion piece (ultimately treading into some potential education policy minefields), I thought the greater point of the study discussed was clearly worth mentioning:  kindergarten, when done well, has an incredible long-term impact.  As Leonhardt sums up:

Students who had learned much more in kindergarten were more likely to go to college than students with otherwise similar backgrounds. Students who learned more were also less likely to become single parents. As adults, they were more likely to be saving for retirement. Perhaps most striking, they were earning more.

An that “more” is nothing to sneeze at:

A student who went from average to the 60th percentile — a typical jump for a 5-year-old with a good teacher — could expect to make about $1,000 more a year at age 27 than a student who remained at the average.

The study discussed, “How Does Your Kindergarten Classroom Affect Your Earings? Evidence From Project STAR”, ultimately concludes that an outstanding kindergarten teacher is worth $320,000 a year.

This could definitely be viewed as depressing news in these days of budget cuts, school closings (i.e. bigger classrooms), and big challenges for even the best teachers — the ultimate toll all this can take on the community is alarming — but it should also be viewed as a call to action.

The work Metro United Way does in support of early childhood education (Success By 6, Gheens Bridges to Tomorrow, Born Learning and more) pushes us towards one goal:  making sure that our children arrive in kindergarten ready to succeed.  This moment of economic crisis makes it even more imperative that we do the work, with our community’s help, to meet this goal.

Education, Events, General early childhood, kindergarten, Kindergarten Countdown, Metro United Way, Success By 6

Blake with a basket of goodies!

By Patty Belden

Imagine my delight when I read on Facebook that my 13-year-old niece, Blake, was planning a bake sale to benefit the animals affected by the April oil spill. Since a very young age, she has been interested in helping others so I wasn’t surprised, but I was very impressed. I couldn’t wait to learn more. After talking with her, I learned that she came up with the idea and planned everything all on her own! She knew she couldn’t travel down to the coast to help, so she planned to do something locally. She decided that raising money was the best thing she could do to help. She loves to bake (and makes GREAT treats!) so choosing to hold a bake sale was easy. She recruited the help of her friend Zach and they got to work.<

Blake researched organizations online and chose to raise money for the Audubon Nature Institute. She found contact information and sent an email. They responded and gave Blake all the information she needed to hold her fundraiser.

Next step, pick a date and location and start marketing. They chose to set up shop near a baseball field on a Saturday when games were being played all day (good thinking!). She and Zach made posters and hung them all around the area. They even used social media marketing and posted information on Facebook!

The day of the sale they were ready! But to their surprise they weren’t getting much business. They knew they needed a new plan. They loaded their baskets went through the stands. Business started picking up! It still wasn’t quite enough so their effort went one step further - they went into the neighborhood. They went door-to-door until all of the baked goods were sold out!

Overall, they made $132.00 to send to the Audubon Nature Institute. They had such a good time with the bake sale that they decided to make this a summer-long effort. Zach is working on creating a website where they can advertise all of their upcoming events.

I’m so proud of my niece and her friend. They found something they believed in and took action. When I asked Blake why she was doing this, she answered,

I saw one picture of the animals covered in oil. It made me really upset to think that hundreds of animals are being covered in oil. I decided that I didn’t want to be one of those people that just say ‘oh, that’s sad,’ and then move on with my life. I wanted to do something about it.

What a great example of LIVING UNITED. Do you know other young people who are Living United in our community? Share your stories in the comments!<

Way to go Blake! You are an inspiration to us all!

Events, General, Giving, Volunteering bake sale, baking, blake dykes, fund raising, fundraiser, oil spill, patty belden

By John Sands

It’s the weekend and you may be thinking it is time to get your “party” on.  There are so many options to choose from in our great city and certainly many that will provide you with great entertainment.  But what better way to party, than to party with a purpose? 

Tomorrow night the Louisville Urban League will host it’s annual Diversity Soirêe in the Galt House East Ballroom at 6pm.  In addition to honoring two men who have dedicated their lives and careers to community involvement and impact, they are also honoring E.-ON U.S.  for it’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in all aspects of it’s operations. 

The event is being sponsored by Fifth Third Bank.   I don’t know if you caught this, but we have one of Metro United Way’s largest contributors sponsoring an event by a member agency (LUL) and honoring another outstanding contributor to Metro United Way (E.ON U.S.).  How exciting is that? 

The League has an exciting evening planned with an ecclectic mix of entertainment that ranges from Irish/Celtic and Flemenco dancing to Salsa and Gospel music.  Too fun!  And where could you find all of this in one evening? 

You’ll dance the night away with great music and other fine entertainment.  All the while knowing your ticket contributions will go toward helping the Louisville Urban League continue it’s work of building strong, economically stable families and successful school-aged children.

For more information on this great event and how you may purchase tickets, check out the League’s website at www.lul.org

So go ahead and get your “Soirêe” on!

Events, General Agencies, Live United, making a difference

By Angela Champion

In Louisville, spring fever goes hand-in-hand with Derby Fever. This year, the Kentucky Derby Festival Fifth Third Bank Million Dollar Hole-In-One Golf Contest will benefit Metro United Way!

Where: Water Tower - River Rd. & Zorn Ave.

Finals: April 27th 6PM at Seneca Gold Course, Hole #8

2010 marks the 21st year for this event that has quickly become one of the “anchor” events of the Derby Festival.  Over 60,000 shots were taken last year to qualify for a chance to advance to the final round and the MILLION.  Again this year, there will be 53 available Finalist positions for the final round.  The 2010 Finals are on April 27th at Hole # 8 at Seneca Golf Course.

They keep trying to give the money away!  After 20 years, the $1 million prize is still up for grabs in the finals of the Fifth Third Bank $1 Millon Dollar Hole-In-One Golf Contest.  Anyone from beginners to scratch golfers can take a shot.  There are great prizes just for qualifying and if no one gets the million, they can still walk away with a terrific First Prize.

Preliminaries are held for 9 days at the Water Tower on River Road. This year’s challenge begins Thursday, April 15, 2010 and runs thru Sunday, April 25.  The Hole-In-One is open daily.  (See above for scheduled times.)  Each golf ball is only $1.  Get 5 FREE golf balls with the purchase of a $5 Pegasus Pin at the event.

NEW IN 2010 All hole-in-ones during preliminaries will receive $53.  In addition, Metro United Way is the new charitable partner of the event.  All participants who donate $5 to Metro United Way when they purchase their golf balls will receive $153 if they get a Hole-In-0ne (on the day of their donation).

Events, Giving Derby, fun!, fundraiser, golf

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 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

By Kerri Cokeley

For some Clark County (IN) area residents – the YMCA is coming to you!

At Metro United Way, our teams of volunteers are always looking for new ways to address the underlying causes of issues faced by our community. Last summer, Metro United Way’s Clark County Community Solutions Committee held a conversation with local agencies working to combat childhood obesity to see if there was something more we could be doing in this area. What emerged was a pilot “Neighborhood Outdoor Youth-Play Initiative” that is being led by the YMCA of Southern Indiana.

The goals of the program:
• Get youth engaged in healthy outdoor play and games
• Encourage and foster lasting neighborhood friendships
• Reduce youth obesity
• Educate youth and adults about healthy actions and eating
• Help parents connect with other parents
• Empower neighborhoods to create safe opportunities for youth
• Be creative and have fun

The YMCA has been facilitating one week of organized games, activities, and a family gathering each season in five different neighborhoods. Each neighborhood will have four weeks of youth activities and four parent / family interaction activities in this year-long pilot program.

The next round of sessions will be held in the neighborhood surrounding the schools on the following dates:

Jan. 11- Jan. 15: Parkwood
Jan. 25 – Jan.29: Maple
Feb. 8 – Feb.12: Bridgepoint
March 1- 5: Jonathan Jennings
March 15-19: YMCA Clark County Branch

Do you live in one of these neighborhoods, or know someone who does? If so, will you help us spread the word about this new initiative? The more people who participate, the better our outcomes, and the greater the likelihood it can grow to even more neighborhoods.

Through this effort, we will do much more than play around! The YMCA will be creating opportunities for adult neighbors to participate in fun activities with the youth, meet one another, and exchange names and numbers with other parents with same-age children. Our hope is that we can engage adults to serve as mentors, catalysts, and safety patrol for ongoing youth play even if it is in the yards and common space close to their homes.

For more information, contact the YMCA of Southern Indiana at (812) 283-9622.

Events, Health Bridgepoint Elementary School, Johnathan Jennings Elementary, Maple Elementary School, Parkwood Elementary School, YMCA of Southern Indiana

By Kate McNatt

Metro United Way wants to thank all the kind folks at General Electric, who just donated 4,600 portable space heaters to people in need during these cold winter months. Metro United Way will be the leader in distributing the space heaters, and the Salvation Army, a Metro United Way agency, is going to serve as the distribution site.

There are two opportunities to get involved (see below).  Volunteers will be handling boxes of heaters and should be able to lift up to 36 lbs.  Boxes may be dusty or dirty so please dress accordingly.  If you can help, please call Patty Belden at 502-292-6152 or email patty.belden@metrounitedway.org.  As always, thanks for your support!

Thursday January 14th – Distribution to Agencies

Location: Salvation Army

6709 Preston Highway

Louisville, KY 40219

Shift A: 1:00pm – 3:00pm         Volunteers Needed = 6

Shift B: 3:00pm – 5:00pm         Volunteers Needed = 6

Shift C: 5:00pm – 7:00pm         Volunteers Needed = 6

Friday January 15^th – Distribution to Agencies

Location: Salvation Army

6709 Preston Highway

Louisville, KY 40219

Shift A:  8:00am – 10:00am      Volunteers Needed = 6

Shift B: 10:00am – 12:00pm     Volunteers Needed = 6

Shift C: 12:00pm – 2:00pm       Volunteers Needed = 6

Events, General, Volunteering Community, Live United, making a difference, opportunity, Volunteer

By Kelly Hutchinson, Donor Relationship Manager

I will admit that I love how Hank can bellow….Are you ready for some FOOTBALL? And, I am. I am ready and excited about the hiring of Coach Charlie Strong for the University of Louisville so I will attribute this seemingly football inspired United Way blog to this fact. The recent press conference introducing the new Coach won me over when he shared his heart and emotion over the joy of attaining his career dream of a head coaching position and the opportunity to lead a program. It was so easy to feel his sincerity when he spoke and now it will be even easier to pull for his success both on the field and in the community.

It continues to be an exciting time of year in NFL football also as the Indianapolis Colts and the Cincinnati Bengals continue to rack up the W’s. While these two teams are perhaps the closest we have in our region to a home NFL team, it doesn’t matter whether you are a Colts fan or on the “Who-Dey” train right now, the NFL is deserving of recognition for the longstanding partnership and support of the United Way movement. Did you know that for 35 years, thispartnership has been a shining example of the tangible good that can be leveraged into a powerful vehicle for real change in people’s lives and the community?  Check out how the NFL LIVES UNITED and see if you can find one of your team’s favorite players too!

Yes, Tis the season for football and also for giving thanks and sharing. The words THANK YOU are two of the most powerful words you can speak, share and that you can hear. Thank you for helping make our community a better place to live and work.  If you gave in your campaign at work for United Way, thank you for caring and sharing to help change the lives of those who pass by you every day. The change we strive to create at Metro United Way doesn’t happen without you. Don’t just take my word for it….take a quick look at our recent field trip. It was a LIVE UNITED thank you tour. Check it out and you will see how we surprised a few loyal donors while they were working. I think you can imagine their surprise and you can also see the strong feelings created with an in-person and heartfelt thank you.

Advocacy, Events, General, Giving, Volunteering Charlie Strong, Common good, community change, Football, Live United, Louisville, NFL, passion, thank you, United Way