LIVE UNITED Y’All!

Dear Readers,

You may have noticed that our posts have slowed down a little bit lately. That’s because we’re growing and changing!

LIVE UNITED Y’All is undergoing a metamorphosis from a broad Metro United Way blog talking about all kinds of community work to a lean, mean Education blogging machine! As of now, we are taking a hiatus from blogging while we regroup, strategize and plan, and hope to come back to you in the late summer.

Why Education? Kelly Hutchinson wrote a post late last month that does a great job of introducing how we’re feeling about our Education work here at Metro United Way.

Here’s a short explanation from our information guide this past year.

Why Education? Because graduating from high school and college leads to better jobs. And better jobs lead to incomes that help people afford better healthcare and to support themselves through retirement.

I want to unpack that first part a little. There’s a lot there!

“… graduating from high school and college…” If we want to see our community’s young people graduate from high school on time and move on to college (and we do!), then we have to start by preparing them for success in school and life as early as we can and support them all the way! So this snippet really encompasses five important educational stage (or tipping points, as we often call them in the halls of Metro United Way).

• early childhood learning
• early grade reading (by 4th grade)
• middle school transitions
• high school
• college (or career)

There will be a lot more information about our work in these areas, what our role is (and isn’t!), what our goals are, and how we’re going to accomplish those goals. In fact, that’s exactly the kind of stuff you will be able to find and talk about when we come back!

So – have a great summer, and we’ll look forward to talking to you soon!

Best,

Erin McMahon
e-Communications and Creative Manager

Education, General change, on hold, pause, update

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

By: Kerri Cokeley

So, Michael Jackson’s memorial service has now concluded. Love him or hate him, he is one of the most famous people in the world. His music has and will continue to influence millions all around the globe. My mom grew up with the Jackson 5 and I jammed to Michael’s solo tunes throughout elementary school (and perhaps a little longer…) Michael was able to cross generations, ethnicities, and countries with music.

As sad as this whole situation is (from many perspectives), it gets me to reflecting. At the risk of being cheesy, I want to share with you one of his songs that really hits home for me. Thank you Michael for teaching me my first lesson in community building, “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make the change!”

Man in the Mirror

I’m Gonna Make A Change
For Once In My Life
It’s Gonna Feel Real Good
Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right…

As I, Turn Up The Collar On
My Favorite Winter Coat
This Wind Is Blowin’ My Mind
I See The Kids In The Street
With Not Enough To Eat
Who Am I, To Be Blind?
Pretending Not To See Their Needs
A Summer’s Disregard
A Broken Bottle Top
And A One Man’s Soul
They Follow Each Other On
The Wind Ya’ Know
‘Cause They Got Nowhere To Go
That’s Why I Want You To Know

I’m Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I’m Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change

I’ve Been A Victim Of
A Selfish Kind Of Love
It’s Time That I Realize
That There Are Some With No Home
Not A Nickel To Loan
Could It Be Really Me
Pretending That They’re Not Alone?

A Willow Deeply Scarred
Somebody’s Broken Heart
And A Washed-Out Dream
They Follow The Pattern Of
The Wind, Ya’ See
Cause They Got No Place To Be
That’s Why I’m Starting With Me

I’m Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I’m Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change

I’m Starting With The Man In The Mirror
(Man In The Mirror-Oh Yeah!)
I’m Asking Him To Change His Ways
(Better Change!)
No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
(Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make The Change)
(You Gotta Get It Right, While You Got The Time)
(‘Cause When You Close Your Heart)
You Can’t Close Your…Your Mind!
(Then You Close Your…Mind!)
That Man, That Man, That Man, That Man
With That Man In The Mirror
(Man In The Mirror, Oh Yeah!)

…

General change, make change, Michael Jackson

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

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

In some of his first acts as president, Barack Obama has set the groundwork for a different type of government – one that is more transparent, more open and most importantly, more accountable to the American people.  So, what exactly does this mean for us?  And more importantly, are we willing to do our part?

A more transparent and accountable government will not come without some commitment on our part.  Whether you’re a democrat, republican or independent, this significant change in our country’s leadership brings about exciting opportunities for all of us to re-engage with our government.  In “Change has come to WhiteHouse.gov”  Macon Phillips, Director of New Media for the White House, outlines participation as a priority for new media efforts.  That means they want every-day Americans like you and me to express our opinions and views on upcoming legislation.  Talk about getting your voice heard!  We have the opportunity to connect to our government and educate ourselves about important issues in a way that we never have before.  I’m excited and motivated by the concept of a more open and transparent government!  Are you?

But why stop there?  You can take part in shaping government at the state level as well.  There’s a great tool called bill watch where you can find information about new bills being introduced at the state level.  You can search bills by date, topic and sponsor.  And if you find one you take a particular interest in, you can track its progress.  The Kentucky Legislature reconvenes for Part II of its 2009 regular session on February 3^rd.  If there’s legislation you’d like your elected officials to consider, allow your voice to be heard!  Or join Metro United Way for Children’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol on February 12^th.   More information regarding children’s issues can be found here. 

Whatever issue you’re passionate about, there is no better time to take action than now!  I challenge us all (myself included) to take a more active role in our government!  If we don’t, who will?  What do you think? Are you ready to accept the responsibility of a ”government of the people, by the people, for the people”? (Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address)   

Advocacy, Events America, change, Children's Advocacy Day, government, Kentucky Legislature