Education, income and health. These are the building blocks Metro United Way believes are the keys to creating a sustainably strong community. We officially kicked off the 2009 Metro United Way campaign earlier this month, so you will be hearing more about these fundamental elements of Metro United Way’s philosophy of Living United. For me, Living United means strengthening the basic elements of a successful life for everyone – access to quality education, income and financial stability for families and access to health care information and support services to enable families to maintain a high quality of life.
Education – Metro United Way supports agencies that help families obtain access to quality, affordable childcare and early learning opportunities. Success By 6 is a public and private partnership committed to ensuring that every child in our community is healthy, safe, nurtured and ready to succeed by age 6. The first six years of a child’s life shapes his or her future and the success of our community is dependent upon our children.
Health – Metro United Way supports agencies that assist families in obtaining quality healthcare information and support services. Agencies also help seniors and those with disabilities achieve independence and a high quality of life.
Income – Metro United way supports agencies that help families meet basic everyday needs and assists them with access to financial information and services.
In these stressed economic times is it even more important for each and every one of us to step up and contribute to the betterment of our Community. If we were to achieve the same level of giving as last year, we would consider that a success in its own right. But, I must say that I would not be satisfied and neither would your Metro United Way staff. And, I want to add that you should not be satisfied either. I say that because the demand for services are at unprecedented levels and the agencies that Metro United Way supports are seeing demand increase. These demands will not abate any time soon. These are tough issues and the solutions are not simple, however, there are some simple things that each of us can do to show how we Live United:
Give – participate in your employer’s Metro United Way campaign. If your employer does not have a campaign, ask “why not.” You can contribute directly to Metro United Way by contacting them at metrounitedway.org, mailing in a donation to P. O. Box 4488, Louisville, KY 400204-0477 or by calling at 502 583-2821.
Advocate – Get to know your Metro United Way by signing up for the monthly newsletter. Share what you believe and show how much you care about education, income and health by letting us hear from you.
Volunteer – Share your time and talent – it is truly needed. Metro United Way’s volunteer opportunities provide ways for individuals and groups to get involved. A listing of volunteer opportunities is available at metrounitedway.org/volunteer.
Your reward for being a donor, advocate or volunteer for Metro United Way will be a sense of pride and the knowledge that you have made a difference - in the life of one person and in the life of our community. Thank you for all the ways you Live United to make our community a better place for all of us to live.
Sincerely,
David P. Calzi
2009 Metro United Way Campaign Chair
General
campaign, community campaign
