LIVE UNITED Y’All!

By Jan Sherrell

Trying to name one volunteer to blog about during April, Metro United Way Volunteer Month, is like asking me to name my favorite kid. It is even harder because I have two kids, making that a 50/50 choice, and I have about 45 volunteers, making it a real tough choice.

When I first started at Metro United Way, I viewed volunteers as just one more task to take care of on my list. I would make reminder phone calls, make sure all their materials were prepped, and perhaps cater to them by having their favorite diet Big Red on hand for meetings.

Now after nine years of watching the dynamics of volunteers, I recognize they are catering to US at Metro United Way. They are bringing their valuable resources of time and experience to serve the community through Metro Untied Way by participating in the agency review process I help facilitate. These generous volunteers read 20 page reports, drive across town and find parking, all to engage in sometimes difficult conversations.

Volunteers bring such insight, life experience and topical knowledge to these conversations and decisions. I really enjoy getting to know my volunteers. They become more than a means to an end; they become friends.

I won’t use the word favorite, because that might hurt the feelings of my other 44 volunteers, but Judy Lyons is one of my “strongest” volunteers. She is a retired agency director, and that gives her unique insight to agency reviews. She is also a sweet soul; she can find the volunteers in the room feeling less confident and sure and buddy right up to them and mentor them along. When in committee, she brings the conversation back around to where it needs to be and is generous in helping us understand all the challenges faced by agencies and their clients. She seems to really enjoy volunteering and intentionally makes time for it in her busy retired life.

So now instead of feeling like I’m catering to a volunteer when I make sure they have hot fresh coffee, or resend them documents they’ve misplaced, I totally recognize they are catering to me by being a strong important part of Metro United Way work.

Does your work involve volunteers? Do you have a favorite? Or perhaps you are the volunteer – do you have a favorite staff?

General, Volunteering Agencies, appreciation, community service, making a difference, Metro United Way

By Kerri Cokeley

This past January, my Grandmammy passed away. This was a hard time for me. I had spent the previous ten years helping care for her, and though her health was not the best, her death was quite sudden. As I sat at the funeral home preparing the arrangements the following day, I realized that I was so thankful that I had no regrets. I cared for her the best that I could, I learned as much as I could from her, and every time we saw each other we expressed our love for one another.

The feelings that have sunk in for me following her departure mostly relate to the recognition that I have lost all four of my blood grandparents. A whole generation is now gone from my family. Am I prepared to help fill this void?

Just as I finally start to come to the conclusion that, yes, I am ready and able to step up, I get hit with another blow. A text message came with the news that Helen, a second mother to me as a teenager, had passed away. How can this be? I’m just barely able to step up to the loss of my grandparents, I’m definitely not ready to start losing the next tier, my parents.

I expect that it will take a very long time for me to cope with and be ready to fill the void that will ultimately be left by the loss of the immediate next generation. However, it takes me to a new reflection. When I am gone, what will I have accomplished? I’ve thought about this many times before, but not in such a desperate, mortal kind of way.

Even several days later as I re-read Helen’s obituary, my eyes swell up at the third paragraph. Despite the unfortunate health situation that had plagued her for many years, she still found a way to make the world a little better than she found it. I hope that I can do the same. Don’t you?

Helen Frances Graber

POSTED: August 18, 2009

Helen Frances Graber, 49, of Matlacha, FL died at her residence on Aug. 14, 2009 after battling 20 years of illness and pain.

She was born to William G. and Kathleen F. (Preston) Graber on Feb. 2, 1960 in Louisville, KY. Helen moved to Matlacha in 2003 to be close to her only child and her grandchildren.

She was formerly from Clarksville, IN. where she spent many years working as an LPN caring for others. Her caring did not stop with her work, she was known for her open heart and open door policy. Many times she provided a needed refuge for countless teenagers that had nowhere else to go and no one else that cared. She made sure all had a warm place to stay, food to eat and most of all someone who cared.

She is survived by her daughter, Michelle Lynne Scalf, son-in-law, Stephen S. Scalf, grandchildren, Ashlynne Jade Scalf and Stephen Sebastian Scalf, of Bokellia. Other survivors include brothers, Norman D. Graber of Tuscon, AZ. and George P. Graber of Matlacha and a sister, Patricia L. Murphy also of Matlacha. She was preceded in death by both parents and a brother, Billy (Apple) Graber who died in 1979.

General Change the World, community service, future, making a difference

By Kelly Hutchinson, Donor Relationship Manager

I have been thinking a lot about the upcoming annual campaign in our community. It is what I do…think, plan, connect, encourage, communicate, review, explore, inquire, inspire, discuss and consider what will make a difference this year in someone’s workplace campaign. What is important to an individual donor? How can I demonstrate appreciation for the good works made possible by our Metro United Way corporate partners, donors and volunteers? I am also leaning into my work and trying to look at things a little bit differently this year. Quite frankly we must. You have heard it before right? If you continue to do things the same as in the past and you continue to get the same results then why does it surprise you?

My list will be kept short, but I hope you will join my conversation and share some of your idea’s on what you think is HOT and what you think is NOT.

What’s HOT:
• Making sure all children are safe, nurtured and prepared to succeed in school ( learn more about Success by 6)
• Making plans in your workplace to educate and build awareness for the work the work of United Way in our community and to Ask for participation in a company campaign where you work…WOW that’s hot!
• Serving as a volunteer Employee Coordinator for a United Way campaign and recruiting some co-worker friends to join you and help make it a success…sizzlin’!
• Sharing stories about your personal experience with United Way or how someone you work with whose life has been touched (meet someone you have helped here)
• Identifying the root causes of problems and providing solutions and support so that people can avoid some problems in the first-place…yep, it’s HOT
• Partnering with schools, service providers and community groups to improve high school graduation rates
• Saying YES when you are invited to join the United Way campaign and following up your giving by volunteering to get closer to the work you make possible and the lives you touch
Did you hear fire trucks?
• Being able to laugh at yourself and have fun while helping create opportunities for a brighter tomorrow
NOT HOT:
• There are nearly 9,000 children in JCPS who are homeless
• There are senior citizens in our community who live in fear of going outside or don’t have enough income for prescriptions and food…so they make choices
• Ice storms, wind storms, flash flooding that destroys peoples property and depletes their savings ( sign up with our volunteer center)
• An increase of nearly 40% of first time callers to 2-1-1 for assistance with basic human needs for food, clothing, shelter and necessities…a term I am hearing called “new poor” in our community
• Too many employees feel like United Way only comes around once a year when it’s time to ask for a donation. That’s not hot. There are endless possibilities and creative fun ways you can stay involved, thank loyal donors and contributors in your work and help employees understand they are making a difference 365 days a year
• Not planning ahead, setting goals or stretching yourself to do better in all that you do. Because if you don’t aim for something then you can’t be surprised when you miss the mark
• Seeing your coworkers dress up like Elvis and sing Viva Las Vegas… not hot…but a great way we added some fun to our employee campaign at Metro United Way and we are all looking forward to see who on our executive team will be donning a polyester jumpsuit next

Tried to keep it short…what’s hot where you work and what’s not?

Advocacy, Education, General, Giving, Health, Income, Volunteering campaign, Common good, community service, how to, recovery, Success By 6

I wasn’t aware when it was occurring, but it seems I was raised to think serving others is an important thing to do. Perhaps by osmosis, as I saw my mom be the Boy Scout leader or my dad help neighborhood kids work on their cars, I recognized serving others is important.

So as a fairly new member in my church, I was looking for a place to help out. The morning bulletins showed several needs in the church such as child care, building maintenance and hospitality committee. I decided to serve through the Audio/Video Team; it looked easy enough to click through the words that keep us all singing the right songs. Well, I guess I should have researched a little better before I signed up. This role needs to be present for the Wednesday night choir practice, prepping the slides before hand and also be present an hour and a half before church to run through everything again. So hearing me grumble about how this community service is asking more of me than I thought would be required, imagine my embarrassment and humiliation when I heard of a friend’s commitment to serve others.

Debbie has been on a bone marrow registry for about six years from a registry drive for a local attorney. Short story is that she has gone through the testing and is a match for a 14-year-old girl with leukemia. The harvest is set for July 9^th. So as I’m grumbling about the two hours extra a week that I’ve committed to – Debbie is giving up several vacation days, expecting a few days of stiffness, undergoing full anesthesia for the procedure and donating a life giving piece of herself. Hmmph, makes my AV service feel a bit trivial. She always has been the over achiever.

So join with me as we pray for the bone marrow recipient, the doctors involved and Debbie that all goes well and it is a life saving success for the recipient.

Now, my message is not that you need to be a hero and the only service that counts is the big stuff. That is not true. You need to serve where you are and however you can. All service is important. My message is to serve joyfully, be thankful that you CAN serve and also recognize there are times when you may receive the services and to do that joyfully also.

For more info about bone marrow donation go to www.bethematch.org

Jan and Debbie

General, Volunteering Change the World, Community, community service, Live United, making a difference

April is celebrated as Volunteer Month in Kentucky, and it’s a time to recognize all those people in our community who give of their time and talents so generously throughout the year.  Whether you volunteer with a nonprofit human service organization, at your child’s school, at your house of worship, with a neighborhood group, with a sports team, at a hospital or service club; if you drive a neighbor to the store, care for a friend’s children while she runs some errands, or feed the neighbors’ cat while they’re on vacation, we salute you!

It’s very difficult to sum up the difference that volunteers make through their acts of kindness, so I’ll let the late humorist Erma Bombeck say it for me in the essay she wrote entitled, “So Long, Volunteers.”

“I had a dream the other night that every volunteer in this land had set sail for another country.  I stood smiling on the pier, shouting, ‘Goodbye phone committees.  Goodbye disease of the month.  No more getting out the vote.  No more playground duty, bake sales, rummage sales, thrift shops, and three-hour meetings.’

‘As the boat got smaller, I reflected, “Serves them right, that bunch of yes people.  All they had to do was to put their tongues firmly against the roofs of their mouths and make an ‘O’ sound – no.  It would certainly have spared them a lot of grief.  Oh, well, who needs them?’

‘The hospital was quiet as I passed it.  The reception desk was vacant.  Rooms were devoid of books, flowers, and voices.  The children’s wing held no clowns, no laughter.  The home for the aged was like a tomb.  The blind listened for a voice that never came.  The infirmed were imprisoned in wheelchairs that never moved.  Food grew cold on trays that would never reach the hungry.

‘The social agencies had closed their doors – unable to implement their programs of scouting, recreation, drug control; unable to help the retarded, handicapped, lonely and abandoned.  Health agencies had signs in their windows: ‘Cures for cancer, birth defects, multiple sclerosis, heart diseases, etc., have been cancelled because of lack of interest.’

‘The schools were strangely quiet with no field trips and no volunteer classroom aides.  Symphony halls and the museums that had been built and stocked by volunteers were dark and would remain that way.  The flowers in churches and synagogues withered and died.  Children in day nurseries lifted their arms, but there was no one to hold them in love.

‘Alcoholics cried out in despair, but no one answered.  The poor had no recourse for health care or legal aid.  I fought in my sleep to regain a glimpse of the ship of volunteers just one more time.  It was to be my last glimpse of a decent civilization.”

Metro United Way and our community depend on the thousands of volunteers in our midst.  Please take the opportunity to thank them for making our region a better place to live.

General Community, community service, Giving, Volunteer

Remember the fabulous group of people who volunteered in September 2008 to assist the elderly, homebound and disabled remove storm debris due to “Hurricane Ike” in September 2008?  They were called the “Wind Warriors” and the handled over 900 phone calls and assisted over 623 households.  They were true “hometown heroes!”

Well, we need to assemble a team of “Ice Warrior” volunteers due to the recent ice storm.

Phone Bank Volunteers Needed

In partnership with Metro Government, KY VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster), Metro United Way has been asked to coordinate a Storm Debris Assistance phone bank.  The phone bank will receive two types of calls:

• For individuals/teams who want to volunteer to assist in storm debris removal
• For elderly, homebound or disabled to call in to request help in clearing their yards from the ice storm tree damage.

Volunteers are needed to answer phones & help with other duties:

• Time: 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. (or whenever you can arrive until 8:00 p.m.)
• Days: Tuesday, February 10th; Wednesday, February 11th; Thursday, February 12th
• Location: Metro United Way, 334 E. Broadway - Corner of Preston and Broadway; Parking behind the building
• Task: Follow script and fill in simple form from those who need help or those who want to help.
• To volunteer to answer calls, please contact Mary Sullivan at 502.292.6154.

Debris Clean Up Volunteers

If you can’t help on the calls, but would like to form a team to help in the clean up, we need you as well.

Volunteers will not be removing tree limbs from roofs or removing tree limbs hanging in trees. You will be cleaning tree limbs and branches from the ground and moving them to the curb or other appropriate locations. Volunteer your help.

I want to Donate to help.

Metro United Way is making a special request for donations in support of the additional emergency food, shelter, transportation and medical needs that have surfaced as a result of the ice storm.

Click this link to donate now.

Photo credit: sixsteps

Giving, Volunteering Community, community service, emergency, ice storm, KY VOAD, Louisville, recovery, Volunteer

Although I feel my life is one big blur and that I am going in a thousand different directions, I also feel as if I am standing still. As a single parent balancing all that I have to balance is challenging. With my own responsibilities and the never-ending cycle of extra-curricular activities three teenage girls can get into; it can make it difficult to even focus on anyone outside my own “private world”. Even when everything around me seems to be going haywire, I know that I HAVE to find the time to do something that will make someone else live or feel better. I encourage and instill in my children and others the idea that this is… what is right, not only for the community but for ourselves.

In the midst of all that my work day may include I know that I made a commitment to deliver meals one Wednesday a month to the sick and shut-in of our community. So come snow, rain, sleet, blazing heat, I know that I have to make sure that the clients of the Kling Center are going to receive their daily lunch. Many times I have thought, “Oh its ok for me to miss today, someone will cover it,” but am I really sure they will? No. So I often grudgingly grab my keys and head out, but by the time I get there I am so ready to make someone smile or laugh as I do my small part. Some may ask what do you get out of it. The smiles and words of thanks are enough, because I know I made a difference at that moment in someone’s life.

I solicit my kids to volunteer at my job or civic functions when I can and always have them doing something at church to help someone else. I have encouraged my extended family to participate in some shape or form at various times in the work that Metro United Way does. I suppose being of service to our community is deeply rooted in our family tradition. My dad has prepared Metro United Way’s annual staff  Thanksgiving luncheon for the past couple of years and what is left over is donated to a nursing facility that has been in the community for many years. My brother volunteered to assist with the clean up after hurricane Ike and when the windstorm of 2008 hit our community; he completed damage assessment through the Newburg community for Metro United Way’s Wind Warriors program. Each year he gives back by coordinating Newburg’s Community Day festival. My families commitment to giving back is the reason I view this as a personal responsibility and is something I am extremely proud to pass on to my children. I invite each of you reading this to start a “Legacy” of commitment and service to the community with your children, friends, and extended family. If you are not already involved, ask yourself why. We all have many things on our plates, but in the end it’s not about YOU.  It’s about the bigger picture and what you DO for others. I ask that you dig deeper than you ever thought imaginable. Be your brothers’ keeper, give back and do more. Be the stand up person you want the world to see… If you volunteer even in the midst of complete and utter chaos I promise you … you will feel better for doing it. 

As we are now several weeks into the New Year, with a new President seeking change and encouraging volunteerism, we all need to look within ourselves. Then ask, “How can I do and be better… Then ACT on it…

Giving back is the answer. God Bless.

General community service, making a difference, Volunteer

What do you think of when you hear the words “community service?” Sometimes I feel like the term has been hijacked by our court system and has come to describe a form of punishment. I have an acquaintance who, when asked to help with a volunteer project, responded, “I haven’t done anything wrong. Why do you want to make me do community service?” I’ve heard other people say, “I’m not going to work if I don’t get paid for it!”

These attitudes are really unfortunate because, well, think about it - community service is simply a service that someone performs to benefit his or her community. We can all make a difference in small ways every day, and lots of people are doing just that. I know that everybody’s busy these days, but even if you have only an hour a week to give, you can make a difference to someone. How about shoveling the sidewalk of that elderly neighbor the next time we have snow? Or you could buy some extra canned goods to drop into the Dare to Care donation barrel at the grocery store. Offer to entertain her children so that the young mother next door can run errands without the kids. Clean out a closet and donate your good, but unworn, clothing to a charitable organization that will resell it. There are plenty of ways that you can help to make our community a better place.

If getting involved in serving our community appeals to you, but you’re not sure what you’d like to do or how to get started, why don’t you check out the volunteering opportunities that are on Metro United Way’s website?Whether you’re interested in helping out at a one-time event or you’d like to donate time on a regular basis, there are plenty of nonprofit organizations that can benefit from your skills and experience. And just a reminder - if you’re a high school student with a community service requirement for graduation, don’t wait until the last minute. Be cool and volunteer now – then it won’t feel like a punishment!

This is Karla Close and I work in the Volunteer Development Department at Metro United Way.   .

General, Volunteering community service, Volunteering