LIVE UNITED Y’All!

Last week I had the opportunity to meet with an amazing group of Spanish-speaking workers at a company in Shelbyville.  I had been told in the past that these workers were not particularly interested in our Metro United Way campaign and would likely give nothing, especially given the minimum wage salaries that many of them earned.  I had a plan though.  I had a hunch that perhaps many of them simply did not understand what Metro United Way was all about- maybe they didn’t understand how their lives are impacted by Metro United Way’s work.

So the night before, I wrote up some talking points in Spanish.  I decided I wasn’t going to shield these people from the truth about the dire situation the campaign is in this year as a result of the struggling economy, and I wasn’t going to assume that they weren’t interested or able to give.  I thought about some of the services that their own families may use or need such as the Mercy Medical Clinic and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites.  Then the next morning I stopped at the Walgreens in town and bought two large packs of ink pens.  I was determined to make sure that every person in the room that morning 1) understood the need, and 2) had the opportunity to do something about it.

When I arrived that morning I was told I had exactly 15 minutes to talk with the workers.  Then I saw the thirty or so faces staring back at me and I thought for a moment that this might be a tough crowd.  I think they were a little surprised, however, when I greeted them with “Buenos dias,” and continued my talk in Spanish.  Gradually, I started to see more people turn their chairs to face me, and I saw heads nodding and heard voices responding to my questions.  This was a tremendous relief to me for two reasons: first, it meant they comprehended my rather rusty Spanish, and secondly, it meant I was saying something that was resonating with them. 

When I was finished talking I gave a pen to every individual in that room and offered to stick around for about 10 minutes afterwards to answer questions and collect pledge forms from those who chose to act now.  To my delight the majority of the individuals in the room that morning returned a pledge form to me before I left.  To my surprise, I flipped though the pledge forms and was astonished and proud to see that the majority of those forms had the “Care Share” box checked!  In less than 30 minutes, we had raised nearly $2000.00 towards the campaign from people in the community who had never given before.

This experience reaffirmed my belief that everyone has something to offer, and most will choose to act if simply given the opportunity to hear and understand our message.

Giving campaign, give, message, opportunity

Change is an incredible thing.  Without change (or progress), we wouldn’t have the microwave, cell phone, or digital TV—and don’t we all love our cell phones.  Additionally, without change, men and women alike would not have the right to vote; without change we wouldn’t celebrate July 4^th every year as there would have been no Independence Day. 

What about the smaller changes that happen all around us everyday?   Have you ever watched and thought about how the smaller change in your life affects the larger change in our community, and nation.  Look around.  For instance, when Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in 1879 it didn’t happen overnight; there were a number of other individual influences leading up to his work (actually starting as early as 1806..imagine that!).  Think about when you reach out a hand—

-To watch a neighbor’s child while they go to work

-To help your elderly neighbor take out their trash

-To send out “thinking of you cards” to homebound individuals

-To clean up the community park

-To give your input and ideas on a local board

-To read to or mentor young children

With anyone of these you are acting as an agent of change.   There are the immediate results you can see and the not so immediate results.  I think about the relationship I have with my sister, Rachel, who is 11 years younger than I am.  Reading to her as a young child, and now mentoring her through her high school years as she prepares for decisions such as which colleges to pursue, and which courses to take for her senior year, etc.  I am able to watch the change and impact I am able to have in her life.  Some of those are immediate, however often it’s a process over time.  And, I am one of many individuals to impact her over the past 17 years of her life, and there will be many others. 

We have agents of change here at Metro United Way, throughout the building where we work, throughout the community where we live.  From those who come and volunteer their time on the Campaign Cabinet to raise resources, to those who serve on the Program Review team to make funding decisions, to our partners who work beside us.  Each of these individual’s have a lasting impact on what our community will look like each year, and into the future.  For instance, the Campaign Cabinet in Southern Indiana (and in each of our counties) works each year to raise resources.  These volunteers are the “feet on the street”, and are advocates for the work of United Way.  (Thank you to all our volunteer teams.)  Without the resources this team volunteers to raise our community would look very different.  In fact, last year through Metro United Way this Campaign Cabinet, along with companies, individuals, foundations, brothers, sisters, moms, dads, the whole of Southern Indiana raised and contributed a total of $1.86 million dollars.  These resources equate to change.

Look into the future, can you see what it will look like with and without this change.  It could be the difference between sunshine, and rain for someone you know.  Be an agent for change.  You can learn more at www.metrounitedway.org, or choose to change the face of your community by visiting www.give5forall.org and use your resources to change one life at a time. 

Giving, Volunteering give, Volunteer

by Kelly Hutchinson, Donor Relations

I would like to take a moment today and congratulate all the fine people who have made the switch from analog to digital. Once again, we as Americans have survived another important milestone. It seems if we ban together we can accomplish anything!

I laughed out loud recently at this FB post made by a friend. I also quickly thought about a deeper message that entered my mind. I thought to myself, so the big day finally arrived, passed and went unnoticed. Sort of like the Y2k bug that never really reared a pesty head but the hype leading up caused such a stir.

Then, I thought a little bit more….One of the real challenges we have in our work at Metro United Way is in getting the message of our work out into our community. If you are a volunteer, donor or both then I would want to say THANK YOU as that is always a most important message. I know have along the way learned the value of lending your time, talents and treasure the United Way.

However, if you are in the pool of people who aren’t quite sure about the value of United Way, what we do, or the opportunities created, well then you need to know more.

Our goal is to advance the common good and share opportunities to give, advocate and volunteer for vital health and human services that will impact education, income and health in our community. At Metro United Way, we change the lives of those who walk by us everyday and we can change what we see in our world.

Stay with me on this… Think about it…What a difference it would make if the same dedicated messaging, and urgency -I recall for at least a year no less watching the scrolls, commercials and reminders to be ready for the impending switch from analog to digital TV- could be applied to helping our community.

Hmmm…I wonder what would happen for our neighbors, friends, and community if the same effort and level of importance this constant messaging created in citizens could be used to advance the common good and inspire people to get involved, and prepare to create some community change?

We would see progress toward bold goals and we would help make things better for all of us. Because we all win when families are financially stable, when children succeed in school and when we enjoy good health.

You too can share the good news, spread an important message and create a ground swell of awareness and support. You can also join with me in an easy, affordable way to make a big difference today by joining the Give 5 Now virtual campaign for Metro United Way. Check it out, share the message and Thanks!

Advocacy, Education, General, Giving, Health, Income advocate, Common good, community change, give, Give 5 Now, United Way, Volunteer

We are proud to announce that the Live United advertising campaign was a Top 10 Ad Council Campaign for 2008. You have probably seen and heard advertisements around town on billboards, in print, and on the radio encouraging our community to “Give. Advocate.Volunteer. LIVE UNITED.”

As we move forward, our advertising campaign will evolve just a little. While we can’t give away all of the exciting details, I can tell you that the campaign will not only feature those famous white Live United t-shirts, but will also have a call to action: “I don’t just wear the shirt, I live it”.

How do you “live it”? The first three people to leave a compelling comment will win a Live United t-shirt to wear while you’re “living it.” We look forward to hearing your responses!

Advocacy, Giving, Volunteering advocate, give, Live United, make change, Volunteer

As we all know, times are hard and tough times force hard choices.  Many of us are wondering how we will make the monthly bills and are having to reduce the amounts we would normally give to non-profit organizations as our way of helping out the community.  We all lead busy lives and giving money is an easy way for us do our part to help others.  As we find this more and more difficult to do, we may think that we have nothing left to give and hope that someone else will be able to make up the difference.

In fact, each of us has much more to give.  We can all give a little of our time and volunteer to lend a helping hand and make a difference in someone else’s life.  According to Wikipedia, a volunteer is someone who works for a community or for the benefit of the environment primarily because they choose to do so. The word comes from Latin, and can be translated as “will” (as in doing something out of ones own free will). Many serve through a non-profit organization – sometimes referred to as formal volunteering, but a significant number also serve less formally, either individually or as part of a group.

Volunteering can be easy and doesn’t have to take up much of your time.  It can even be done from home.  Check with your neighborhood church, school or community center.  Ask if there is someone in your neighborhood who needs someone to check on them and give them a phone call each evening.  See if there is a young family who might need someone to talk to when they have questions about their children.  Work with a child to help him get his homework done or listen to him read for 30 minutes so he can become a better reader.  Cut your neighbor’s grass while you are cutting yours when you know they are having trouble getting to it.  Clean your closets and your garage out and donate those items to a non-profit organization.  They can be distributed to people who really do need them. Get a group of friends together one Saturday to paint the elderly couple’s house on the corner. It could help them stay in it for a little while longer.

All of these things are simple and won’t take much of your time.  All of them are capable of making a positive impact on someone else’s life.  Seemingly small things like these can change the world and we can all do our part.  Giving doesn’t always take money, just a little time.

Volunteering give, Volunteer