LIVE UNITED Y’All!

By Kelly Hutchinson, Donor Relationship Manager

This post is all about the United Way campaign in Scranton that Dunder Mifflin hosts to benefit United Way. That would be the Lackawanna County United Way in case you were wondering.  When the folks give at The Office they are helping advance the common good and create opportunities for a better life for all.

And just why would I share a post with you about the Dunder Mifflin campaign you ask?  Well I will tell you.  It’s because they do such a great job with their campaign at The Office that they are even an award winning company!

I promise I don’t make this stuff up. Look on the wall next time you watch and perhaps by the copier and just maybe you will see it there too. It is the Dunder Mifflin Extraordinary Campaign award from United Way.  Yep, that’s right the good folks at The Office care about their community and their neighbors and they are all part of the change they want to see in their community. 

My guess is that Dwight Schrutte used to organize the campaign. I think that this year Pam Beesly will be appointed by Michael Scott the CEO to serve as the campaign coordinator for The Office.  Michael sees great leadership potential in Pam and knows that she could do a great job making plans and working with the United Way staff.  Pam will love her new role and enjoyed making friends and meeting other coordinators in the community who run campaigns for their workplace.  

Pam will do her part each fall to organize an efficient and fun campaign that offers all her co-workers the chance to give, advocate and volunteer. They all feel proud of the award on the wall and the fact that when they each do their part that they can make a big difference in Scranton.

Some of the associates at The Office will help Pam with the campaign by planning fun events to celebrate their campaign and thank their donors. Dwight said that Meredith  likes supporting the campaign because it helps so many organizations. They all find that having their United Way campaign at The Office provides for a team-building experience.

So now I want to know just a couple things. Seriously for a moment please….The Office hosts a United Way campaign –does your company?  If your answer is ‘no’ then I don’t want it to be because you were never asked. If you don’t have a campaign and you want your company to be in good company alongside community corporate leaders at companies of all sizes like UPS, GE, Humana, Kroger, Atlas Machine or Deco Paper then let us help you get on board. It’s easy, fun and efficient. We would welcome the chance to start a relationship with you where together we can accomplish more than any one organization can alone.

Please join us this year. We all win in our local community when children succeed in school, families are financially stable and people enjoy good health. We want YOU and your company to join us this year and be part of the community campaign.

If you do have a campaign for Metro United Way, then I of course want to say ‘thank you’ for caring and sharing. You make it all happen here. You make our home town a stronger, better place to live and work. Even in the face of challenging economic times you and your company have made it a priority to help people in crisis now with basic needs support while taking on issues that are going to make our community stronger in the future. A heartfelt thanks to you and your office!

General, Giving, Volunteering Giving, Metro United Way, Start a United Way campaign, The Office, Workplace Campaign

Every year we celebrate the successes of the campaign through our many lists - our Top 25 (most dollars raised) and Terrific 25 (most dollars raised per capita) celebrate mostly big businesses, and some smaller ones, too. We also celebrate our Wow Campaigns - those with a 10% increase over last year and new campaigns.

I’d like to use this space, though, to celebrate all the truly small businesses, many of them locally owned and operated, who contribute more modest yet important amounts to our campaign. I recently put out a challenge to local busineses to give $100 and here’s who accepted. Many gave much more than this, but all who gave are appreciated:

Parsons Corporation
Amazing Products, Inc.
OVASCO Industries
W.R. Willett Lumber Company
B-Dry Systems of Louisville, Inc.
Jake’s Natural Lawn Care
LSE Engineering
US Specialties
Cox, Allen & Associates Architects
Bironas, Inc.
Embry Bosse Funeral Home
Twinbrook Nursing Home
Cecil & Cecil
UHL Truck Sales of Kentuckiana
Budget Business SErvice
Ratterman & Sons, Inc.
Old Kentucky Insurance, Inc.
Godsey Associates Architects
Klarer Construction Co., Inc.
Bob’s Deck Refinishing, Inc.
Video Kitchen
Ted McCain Company, Inc.
Spindletop Draperies, Inc.
Trinity Presbyterian Women
Mirror Glaze Distributors, Inc.
The Prudential Parks & Weisberg Realtors
A M Electric Company, Inc.
Hunt Tractor
Sparkle Brite Car Wash
ICCO
Eline Develpment Company
A.I.A. Agency, Inc.
Premium Foil Products Company
Vari-Comp, Inc.
Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of KY
A.J. Seibert Company, Inc.
Editorial Services Company
Tamplin & Company
Eyedia
Bilancia

If you are a customer of one of these businesses, please be proud and thank them for their commitment to our community!

Giving Community, Giving, small business, thank you

So, I hesitate to write this appeal just after Kerri has explained how not to go into debt this year….but if you’re still looking for unique and ridiculously nice gifts at a great price (and from a local retailer!), come out on Sunday, December 12th to both Louisville area Two Chicks & Co locations:

- 409 Spring Street in Jeffersonville - right next to Come Back Inn

- 12121 Shelbyville Road in Middletown

They’ll donate 15% of purchases that day to Metro United Way. Go ahead, buy yourself something nice, too!

Events, Giving Giving, local partnership, shop for a cause

Tell your friends, family and coworkers to stop by ANY Buckhead Mountain Grill location, for lunch or dinner, for a special Metro United Way Day on Tuesday, October 13th. If you bring in the flyer, 20% of proceeds will benefit Metro United Way

Take the night off and enjoy great food - I am especially a fan of the fried green tomatoes and buffalo chili.

To participate, you need to bring the flyer for this event.  (Only one flyer per table required - Flyers may not be distributed on property. Fliers may be photocopied to share.)

Visit Buckhead’s website to find locations! And Thanks for supporting Metro United Way!!!

Giving Event, Giving, opportunity

There’s been a lot of talk about Healthcare reform recently. But did you know that it could possibly affect the tax benefits of charitable contributions?

During the next few days the Senate Finance Committee will consider amendments to America’s Healthy Future Act of 2009, the bill crafted by Finance Committee Chairman, Max Baucus (D-MT). As many as 23 of these amendments propose a cap on charitable deductions as a way to pay for healthcare reform. Changes to the the tax benefits of charitable giving could not only negatively impact our ability to provide services to those in need, but it could also set a precendent for taking such actions in the future to further lower the cap on chartiable deductions. 

The current proposal does not include a cap on charitable deductions. You can help us keep it that way by letting Senator Jim Bunning know that you oppose any Senate Finance Committee amendments that cap the charitable deduction.

You can contact Senator Bunning at (202) 224-4343 or by visiting his site and filling out the contact form.

To learn more about the bill and the amendments the Senate Finance Committee will consider, click here.

photo credit: ANVAR-RUSSIANTEXAN

Advocacy, General advocate, America's Healthy Future Act of 2009, Giving, healthcare reform, Senator Jim Bunning

Have you ever tried to do any of the following by yourself…

• Whitewater raft
• Play a game of baseball
• Put up a tent
• Assemble a play set
• Start your own business
• Care for a young child
• Build a house

Sure, you can definitely do all of these things all alone. It might take you a while, but in most cases you could likely accomplish the task.

However, for each of these examples: what would it look like if you did it with one other person? Or perhaps with 2 or 3, or maybe more. Your ability to accomplish more increases greatly; your time and talent go much farther when put together.

Take assembling a tent. We went camping over Labor Day weekend. Let me tell you…not a big camper here. But, I was determined my family was going. Pitching a tent. Well, that could be quite an ordeal…but it wasn’t as bad as I thought when we all started to work together. This person holds this piece…another person holds that piece. It actually makes the work move along more quickly and the job gets done.

Metro United Way is a fantastic example of individuals coming together for a common goal in our community. While one voice could work to advance the common good, when we are all working together towards this we are much greater.

The agencies we work with at Metro United Way have seen their needs increase drastically in the past 12 months. 91% of agencies providing housing saw an increase in need. 87% of agencies providing food saw an increase in need –with some reporting a 40% increase in first time recipients.

Your gift to Metro United Way affects many lives in the community. Our gifts together through Metro United Way impact over 90 agencies, 160 programs, and countless lives. That’s the power of Metro United Way - the power of doing it together!

I encourage you to contribute to the campaign this year by visiting Metro United Way’s online giving page.

Flickr photo: lumaxart

Giving Community, Giving

I know I’m not the only one who loves a coupon, with rising prices and economic uncertainty. We all are looking for a deal and making tough choices.

A while back, I mentioned here that the LIVE UNITED Club would be a new feature to the 2009 campaign.

So many people in our community step up year after year and we not only want to thank you but make it a little easier to keep giving. You can be a member if you

• Give a minimum of $156/year (or $3/week through your workplace) to Metro United Way and
• Provide your home address and personal e-mail address.

If you don’t already, visit Metro United Way’s website to give $156/year (or $3/week through your workplace) and join the LIVE UNITED Club!

Beginning in January, you will be e-mailed a pdf of your own LIVE UNITED Club card for you to print and place in your wallet. Simply show this card at participating local businesses… like Wick’s, Fantastic Sams, Republic Bank and many more…. to receive your discounts.  Check out the LIVE UNITED Club web page to see the great offers we’ve already lined up for you from local businesses that want to thank you for helping your community.

You will also receive discounts from national partners when you provide your personal e-mail address. You will be sent an access code for mycaringclub.org to receive special offers from national merchants. These discounts will be available only through this web site. Depending on the retailer, discounts may be printable coupons for in-store use or a promotional code for on-line use. Current discounts will be good through February 2011 and will be continually updated.

General, Giving Economy, Giving, Live United, LIVE UNITED Club

By: Kerri Cokeley

As I was sitting in the donation chair today at the American Red Cross of Clark County, I realized that donating blood is one of the most immediately gratifying volunteer activities I perform throughout the year. All I give is one hour a month, six times a year and – volia – I’m saving lives!

In casual conversation I’m always surprised by the number of people who are eligible to give, but don’t.  I’m sure that many of the excuses I hear as to why individuals can’t donate are warranted… but I think that there are others out there who are just afraid to try it. (Kinda like kids who say they don’t like a certain food, even though you know they have never tried it…)

Anyway, I’m proud to be a blood donor and know many of you out there are too.  To celebrate being a donor, I’ve created my own Top 5 Reasons for Giving the Gift of Life. Drum roll please!

5. I love to visit Little Debbie Land (That’s what I call the table of goodies that I visit immediately after my donation so I can rehydrate and get a little something on my stomach.)

4. Karma points (I sure hope that if I ever need blood, there will be enough in supply to save to me.)

3. Lower bar bill (I know, you should not indulge in alcoholic beverages for at least 48 hours after your donation… however, the light headed effect stays with me for at least 60 hours J)

2. Getting out of work to give (I gave my first blood donation when I was 17 because I got out of school early… Now, any of us could start a donation day at our workplace and use it as a great excuse to step away from our computers for a while.)

1. Being considered a hero (There are not many opportunities we have in life to save another’s life, so I make sure to keep my donations on the calendar for every 56 days.)

So, there they are! Are there reasons that you like to give that I haven’t listed here? I would love to hear from you.  If you have never given a donation of blood and would like to learn more, you can visit www.givelife.org.

Giving, Health, Volunteering American Red Cross, Giving

A recent survey of Metro United Way agencies indicated that many people in our community are struggling for a basic necessity- food. Our agencies that provide food assistance have seen a 40% increase in “first-timers” or people who have never sought food assistance before.

The statistics are astounding, but what really makes my heart ache is seeing how this affects so many people in our community- three children splitting one “happy” meal at the local fast food restaurant, seeing an elderly man dig through a garbage can on my commute home from work, hearing that a family friend lost his job, then his house, and ultimately his ability to feed his family of five. Its easier to read faceless statistics than to remember that this isn’t about numbers-its about people, right here in our community who don’t have enough to eat, and I’m sure you will agree that even one child in our community going to bed hungry is one too many…

You may be wondering, what can I do to make a difference?

Volunteer

In an effort to provide more food to more people, Metro United Way has partnered with Dare to Care to supply volunteers for additional Dare to Care Mobile Food Pantries around town. We are looking for groups of 10-12 to help distribute food at local Dare to Care mobile food pantry sites- please visit our website to sign up your company, church group or club.

Speaking of, the first pantry as a result of this partnership is happening today!! A big thank you to Youth Build and D.D Williamson & Co. for volunteering!

Advocate

Do you know someone who is struggling to feed his/her family? Whether it is food assistance or foreclosure advice, tell them to dial 2-1-1 for Metro United Way’s free, confidential health and human service assistance line. Help is available 24/7 in over 100 languages.

Give

To help families in our community who are in crisis, please consider a donation to Metro United Way. Did you know that a donation of $5.00 per week will provide one hundred warm meals to individuals at the Salvation Army Louisville Center for Hope?

For more information on how you can Live United please visit metrounitedway.org.

Photo by petit plat by sk_

Advocacy, Events, Giving, Income, Volunteering 2-1-1, advocate, Common good, Community, Giving, Live United, Louisville, Metro United Way, Volunteer

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