LIVE UNITED Y’All!

By: Mary Ann Steutermann
Director of Education Initiatives

This week – the week of Feb. 14 – marks more than just the traditional romantic holiday we all know so well? That’s right. Valentine’s Day isn’t the only day worthy of note this time of year; it’s also “Random Acts of Kindness Week.”

Just as you may have dined out with your honey or brought a box of chocolates to your main squeeze on Monday, I think it also makes perfect sense to mark “Random Acts of Kindness Week” with, well, a random act of kindness. We celebrate the magic of cupid’s arrow with red hearts and flowers, so perhaps we should express our gratitude about all we have been blessed with by sharing with others in need.

We often think that to have an impact, we need to engage in gargantuan projects, give huge sums of money, or undertake heroic efforts. But all we really need to do is just some random act of kindness whenever we can. That’s the beauty of “Living United.” When each of us contributes something small – $5.00, an hour of volunteer work, a quick email to a congressperson – then all of us together become a powerful force for good.

Planning to do something nice?  Already taken the plunge and made someone’s day a little brighter? Let us know!  We’d love to hear all about it.

General Live United, random acts of kindness

By Jan Sherrell 

I am not one to make New Year’s Resolutions. It isn’t so much the notorious belief of ‘why bother – we’re just going to break them anyway.’  It is more that if I decide to do something differently, if I get to the point where I want to change direction of something, I am not going to wait until January 1^st to do it. 

All that said, this year I am spouting a resolution or maybe my new mission statement. I know it sounds so corporate and that is not my style. I am going to live with the statement some would call it resolution of “Make Every Moment Matter.”  

My dear sister-in-law suddenly passed away August 28, 2010 at age 46. There began my resolution to live life to the fullest. I’m working to give those hugs when the spirit moves me. I want to tell people they have done a great job raising their kids while I still have that chance. I have to push myself to some social outings and make plans to see friends and family and not let time slip pass. I want to use my time productively with no regrets. 

I’ve just recently finished my Bachelor’s degree.  I now have FREE EVENINGS! Not sure what to do with myself. “Make Every Moment Matter” resonates through my thoughts as I clean up dinner and have an evening stretching in front of me. I’m entertaining possibilities of being a Big Sister (realistically I qualify as a Big Grandma, but I don’t want to talk about it). I’m already on a Board so I really want the next opportunity to be more hands-on. I’ll find it. I’ll work to “Make Every Moment Matter.” 

Are you living your mission? Are you making every moment matter? I’m not encouraging a frantic pace; I am just suggesting you follow your heart and live with no regrets. Visit www.metrountedway.org/volunteer to explore volunteer opportunities.

General, Volunteering Live United, Volunteer

By: Mary Ann Steutermann

This time of year, thoughts turn to festive holiday gatherings. I have warm memories of family gathered around the Christmas tree laughing as presents were exchanged. Sometimes these gatherings were the only times during the year we’d see out-of-town relatives, and the opportunity to catch up with them was sometimes more fun than opening the gifts they brought.

Just this week, Metro United Way hosted a gathering of sorts. Fellow United Way personnel from Atlanta, Richmond, Nashville, Chatenooga, and Cincinnati joined us here in Lousiville. Each of our United Ways is working on developing plans to increase educational attainment in their communities through an initiative called Ready By 21. And the focus of this gathering was, well, gatherings.

We spent 3 days with our colleagues learning about new strategies for leading community gatherings that will help us learn much more about our communities aspirations for itself and how education connects to it. Sometimes in community work, we gain tons of “expert knowledge” at the expense of collecting “pubic knowledge.” The gathering this week taught us about how the very nature of gathering people together to share that goals and concerns has a power in itself.

This week’s gathering of United Ways had no real gift-giving and certainly no spiked eggnog, but being able to bring people together to learn new and better ways of bringing people together was itself a wonderful present.

Advocacy, Education, General advocate, Community, community change, Education, Live United, Metro United Way, Neighborhoods, United Way, youth

Judy Schroeder

Thanks-Living.  Did I get your attention?  I’m not trying to be cute. 

It just occurs to me that this wonderful holiday event of  Thanksgiving is small compared to the “thanks-living” opportunity we have every day of our lives.   

That might not be the best thing to say right now if you are running to get your house set up for the family or cooking the turkey and fixin’s all night! Quite big enough?  …YES, and much appreciated!

Just know that from here at Metro United Way we get to see the work y’all do all year long as volunteers, donors, and advocates for others.  You are so important!

The last time I was at Parkway Place Housing,  I saw the Dare to Care Mobile Pantry delivering staples. The delivery crew was down to only potatoes, but the remaining Somali-Bantu women gathered pounds and pounds of those up in the folds of colorful scarves and skirts, carrying them home wrapped on their backs like babies, planning the next few weeks’ meals. 

Yesterday I was there again in the home of the president of the Somali-Bantu Association, plotting how we could extend their self-help organization even further.  This time, I am even more impressed at how circles of caring people wrap around each other:   our broad community of donors, advocates and volunteers in business and labor ~ wrap around the donors, advocates and volunteers in our agencies and community efforts ~ which wrap around more donors,  advocates and volunteers in community organizations and families ~ who want to be strong enough again to “give back” as healthy, smart, hard-working community members.

That’s what I mean by Thanks-living, the caring community.  All year, every day that we work together is a way of giving thanks for gifts shared. 

So, prepare the feast!  Especially if, for now, it’s potato and turkey stew.  Eat United! LIVE UNITED!

General, Giving, Volunteering Community, community change, Giving, immigrants, Live United, Neighborhoods

By Jan Sherrell

It is November. November is the month we are more intentional about giving thanks. Heck, they named a holiday after it.

I thought I’d share some stories of Metro United Way agencies and their thankful clients.

Three year old Colten’s parents are thankful for Visually Impaired Preschool. When they were told at two months that their son Colten had significant vision impairment, Colten’s parents were scared. Now they are thankful that visiting VIPS allowed them to meet toddlers without sight learning to adapt and play and live to the fullest. They had millions of questions regarding Colten’s diagnosis and prognosis. They are thankful VIPS staff helped them find the answers.

Mrs. C is thankful for the daily phone calls she receives from Multi-Purpose Community Action volunteers. She is very appreciative of someone showing an interest in her and being available to offer other resources when she needs them. Mrs. C looks forward to the phone call daily; they are her window to the world.

Patrick is a 45 year-old male with mental challenges. In 2007 he was living in a homeless shelter. Now Patrick knows how to do numerous industrial tasks at Custom Quality Service’s sheltered workshop. Patrick is thankful for his own place and for Custom Quality Services giving him a chance at independence.

Eighty-three year old Mr. G admits he sometimes has to force himself to attend the Arthur S. Kling Center. His poor health and no energy can make it a struggle to get motivated. But he knows that when he gets there he will enjoy the camaraderie. He enjoys a hot lunch, plays pool, exercises and uses the computer. He is thankful for the social workers available there to help him and their care for him inspires Mr. G to visit others in poor health.

And me?  I’m always thankful for the contingent of agencies serving our community and improving lives. What are you thankful for?

General, Health, Income Agencies, community change, Give Thanks, Live United, parenting, United Way

By Erin McMahon

Whether you’re celebrating or mourning the outcomes of yesterday’s elections, there’s one thing we can all agree on – and that’s LIVING UNITED by giving, advocating or volunteering through Metro United Way.

I want to thank Greg Fischer, Jackie Green and Hal Heiner for LIVING UNITED by lending their support to us through the production of the video below.

And – thank YOU, dear readers for sticking with us on this blog. Extra big thank-yous if you share this blog with someone today!

Advocacy, Giving, Volunteering Live United, Louisville Mayor-elect, mayoral candidates, mayoral race

With school having just started back, education seems to be on everyone’s mind.  Getting over the anxieties and challenges of starting a new school year can be a big hurdle – especially if your child is entering kindergarten or a new school.  This year, my son is a 5^th grader at a school that he has attended since pre-school, but my daughter started at a new school as an incoming 6^th grader entering middle school.  At orientation, she remarked “This place is BIG!”  As a parent putting myself in her shoes, I couldn’t have agreed more.

When children have a supportive family and a stable home environment, doing well in school can still be a significant challenge.  Keeping up with all of their subjects, text books, assignment sheets, daily reading, and long-term projects can be a tall task!  However, there are much greater challenges being faced by large numbers of children in our community.

Last year, 10,555 students in Jefferson County Schools were homeless at some point during the year.  To me, that number is staggering, both in terms of volume, as well as impact for each child.  I think about how difficult it must be to try to focus on academics when you may not know where you are going to eat or sleep.  Even if you’re staying with another family, sleeping on a couch in the living room is a far cry from sleeping in the comfort of your own bed in a private space.  It’s also painful to think about the many situations which may have caused the unstable housing to begin with – the loss of a job, a serious illness or death in the family, a lack of financial resources, chemical dependency, mental illness, domestic violence.  Every situation is unique.

Fortunately for us, our community is thinking about some of these most challenged students and how we can support them to make sure they have a fighting chance in school.  Organizations like the Metropolitan Housing Coalition, the Coalition for the Homeless and systems like Jefferson County Public Schools, our Kentucky’s Department of Community Based Services (child welfare), and Family Courts are teaming up to discuss how we can better support homeless children and their families, and how all of our systems can work together to ensure all children have every chance to be successful, by addressing their holistic needs.  When organizations and individuals come together around common goals, amazing things can happen.

I invite you to consider what it would be like to be in a homeless child’s shoes trying to learn in the classroom.  What images does this evoke for you?  How could taking on this perspective help us all as a community to better support these children’s academic success and long-term stability? 

Education, General Add new tag, Children, Coalition for the Homeless, Education, future, homeless, Jefferson County Public Schools, Live United, Louisville, making a difference, Metro United Way, Metropolitan Housing Coalition, parenting, youth

Stakeholder Relationship Team shows what's important to them!

I remember as a kid there always seemed to be someone on my block who would always tell  my mother or father what I did or did not do.  That individual was called a tattle tale.  Tattle taling is passing information through “word of mouth.” The saying goes that a person will tell at least 10 other people about a good or bad experience they had with a company, organization or an individual. And more often than not, those 10 people may tell at least 10 other people. I know I have experienced both giving and receiving that type of information.

Think for a moment about “word of mouth” or WOM. The simple act of conversing with another is a powerful way to spread a message. 

The June 23, 2010 edition of The Agitator discussed how WOM is a powerful way for non-profits to spread their message and build relationships. 

 Here’s a report from Online Media Daily on an interesting Yahoo study that has attempted to drill into WOM behavior. It notes that 76% of all WOM still occurs face-to-face … however, increasingly it just might be that two individuals are sitting side-by-side talking about something they are viewing on their respective smartphones! The study says that 38% of all WOM conversations, however they occur, are informed by internet-derived content.

No one’s really examined WOM specifically as it works in the nonprofit space, but there’s no reason to expect the underlying principles would differ. In our own DonorTrends surveys, we’ve seen that 15-20% of donors self-identify themselves as individuals who have recommended a specific charity or cause group to someone else.

In building relationships we know that personal contact is the best way to increase the depth of the relationship. In today’s world of social media, i-phones, i-pads, email and yes, the old standby face-to-face conversations, their are unlimited  opportunities to talk about experiences, causes, ideas and really almost anything. 

How do we utilize our WOM opportunities to connect with people we know, meet with, talk on the phone with, Facebook with, are LinkedIn with to spread our Metro United Way message? In this past week there were at least two opportunities to WOM with others about helping others. First is the opportunity to Adopt Camp Kindergarten Schools and the second is the need for Volunteers to Drive Cancer Patients to Treatments. What wonderful opportunities to use the power of WOM.

What is the power of WOM. I think the power of WOM is best described by doing the math. We can use the earleir reference about one person telling 10 other people about an experience, idea, opportunity to calculate the power of WOM.

I tell 10 people about opportunities to adopt Camp Kindergarten classrooms and the need for volunteers to drive cancer patients. If those 10 people will tell 10 other people, we now have 111 people WOMing about these opportunities. If the last 10 we  WOM with tell another 10 we are up to 211 WOMers. This is the power of WOM and the power of 10.

As Metro United Way works to forge lasting relationships with our stakeholders, let’s use the simple act of WOMing to Change People’s Lives.  Give, Advocate, Volunteer! Be a WOMer today!

General Community, future, give, Live United, making a difference, Volunteer, youth

Photo Share by Untitled Blue via Flickr

By Kelly Hutchinson, Donor Relationship Manager

Recently I was exploring volunteer opportunities with a company to identify fitting ways the employees could roll up their sleeves and experience what it means to LIVE UNITED first hand and hands on!

Obviously there are many choices, but they were keen on helping on something that aligns with their company expertise and values. We needed a “fit” that would allow them to bring their passion, resources and unique expertise to help get something meaningful done in our community.

Did you know that every November in our community Project Warm organizes the Project Warm Energy-Saving Blitz, in which hundreds of volunteers will plug air leaks and install plastic interior window covers in homes of seniors, low-income and disabled individuals?

Project Warm is certainly a big help for families struggling to make ends meet and offers real help for today for those served. Adhering to the belief that if you give someone a fish, you feed him or her for a day, but if you teach them to fish, you feed them for a lifetime, it’s a nationally recognized program in energy conservation education. Programs include free weatherization materials and installation instruction for low-income families to learn how to continue to help themselves and others.
 

Recently, Project Warm in partnership with the Louisville Community Action Partnership (CAP), designed an experimental project called the “Energy Challenge” to reduce the utility bills of households in our community with the greatest need.  They marketed this challenge to homeowners who had required assistance from the CAP for help in paying especially high utility bills. Then in an effort to intentionally attack the victim-rescuer dynamic that can perpetuate a dependence on social services – they empower participating households to perform “sweat equity” and help complete the weatherization work on their homes.  They are teaching folks to fish. 

Want to weatherize homes, deliver meals, transport cancer patients to appointments, mentor a child? Can you support by Giving, Advocating and Volunteering?  You can help create lasting change and opportunities for a better life for all. Can you invite others to be a part of the change? That’s what it means to LIVE UNITED.

General, Volunteering Community Action Partnership, Energy Conservation Education, Energy Saving, Live United, low income weatherization, Project Warm

By John Sands

It’s the weekend and you may be thinking it is time to get your “party” on.  There are so many options to choose from in our great city and certainly many that will provide you with great entertainment.  But what better way to party, than to party with a purpose? 

Tomorrow night the Louisville Urban League will host it’s annual Diversity Soirêe in the Galt House East Ballroom at 6pm.  In addition to honoring two men who have dedicated their lives and careers to community involvement and impact, they are also honoring E.-ON U.S.  for it’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in all aspects of it’s operations. 

The event is being sponsored by Fifth Third Bank.   I don’t know if you caught this, but we have one of Metro United Way’s largest contributors sponsoring an event by a member agency (LUL) and honoring another outstanding contributor to Metro United Way (E.ON U.S.).  How exciting is that? 

The League has an exciting evening planned with an ecclectic mix of entertainment that ranges from Irish/Celtic and Flemenco dancing to Salsa and Gospel music.  Too fun!  And where could you find all of this in one evening? 

You’ll dance the night away with great music and other fine entertainment.  All the while knowing your ticket contributions will go toward helping the Louisville Urban League continue it’s work of building strong, economically stable families and successful school-aged children.

For more information on this great event and how you may purchase tickets, check out the League’s website at www.lul.org

So go ahead and get your “Soirêe” on!

Events, General Agencies, Live United, making a difference