LIVE UNITED Y’All!

Judy Schroeder 

In this season of giving, when we care so much that every child has a gift, do we need to remember that the best gift we ever give is the love that child needs so much?

I was in a remarkable gathering on my birthday this month. Yes, my family and friends are most remarkable, and I was blessed with very loving parents. But I was thinking about the group of parents I visited with that morning.

“2Not1.” Can you guess what it means? 

It’s actually a great title because it says exactly what it means:  Children deserve two parents, not only one.  Adults may have to live apart, but our children deserve both their fathers and their mothers as much as we, the adults of this world, can make that happen. 

There’s even a rising national movement among fathers who are creatively reclaiming their parenting role after separation from their child’s mother.

According to the National Drop-Out Prevention Center, parent engagement still makes the critical difference in young people’s lives. Students with involved parents, no matter what their income or background, are more likely to do better, try harder, be more involved, have better social skills, and finally graduate from school to hold jobs with incomes almost $10,000 better each year than the students who gave up and dropped out. Unfortunately, the National Principals Association also reports that 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes. 

It’s just that much harder to be an involved parent when you are the only adult paying attention.

That’s why the extended family and community supports for both parents in a child’s life are so important.  

Empowering parents to support a child’s success is the best and longest-lasting gift we can give a child. That’s what we do in the Gheens Bridges to Tomorrow program. That’s what is working for Shawn Gardner as he organizes 2Not1. That’s why we ask every parent of an infant or toddler to fill out the Ages & Stages Questionnaire. That’s why our Neighborhood Engagement is focused on building Parent Networks. 

Loving, involved parents give a gift that lasts.

Advocacy, Education, General, Giving Children, Community, Education, Louisville, Neighborhoods, parenting

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: Angie Ditsler

Last night, I had the exciting privilege of joining hundreds of others from across the country at the Muhammad Ali Center for the opening reception of NeighborWorks America’s Community Leadership Institute (CLI).  This training event gathers resident and neighborhood leaders from communities around the nation for four days of learning and sharing best practices and solutions to problems faced by low-income communities across the country.  New Directions Housing Corporation serves as the local host of this conference.

Over 800 people from Hawaii to New York have ascended upon Louisville, Kentucky this weekend.  All attendees are members of neighborhood teams attending the conference together.  In addition to workshops and breakout sessions, attendees also have the opportunity to participate in in-depth learning labs, panel discussions, and “mobile clinics” whereby groups will visit neighborhoods across Louisville to learn more about our city, its residents, and all the wonderfully unique places and features that make our local neighborhoods thrive.

One of the unique features of CLI is the opportunity each team has to create an action plan so they can effectively use the knowledge they gain from CLI to effect positive change in their neighborhoods back home.  Because Metro United Way supports vital neighborhoods locally, it sponsored several mini-grants for local neighborhood teams attending CLI to implement their action plans once CLI is over.  In particular, neighborhood teams representing Russell, Portland, Smoketown, the South End, California, and others will spend the coming weeks and months implementing their local action plans throughout Louisville.

If you see unfamiliar faces around town this weekend, please welcome them to Louisville and make them feel at home!

Events Community Leadership Institute, Neighborhoods, NeighborWorks America

By: Angie Ditsler

About a month ago I changed roles at Metro United Way.  I am now the new Manager of the Gheens Bridges to Tomorrow initiative.  I, by no means, expected the transition to be easy.  I fully expected to encounter a huge learning curve as I settled into my new job here in Louisville and slowly adjusted from my previous role in Shelby and Oldham Counties.  With so many different partners involved in Bridges, I honestly expected that the most difficult part of the transition would be coordinating the volume of activities and people, and keeping up with the pace of how quickly things move here.  If there is one thing I don’t have to worry about learning, I thought, it’s getting to know the agencies themselves that participate in Bridges.  After all, I’ve been working at Metro United Way over four years already, and I already know all about all the agencies we serve!

Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong!  Even as an employee at MUW with a background in social services, I must admit that spending time at each of the four Bridges centers this past month and learning more about the role each of them plays in the community has been a very eye-opening and humbling experience.  For example, in the three years since I last volunteered at Americana Community Center, it has opened a health clinic on its property and now operates a Family Program that focuses on the time parents and their children spend together.  I had no idea that Neighborhood House is home to a JCPS “STOP” program that works to prevent truancy among middle and high school students, and Presbyterian Community Center is preparing to open the doors of its new Child Development Center, making room for 50 additional young children in its program!  Did you know that Louisville Central Community Centers is in the middle of an enormous capital campaign that will expand its facilities, attract small businesses, and hopefully generate dozens of new jobs in central Louisville?  I didn’t know all this is going on, and I consider myself an active and knowledgeable member of my community!

What I’ve learned in my first 30 days at my new job is that there is a lot I didn’t know about my community, and a lot I still don’t know.  There is always something new to learn and experience in our own backyards.  Being an advocate for our neighborhoods and community is not just about sharing what we already know and believe; it’s also about being open to learn and talk about thing we don’t know much about either.

Advocacy, General advocate, Americana Community Center, Gheens Bridges to Tomorrow, Louisville Central Community Centers, Neighborhood House, Neighborhoods, Presbyterian Community Center

by John Nevitt

I heard a statistic not too long ago that very few Americans know their neighbors except for those on either side of their home or apartment. Why should that be troubling to us? Well, if it truly takes a village to successfully raise a child, we need to know who we can turn to in our neighborhoods for help. Plus, if we want to reduce our chances of being burglarized, the more neighbors we know, the more sets of eyes to help protect our property.

Another reason to get to know your neighbors is to strengthen our broader community. Our vision at Metro United Way is to build the most vital, caring community in the nation. We accomplish this by getting to know one another, sharing ideas, stories, (and food) which leads to a sense of connection, and more often than not, a group of allies who are there to support us.

A number of years ago, I took a leadership development class that encouraged us to design a project that would enhance a “community” of our choosing. Community can be defined as a group of interacting people sharing a common geography, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, etc. I chose to work with two neighborhood communities – the east end neighborhood where I lived and the inner city neighborhood where I worked. I wanted to get to know some of my neighbors better and foster a sense of connection within our broader Louisville community.

Essentially, I organized a neighborhood exchange where we could share a meal together and get to know one another. We gathered in a circle and asked everyone to talk about their hopes, dreams and aspirations, and what was helpful to them along their pathway and what did they see were the barriers. As I listened, it was interesting to hear some major differences between the two groups of neighbors, but I was more intrigued by what we had in common. I created an intention that participants would experience a sense of connection, and would have a better appreciation and understanding of residents from another neighborhood. As we debriefed from our gathering, many reported the recognition that, though very different on the surface and facing very different challenges, we all want the same thing for ourselves and our loved ones and there was an immediate sense of connection.

Deep down, I believe that what we all want is for our children to be successful in school and beyond, we want to be self-sufficient, and we want to experience good health throughout our lifetime. In other words, we care about education, income, and health, the three building blocks of Metro United Way.

So, how do we help ensure we have what we all want? Getting to know our neighbors is a great place to enhance our chances for success by tapping into the caring power of our local community. Consider inviting your neighbors to a pot-luck dinner, join (or start) a neighborhood association, organize a block party, or begin a book club or discussion group with your neighbors. It only takes a small step to get started, and the potential rewards are tremendous.

For a list of ideas on how to meet community residents and to get more involved in your community, visit the website www.bettertogether.org/150ways.

What step will you be taking in the upcoming weeks?  Do you have a great success story about building neighborhood connections that you would like to share?<

Advocacy, Education, Health, Income building community, Common good, Community, connection, Neighborhoods, neighbors

By Judy Schroeder

I am pretty sure I’m not the only one who is still comparing herself to her mother’s vision for her…right? Even when it spoke through dread and disappointment (“You’re not wearing that!” or “You don’t have any weekend to come home?”), Mom’s voice was the one I wanted to hear.

I was blessed, too. I could actually trust her judgment. Her humor and understanding turned all the little household chores into a great chance to be with her. Really, it was a very sneaky way to pull off raising six children born within nine years of each other! Teamwork. Inspiration. Joy. We won’t go into the temper tantrums here. I’ll just say…Discipline. She was clear enough to “jerk a knot in your tail” or place that worry in your own head when you started to go off track.

My Mom was a passionate, loving woman.

So, you know what you do when you’re the daughter of a passionate, loving woman? No, I didn’t have six children in nine years. I have three of my own, and lots of neighborhood children.

Other people I know who have blessings to share, share those blessings as mentors, tutors, and coaches. Many, like Joe Tolan, just make it their business to know the children and families on their block, or plant a garden like Ms. Lucille at the Russell Community Garden, or even outfit a bike repair workshop as Whit Forrester did in Old Louisville. My husband is the “go to” guy for basketball pumping on our block in Portland.

We do it because it’s fascinating to watch the young societies mix and match interests, bargain and exchange goods, argue and test each other over who they are and what’s important, today, in life. It might look like a fight, but it’s a test of wills and beliefs. We can help them with that. They’re all asking to be heard. They are fantastic! The best thing is that as they grow up, another crop suddenly appears. Those young parents are pretty interesting, too!

I am so proud to be part of a community that wants to make our “Youth Vision” a reality, where we want all children to experience “Success By 6.” Your contributions of time and treasure keep great community facilities open in places where families need those safe, healthy, and free opportunities.

If you are the mentor, tutor, or coach who encourages teamwork, inspiration, joy and discipline, Thank You! Or, like me, maybe you’ll want to keep that backyard basketball hoop and jungle gym just so that – with parental permission and an open ear from the house – we can keep tabs on that next generation.

Education, Volunteering mentoring, Neighborhoods, Success By 6, Youth Vision

It takes a village to raise a child.  This old adage holds a wealth of truth.  None of us can stand alone.  We are all dependent on each other and the responsibility to ensure that our children live happy, healthy lives belongs to all of us.  It is our responsibility to make sure this next generation succeeds.

In these trying economic times, community isn’t always what it is supposed to be. We’d all like to think we live in a place where people care about others, where people pitch in to help when things get rough and where it’s safe to leave the doors unlocked and let the kids play outside.  This is what our parents wanted for us and what we want for our children, but is it really what we have?  We can make the change for our future and for our children.

Living in a good neighborhood has nothing to do with the price you paid for your home or the amount of your monthly rent.  Living in a good neighborhood depends on the support system that exists within the neighborhood.  We need to look at the way we treat each other and the children who surround us.  We need to take the responsibility of truly being a good neighbor and looking out for one another.  Every child should have a caring adult in their lives. That person is not always a parent or family member.  Sometimes it is a friend or neighbor.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, there was plenty of poverty and misery.  People had lots of reasons to feel sorry for themselves, but people connected with each other during that time. They had family and friends around them.  People helped each other out, not only with physical needs like food, clothing and shelter, but also with spiritual and emotional needs.  They looked out for each other and they banded together to make it through.

We are in a rough patch again.  While no where near the magnitude of the Great Depression, still we all seem to be affected by this latest downturn in the economy.  With the housing and financial crises and ever increasing unemployment, it is easy to feel sorry for ourselves.  What we need to be doing is looking outward, reaching out a helping hand to our neighbors and ensuring our children live happy, healthy lives in a good neighborhood.  Life is a lot easier when you are part of a network of friends and family, a community, a neighborhood.

It takes a village to work with the family, to raise our children and weather the trying times.  If we want that kind of support, the place to begin is with ourselves, in our own neighborhoods.  Community, like charity, begins at home.  You start building a good neighborhood when you decide that you will be a good neighbor.  If you don’t know anyone on your block, you can always introduce yourself.  Host a gathering in your back yard.  Wave to your neighbors and stop to say hi at the curb.

There are many things that we don’t have much control over. But building a good neighborhood is something that you can do, right now, in the place where you live now.  You can reach out and touch your neighbor and find a new sense of purpose and life on your street. Make your neighborhood your village and ensure that our children will thrive.  Understand the truth that America was founded on, united we stand, divided we fall.  LIVE UNITED.

What do you think we need to do?  What are you doing in your neighborhood?

Photo credit: Samuel_Leo

General Children, Community, Live United, making a difference, Neighborhoods