LIVE UNITED Y’All!

By Kate McNatt

Metro United Way wants to thank all the kind folks at General Electric, who just donated 4,600 portable space heaters to people in need during these cold winter months. Metro United Way will be the leader in distributing the space heaters, and the Salvation Army, a Metro United Way agency, is going to serve as the distribution site.

There are two opportunities to get involved (see below).  Volunteers will be handling boxes of heaters and should be able to lift up to 36 lbs.  Boxes may be dusty or dirty so please dress accordingly.  If you can help, please call Patty Belden at 502-292-6152 or email patty.belden@metrounitedway.org.  As always, thanks for your support!

Thursday January 14th – Distribution to Agencies

Location: Salvation Army

6709 Preston Highway

Louisville, KY 40219

Shift A: 1:00pm – 3:00pm         Volunteers Needed = 6

Shift B: 3:00pm – 5:00pm         Volunteers Needed = 6

Shift C: 5:00pm – 7:00pm         Volunteers Needed = 6

Friday January 15^th – Distribution to Agencies

Location: Salvation Army

6709 Preston Highway

Louisville, KY 40219

Shift A:  8:00am – 10:00am      Volunteers Needed = 6

Shift B: 10:00am – 12:00pm     Volunteers Needed = 6

Shift C: 12:00pm – 2:00pm       Volunteers Needed = 6

Events, General, Volunteering Community, Live United, making a difference, opportunity, Volunteer

By David Caldwell

I’ve never been a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. I always figured that if you really want to make a change in your life you should just do it – don’t wait for a “special” day to make it happen. That changed for me last year.

Since college I’ve been a non-smoker…sort of. I’ve always been that guy who might have a pack of cigarettes in his truck while he tells you he doesn’t smoke. I know how horrible the habit is for your health – I saw the black lung in science class too. I know how addictive the practice is – my dad smoked for 30 plus years. None of that ever stopped me from “kinda” smoking. I justified it to myself because I wasn’t a “real” smoker. I just smoked when I drank, or was really stressed, or it was Tuesday – you know, just a little. I was the familiar stranger in the smokers’ circle.

As the ball drops this year, I’ll be kissing my sweetheart with smoke-free breath, and celebrating 365 days without a cigarette. My goal is a lot more years of the same, but for now I’ll celebrate the first one.

So what are you resolving to do this year? If you haven’t quite decided, let me make a suggestion. Make a resolution to make a difference in the life of a child.

You could donate some books to the child care center down the street. You could volunteer to teach an art activity at your child’s school. You could find a way to be a role model for the kids across town and across the street that need a few more caring adults in their lives. You could write a check to your favorite child focused agency. You could call your legislator and tell them to make children more of a priority when they make decisions.

Think about all you’ll have to celebrate after a year of working to improve the life of a child. If you want to give, advocate, or volunteer, you can visit our website. If you want a few more ideas or some help in making your resolution a reality, let me know. Have a wonderful holiday, and ring in the New Year in a meaningful way!

Photo Credit: maxxtraffic

Advocacy, Giving, Volunteering Children, Live United, making a difference, opportunity, Volunteer

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

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

By now you may have seen the video of Susan Boyle, the contestant on the TV show “Britain’s Got Talent.”   This uncool, plain-looking, middle-aged Scottish woman sang “I Dreamed A Dream” from the musical Les Miserables and earned a standing ovation from the audience and the judges.  Despite the fact that her appearance inspired rolling eyes and derision when she took her place on the stage, she evoked gasps and cheers when she broke into song and her voice soared.  Millions of people have watched the video of her audition on YouTube, have watched it over and over again with tears in their eyes.

Why are we so surprised that such a sublime gift could reside in a plain package?  Haven’t we learned by now that everyone has gifts and talents to share with the world?  How often do we discount people thinking they have nothing to offer when, with the right opportunity and encouragement, they may blossom into a more fully-realized person.  Ordinary people are capable of doing extraordinary things when given the opportunity.

Not all of us are blessed with a beautiful singing voice, but each of us has one or more gifts that the world around us desperately needs.  Reach out to our community this week and share your gifts with the rest of us, and encourage and appreciate the gifts you recognize in the people around you.  Remember, the most amazing gifts may come in the most unassuming of packages.

General Community, gift, opportunity, sharing, surprises, talent

If you were to close your eyes and think about your ideal place to live, what would come to mind?  For some of us, it would be a cottage on a beach where it was warm all year long.  For others, it would be living in the mountains or on several acres out in the country.  But let’s think about living here in the Louisville area.  We’ve already got a lot of things that make living here good: museums and the arts, sports, beautiful parks, entertainment, top-notch health care, plenty of shopping and restaurants, the Ohio River, colleges and universities, and the Derby, to name a few. 

But let’s dare to dream even bigger.  What other things would we want in our ideal metropolitan area?  How about if every child was wanted and loved, kept safe, and was given every chance to develop his/her mind and talents?  What if marriages were strong and loving and couples received the coaching and guidance they needed to make their marriage healthy and vibrant?  What if every older adult was loved and given the resources he/she needed to remain as independent as possible for as long as possible?  And when that was no longer possible, that they would be assured of having people around them who cared well for them and helped them to maintain their dignity.

Wouldn’t it be great to live in a community where people who have physical and mental disabilities were accepted as equals and where their human worth would be valued?  Imagine a place where animals were cared for and wouldn’t live their lives chained or caged or neglected or abused.  How about living in a place where people took seriously their responsibility to tread lightly on the earth so that future generations would have a healthy and beautiful place to live?  Would you like to live in a place where everyone who wanted to further their education had the ability to do so?  What if we lived in a place where everyone who wanted a job had one, and that job paid a living wage so that everyone could afford decent housing and could provide a reasonable standard of living for themselves and their family?

To quote John Lennon, “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”  Together, we can bring this city and the surrounding area closer to our ideal vision.  But in order to build a place that better suits the needs of everyone, we need everyone’s voice and everyone’s help.  So speak up.  What does your ideal community look like?

Advocacy, Education, Health, Income Advocacy, Community, Education, Health, Income, Louisville, opportunity

Over the past few months my friends seem to ask me more and more how this organization can survive in this economy or whether there is any way that we can continue to provide many of our services to the community. To the surprise of my more pessimistic friends, typically my response is not the gloom and doom response that most expect in the current climate. People who do not work in non-profits or who do not work in the human and social services sector often times don’t understand. Of course we will survive, we don’t have any other choice.

While I would never dream of denying the challenges that our organization is going to face in the very near future, I am excited and invigorated by those same challenges. In order for any organization to survive, non-profit or otherwise, it must be flexible, willing to grow, and show an aptitude for innovation.  These are all qualities that Metro United Way has shown even in times of flourishing economies. Yes, we could sit back and say there is no way that we can continue to do what we do in the present climate, but I personally feel that would be the easy way out and completely irresponsible. It is my belief that in times of great challenge there is also great opportunity for those who are willing to seize it. This great community that we live in, I believe, is one of the most empathetic and caring in the nation, and now more than ever those “less fortunate” in our community need us — all of us. Now is our time to shine!

This year United Ways across the United States have adopted a new call to action, Live United. How does one Live United you may ask? Well, by Giving, Advocating, and Volunteering.

Give! We are in the home stretch of closing our 2008 Campaign, and our goal is within sight, but we still need your help. If you are able and would like to give please contact a Donor Relations staff member by calling the Metro United Way offices at (502) 583-2821 or going to our website.

Advocate! Tell others how you Live United and what you do to support the caring power of our community.

Volunteer! Share your time and talents with those who truly are in need. Again please visit our website for a list of possible volunteer opportunities.

And remember, “Together we are bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions.” (President Barack Obama)

Advocacy, Events, Giving, Volunteering Community, Economy, future, Live United, opportunity