Gone Fishin’
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.