Cards of EnCOURAGEment

More than 80 volunteers (over ½ were children) stopped in at the St. Cloud Public Library on a cold Saturday in January 2011 to make heartfelt homemade cards.  This was a United Way Day of Action volunteer event called Cards of EnCOURAGEment.  More than 600 cards were created. They are being sent through the Red Cross to service members in Afghanistan who do not get much mail.

I had a chance to read many of the colorful, sticker-filled cards.  Here are a few:

 “Thank you. Please come home soon”

“Ready for a joke to make you laugh?  Why did the bird go into the kitchen? Tweet (to eat)”

“You are in our prayers”

“Sending you big hugs and cheers from home”

“Words are not enough to express our appreciation to courageous people like you”

One young girl, probably about 9 years old, came up to me and asked if she could show me one of the 10 cards she made.  She said she wanted to keep this one.  She had a relative who had been hit by three shots, he survived and she wanted to give it to him herself.  I was glad she found this as a time she could make a card to thank someone she knew and loved.

One group of children came all the way from Eden Valley to volunteer.  They made 93 cards. 

One woman who sat alone said her nephew had been in Iraq and she used to write and sent him packages.  He is home now and she wanted to send messages to others.

A mom and her two children said they were having a “United Way Day” – volunteering at Cards of EnCOURAGEment in the morning and Kids Against Hunger in the afternoon.  What a great way to help children learn the value of helping other people!

One man and his two children said they were at the library, saw the event was happening and stopped in.  They needed to get out of their small apartment and do something different.

Several Tech High School students helped with set up, take down and made cards. 

Sartell Middle School students made a large number of cards at school and got them to United Way to include in our batch of cards – poems, drawings, letters.

There is no doubt.  We will hold this event again in the future. 

We Believe in Our Children

Three impromptu Imagination Library stories from one week:

·      Geri Bechtold, one of the key staff at Boys & Girls Clubs, works in partnership with United Way on many projects.  She oversees all the KIDSTOP sites so the value of investing in our children is part of her daily work… however, on this day, she told me about her 2-year old nephew.  You could hear the love in her voice when she spoke of him.  When the mail comes into the house, he wants to know if he got his book in the mail. When his monthly Imagination Library book is in the mail, he eagerly repeats “Read to me.  Read to me.” over and over which also means read it several times that same night. 

·      Linda Guggenberger, Bremer Bank employee, sat next to me at a recent community meeting focused on hunger issues.  Before the meeting began, she told me about her newborn 1^st grandchild and how this child’s parents were thrilled when their baby got their first personalized mail – an Imagination Library book. Linda talked about how proud she is of her son in his role as a new father and how committed they are to helping their child learn starting at birth.

·      Alexis Lutgen, one of our United Way staff members, recently gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.  At two weeks old, this baby visited our office and was being held by almost every staff member.  Then we had to get down to business… completing the Imagination Library enrollment form so Vivian could get her first book in the mail.

In 2010, 11,633 local children were impacted by the Imagination Library program. Think of the deepened learning, the positive parent/child quiet fun time together, the number of words spoken and discovering the world through books.  110,916 was the total number of quality children’s books received in the mail by these infants, toddlers and preschoolers … Wow!

If you know of a family with young children, ages birth to their 5^th birthday, who reside in United Way of Central Minnesota’s service area, have them check out our website www.unitedwayhelps.org to enroll or call (320) 252-0227 to find out more.  Many community members and area businesses also donate to this program to help ensure that all children have access to good quality books in their homes.  It is a win-win for all of us!

Who decides where the donated money goes?

Not me.

But one of my key responsibilities to ensure that the 49 community investment team volunteers who do make these important decisions, have the tools and information they need.

Donors work hard for the money they contribute.  We want to honor their wishes to have every gift make a significant difference in people’s lives. 

Trained volunteers use these key steps in the allocations process:

1.    Review the written funding applications from United Way partner programs and their agency audits.

2.    Submit initial questions to each program and obtain written responses.

3.    Meet with key program staff, volunteers and a representative of their agency’s board of directors.  Every three years this visit is done at the site of the program.

4.    Review each program based on a checklist of key criteria established for United Way of Central Minnesota funding.  (See checklist below.)

5.    Make funding recommendations to the United Way Board of Directors who make the final funding decisions.

Checklist of Key Criteria for United Way of Central Minnesota funding:

·      Aligns with community outcomes sought by United Way of Central Minnesota (UWCM)

·      Level of impact of UWCM funding in program’s capacity to carry out its services/demonstrated need.

·      Urgency for these services in the community.  Need for service is increasing and basic human needs are addressed.

·      People served face significant life challenges.

·      Demonstrates sound fiscal accountability.

·      Works in collaboration with community partners.

·      Responsive to changing community needs, conditions and growing diversity.

·      Measures and demonstrates results achieved to as great a degree as possible – changes in people’s lives (skills, knowledge, conditions).

Every three years, we seek out new volunteers for this process. If this is something you would like to do starting in 2012, contact me at United Way: (320) 229-3507.  I would love to tell you more about it.

Be The Best Parent You Can Be

Edna was my Mom’s name.  Some said she was “the salt of the earth”.  I was fortunate to have her in my life.  She was the youngest girl of 11 brothers and sisters.  She knew how to work hard and she made the best creamed peas and meat loaf on this earth.  She had a hearty laugh and gentle brown eyes.

Why am I talking about Mom?

Well …  I was thinking about the “Best the Best Parent You Can Be” resource listing United Way has developed and recently updated.  It is a valuable list of local services that can help parents of children of all ages.   Early Childhood Family Education programs are listed for parents of young children who want to know how they can better support their youngest, counseling services for when times get tough, and services for families with children with special needs.  It is a great resource for every family.

This list is available on our United Way website under Success By 6 and we have, through an Initiative Foundation grant, printed thousands of copies we are distributing throughout the year. 

If you would like this list for your group – a church, a business, a service club or just for your family, check out the website or give us a call: 320-252-0227.  We would be very glad to provide them.

We all remember special things about our parents.  Mom often had to go to work early in the morning.  She would always leave a note on the kitchen table for me – sometimes just an “I love you” and sometimes a funny drawing that made me laugh.  She made sure I was safe and warm, had clothes and food.  We were friends and mother/daughter.  That made for great talks and times sitting on the roofed-in porch when the rain would pour.

Every child deserves someone like my Mom, Edna, in their lives.

Who was Uncle Vic?

He was my next door mentor when I was a kid.  All of us need one – an adult who cares about us unconditionally.  A person who models the positive traits that we absorb because we want to be like that person.

There are all kinds of programs in the community that help children and youth have a mentor.  Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota does amazing work.  Bigs are matched with children and youth who need someone in their lives, in addition to their parent, who can be there for them – spending time together on a regular basis.  Kids who are matched often get better grades, feel more confident in themselves and often volunteer, side by side, with their adult match.  It is a win for everyone involved.  United Way is very proud to support this program that creates magic in the lives of kids.

Want to hear a little about Uncle Vic?

He was a plumber.  When I was 10 we moved into Luverne from our farm about 7 miles outside of town.  My Dad had been ill and could no longer farm.  Luckily we moved in next door to Uncle Vic.  My Dad died of a heart attack about 4 months after we moved to town.  It was just Mom and me at this new home and I was adjusting to a new school and trying to make friends.  Mom needed to work long hours as the head cook at a restaurant/catering business.  So … Uncle Vic would always check in on me, sit and visit, tell me jokes – plumbers know good jokes!  We would play cards and he would bring over homemade lefse my Aunt Marie had made.  We would feed the squirrels and just talk. 

It meant the world to me. 

All Girls Deserve a Chance

My daughter, age 14, has a very good friend named Katelyn.  The girls first met through our Girl Scout troop when they were in 2nd grade.  As a co-leader of the troop, I met other wonderful women, moms like me, who wanted their daughters to learn the value of teamwork and the fun of learning together.

Over the years, the girls learned horseback riding, a little about Japanese culture, defensive safety moves, money management, attended SCSU's Passport to the World cultural event more than once, visited the SCSU planetarium more than once, and got to know each other pretty well.  There was always guaranteed laughter and many questions at every meeting.  Once, my daughter and I created a dance to Japanese drum music.  We taught the dance to the girls and they lined up their moms and taught them the dance moves in theschool hallway.  They learned about self esteem, respect for self and others, and valuing the contributions each person makes.  On a very cold winter night they took money they had earned through cookie sales for the troop and purchased items they used to create birthday bags.  These were then donated to Catholic Charities Emergency Services after we had a tour.  Parents accessing the food shelf and clothing program can pick out one of these birthday bags if they had a daughter having a birthday and could not afford a gift.  It was a pretty special night.  They organized an event about animal care for younger Girl Scout troops in our community.  More than 200 girls and family members attended to learn about pet care; pet a chinchilla and rabbits and dogs; and to contribute money and donated items needed by the Tri County Humane Society.

There were tough times too when we were able to support each other:  loss of grandparents, one of the moms diagnosed with cancer, and one of the girls was bitten on the face by a dog.

Girl Scouts was a great experience for our girls.

United Way of Central Minnesota funds the Girl Growth program and Opportunity Fund of Girl Scouts.  These services help ensure all girls can be part of scouting irregardless of their family income.  All girls deserve that chance.

Taxes – Who wants to even think about them?

David Schlough and Rod Harren think taxes are fun! I even heard them say it at a public meeting this week.  Who are these men?

They coordinate the Free Tax Preparation Assistance sites in our local area.  They are based out of TriCAP and work with 70 trained IRS-certified volunteers.  These volunteers provide free tax preparation at three local sites for low and moderate income individuals and families.

More than 1,500 local households were helped last year and the total federal and state refunds brought back to these families was $2,787,749.  This helps these families and our local communities.

This is something every local business should be cheering for!

United Way helps through outreach – building awareness that these services exist and recruitment of volunteers who go through a rigorous training. 

If you know of an individual (making less than $30,000 per year) or a family (making less than $50,000 per year), let them know about this free tax preparation service.  Encourage them to call United Way 2-1-1 Community Helpline by dialing  2-1-1 or 1-800-543-7709 to find out about the local sites and times or click here for more information.