Success Story

Hi All--

Why all the work and effort if there aren't paybacks? This is one (of many) success stories that I plan to share in the weeks ahead. . .

Mentoring
Big Brothers Big Sisters - Heartland BBBS
Little Brother Tony lived with his mom and younger brother Chad. His mom knew she needed some outside help in harnessing Tony’s activity and anger. Tony and Chad had little to no contact with their father. Mom was struggling with her own sobriety and her ability to handle Tony’s more and more frequent outbursts was overwhelming. Mom enrolled Tony with us. Because Tony was only seven, both he and mom were willing to accept a Big Sister as a match. Tony was matched with Big Sister Karly. Karly was a dental student at UNL and from a small town in Nebraska. She loved her time with Tony and he loved his time with her. Over the years, Karly and Tony would do dozens and dozens of activities. They especially enjoyed outdoor activities. Once or twice a year, Karly would take Tony back to her family farm where Tony got to milk cows, fish, ride horses and 4-wheelers and hang with Karly’s dog. Karly’s family grew to love Tony and he felt the same.

There were many outbursts throughout there time together. Sometimes the outbursts were really volatile. Karly worked with our staff to learn the best way to handle Tony during this time. Karly learned to set limits for Tony, yet assure him of her friendship and unwavering support. She remained calm and talked with him respectfully about his behavior; what was acceptable and not acceptable. Sometimes, their time was cut short due to an outburst. But over time, the anger subsided dramatically. Tony knew Karly was his friend and she would always be there for him. Tony grew more and more self-assured. Both he and Karly shared their story on a promotional video for us. Tony said if it wasn’t for Karly, he would have spent a lot of time in the CAPS unit. (this is the child psychiatric unit at Bryan LGH)

Tony is a different boy now because of the relationship he has with Karly. He and his mom fully admit that Tony’s life is forever altered because of her. Though Karly graduated from dental school and has moved to central Nebraska, she and Tony remain close. Tony continues to keep his behavior manageable and is doing very well in school. Tony and his mom and younger brother are getting along better than ever.

This is one of the many reasons we do it, folks. Thanks for your efforts. Check back soon! Dave

Lots To Come

Hi All--

Just checking in quick.

There's going to be a fair bit of news coming from the United Way office in the weeks ahead. There's a new slogan. . . "We Live United". . .and there will be new literature/promotion material to support that. The UW Board funding proposal for 2009 should be published shortly as well.

Another piece of news that was published a few weeks ago is the 2008 campaign goal. Last year's goal of $5,555,555.55 was a challenging goal. That goal was surpassed by approximately 7% with close to $5,700,000 raised.

The bar has been set high again for 2008. Our 2008 campaign goal is $6,000,000. A number that some may argue is an easier to number to remember than it is to achieve. It's an 8% increase over last year's goal and a 5.3% increase over last year's $$$ raised.

Is it a lofty goal? I'd say definitely. Is it an achieveable goal? Again, definitely. Hard work ahead? Yes. You see a trend with my line of thought? We can definitely reach this year's goal. . . but it's definitely going to take some work. Be thinking/planning about how you can maximize your site campaigns to reach their full potential. And don't hesitate to ask for help. We're all in this together.

Thanks, Dave

Unrestricted Giving

Hi All--

I would like everyone to think about ways to encourage unrestricted giving into your campaigns this year. The past three years, Community Health Charities (CHC) only received $$$ by donors who specifically designated CHC and/or CHC agencies. With the new United Way (UW) / (CHC) contract, CHC will receive a percentage from the total amount of $$$ raised.

This change had led to a better cooperative relationship between UW and CHC, since both organizations receive $$$ with each pledge. And . . .here's the key. . .since both organizations benefit, we as campaign coordinators and committee members need to drive home the point that with an unrestricted pledge "everybody wins". An unrestricted pledge allows both organizations to take full advantage of the programs where $$$ have been targeted.

So please think about ways to encourage unrestricted giving into your campaigns. This can be accomplished through employee education, and even targeting incentives (i.e. jean day, free soda, vacations day, etc.) to persuade people towards the "everybody wins" approach in giving.

Please contact me with questions/concerns. If I can't answer, I'll direct the questions to someone who can.

Have a good week. Thanks for supporting United Way. Dave

2008-2010 Funding Vision

Hi All--
This information was published in the 2007 Lincoln & Lancaster County United Way Annual Report:

2008-2010 Funding Vision
To focus on one community issue that will make a measureable impact and change lives. The Community Impact Committee also recommended our support of crisis services. The Board approved the recommendation to:

Invest in Lincoln's Future - Our Children
*Prepare children for school
*Encourage children and teens to succeed
Assist Those in Crisis
*Increase food supply
*Improve shelter security
*Ensure victim safety
*Strengthen preparedness for community disasters

The funding generated by the 2008 Campaign really does make a big difference for all of us, either directly and/or indirectly. If you haven't started into the planning phase of your 2008 campaign, now is the time to start.

Welcome to UW Lincoln Lancaster County Coordinators Corner Blog!

Hi All--

This is my 1st post, of what I hope to be many, on the new United Way of Lincoln and Lancaster County (UWLLC) Coordinator "Blog" (what a strange word). My goal is for this site to be another tool to help you (and help me) in running successful UWLLC campaigns.

I want this site to be interactive. We (myself and the people at the United Way and Community Health Charities offices) have discussed/brainstormed ideas to facilitate communication between campaigns. We think this site can be a place to capture information, as well as a way to share information amongst ourselves.

The effectiveness of this site will be is dependent upon 1) my ability to learn how to use the site past the "Kindergarten" level. I'm not completely illiterate in this electronic computer age, but this is my 1st attempt at creating anything electronic (other than the occasional PowerPoint presentation for work). Bear with me while I work through the learning curve. I also very much need 2) you to visit the site. Stop by, read a post, use it to connect to other links, leave a comment or recommendation. I really want this to be an effective tool.

I'll try to keep postings brief -- a HUGE struggle for me. I tend to ramble on like a country road. So I'll simply close by again saying "Welcome", and stop by often. Dave