For years I've watched it happen in offices around the country. E-mails go out and signs go up letting employees know that its time to give to the United Way. Hurray! Okay, well maybe EVERYBODY doesn't cheer. Frankly, I understand why some may be reluctant to hoot and holler and its my job to turn those attitudes around. I am one of this year's United Way campaign speakers.
Those who knew me when I was working in Columbus, Ohio are probably shocked that I'm doing this. I had a boss who ran the annual campaign like Bobby Knight coached basketball. It was so bad that one year during the Christmas party, my buddy Matt Harris, pasted the boss' head on a poster of a gunman. The caption? "Give to the United Way... or Else." As the lowest employee on the pay totem pole and a faithful church tither I thought the staff should be taking up a collection for me. I was still living with my parents, broke as H-E-double-hockey sticks. When I told the boss, that I had no plans to give, he decided to put me down for $2 a pay. When I told him that $2 would buy a pair of pantyhose he dismissed me with a promise to buy pantyhose for me if I came up short. Damn, he was forceful, but I never needed to go to him for money to buy Queen Size hose in the shade of coffee.
It wasn't until I started volunteering for United Way agencies, in Columbus and now in Charlotte, that I really began to understand how even $4 a month can make a difference. These agencies don't just help other people. They help our community. I volunteer for A Child's Place, a local agency with a serious mission... to erase the impact of homelessness on children and their education. Its a big job. In Charlotte's public schools alone there are nearly 3,000 homeless kids. The people who work for A Child's Place wear many hats. They scrimp and scrape and save every scrap so that the money they receive helps the children.
http://www.achildsplace.org/criticalneeds_backtoschool.html
The ACP board is awesome. Its made up of doctors who volunteer medical care, social workers who provide program knowledge and legal, financial and marketing gurus who do their very best to help. But the needs are growing. There are 20% more homeless than this time last year, 62% more than just three years ago. The numbers are depressing.
The Charlotte United Way has had more than its fair share of controversy, but here's the deal. What you read in the paper shows that folks are keeping an eye on our donations. If anybody makes a wrong move, they are handled PUBLICLY. The United Way is rightfully and vigilantly held accountable. Heck, board meetings are open to the public. http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2009/08/17/story3.html
This is an important time to give.. to make a personal gift that is meaningful for you. Your pizza money, your latte money... even your pantyhose money can help. 87% of A Child's Place families had at least one working adult living in the home when their housing crisis occurred. So many friends and familiy members have been laid off, their hours have been cut, mandatory furloughs. Who will will be next in line for shelter, job training or food?
Thank you for reading this. You can designate that your donation go to ACP or another of the 98 agencies the UW of Central Carolinas supports.
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