Thursday, April 14, 2011

We've Moved - Same Building, Different Floor

We've just relocated from our offices on the 11th floor of the Marsland Building to a great new spot on the 8th floor. Please note our new contact information:


United Way of KW and Area
20 Erb Street West
Suite 801
Waterloo Ontario  N2L 1T2

Volunteers have Huge Impact on our Community – and Me!

I attended the Volunteer Impact Awards Gala last night! Now I’m even more excited to start my “Care it Forward” journey. It’s truly amazing to see what the gift of time can do in our community.

United Way KW was the proud sponsor of the Business Community Partner Award. Here’s a photo of our very own Nancy Bird, Director of Community Development, on the far right, presenting the award to Home Hardware.



Congrats to all the nominees and winners at last night’s gala. You’ve truly inspired me with all of the amazing things that you do. I hope I can join some of you on my “Care it Forward” adventures. Visit http://www.volunteerkw.ca/ to see all of the deserving award nominees.

Monday, April 11, 2011

It's here! Time to “Care it Forward”...

In the spirit of National Volunteer Week, I’d like to announce something very exciting we’re starting here at United Way! Something we like to call “CARE IT FORWARD”. You’ll hear those three words a lot over the next little while. In fact, you’ll hear from me a lot over the next little while, and as those who know me well are fully aware, I love to talk.

Remember Day of Caring? Well, “Care it Forward” is our way of turning every day into a Day of Caring. There’s an old proverb that goes: "If you have much, give your wealth; if you have little, give your heart." Well, I have a big heart and if I could, I would change the world. Realistically, I know I can’t do that, but I can make a difference right here in my own community.

The goal of “Care it Forward” is to get you thinking about volunteerism and how you, too, can make a difference by lending a helping hand. Which reminds me, we’ve added two new awards to our Community Spirit Awards roster with the introduction of both individual and corporate “Care it Forward” awards. What do you think? Are you up to the challenge?

I invite you to follow me as I venture out over the next few months, volunteering my time and meeting some of the many individuals and organizations in our area that exemplify the true spirit of a community hero.

Come on, be part of the “Care it Forward” movement. Do a good deed and share your story with me. Who knows, I might mention you in my blog. I may even volunteer to help you out!

You can reach me on Twitter , Facebook, or via email at mlagrotta@uwaykw.org.

I look forward to meeting lots of fascinating people and learning more about what our community has to offer. First stop, the Volunteer Impact Awards Gala on April 12th. I can’t wait to be inspired by those who invest their time giving back to our community. Talk about your wise investors!

Until next time, keep caring it forward,

Meg

Friday, April 1, 2011

Opinions Wanted for our Online Communications Survey

Feeling a little opinionated? Great, you're just the person we're looking for! In April 2010, we surveyed many of our stakeholders about their online communications experiences with United Way of KW and Area. Largely as a result of that feedback, we launched a new web site and several social media initiatives in summer 2010, including the blog you're reading right now. Special thanks to all who participated and provided suggestions for improvement. We’re listening! It’s now time to find out how our new web site and online initiatives are doing. We value your feedback in this regard. Whether or not you contributed to our original survey, we welcome and encourage your participation in the brief online questionnaire found at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/7YLRNRL. We welcome your input at any time, but to ensure your ideas receive consideration as soon as possible, we encourage you to please respond by Friday April 15, 2011.