Day of Caring – a great chance to care it forward!

So, you’ve been thinking about caring it forward, but you haven’t quite gotten around to putting that caring into action, is that right?
    
Don’t worry, I understand. I’ve been really busy too, so I’ll let you off the hook for now. Provided, that is, you come out and join United Way KW in downtown Kitchener on September 21 when we celebrate our 2nd Annual Day of Caring and launch our Fall Workplace Campaign.
 
Wait, there’s more. I also want you to volunteer to do something, anything at all, to help others in our community during Day of Caring. Even if you’ve never volunteered before – in fact, especially if you’ve never volunteered before – I encourage you to give it a try on September 21st. Helping others makes you feel great inside, trust me on this one.
 
Just one more thing - don’t be afraid to toot your own horn. Post your efforts on Facebook or Twitter, using hashtag #dayofcaringkw. Send a photo too if you can to mlagrotta@uwaykw.org, and I’ll post it right here for all to see.

REMEMBER:
  
UNITED WAY KW 2nd ANNUAL DAY OF CARING
and Fall Workplace Campaign Launch

Generously sponsored by Manulife Financial

Wednesday September 21, 2011
12– 1:30PM

Kitchener Civic Square
Downtown Kitchener

We’ll be sharing the street with the Downtown Kitchener BIA as they celebrate their Employee Appreciation Day on King Street between Ontario and Gaukel from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
 
Until then, keep caring it forward,
 
Meg

Lisa LaFlamme - This Year's Celebrity Event Honouree

Be sure to check out our CEO's blog about CTV evening news chief anchor Lisa LaFlamme, who recently took over from the retiring Lloyd Robertson. We're honouring this outstanding Kitchener native at this year's United Way KW Annual Celebrity Event on Friday November 25th at Federation Hall.

Tickets go on sale soon. Visit our web site for more details.
 
Meg

It’s International Literacy Day – take the challenge!

International Literacy Day – September 8th - is celebrated across Canada to promote and increase reading and writing skills among Canadians.

One of United Way Kitchener Waterloo and Area’s five regional priorities involves ensuring that all people are economically secure. Literacy plays a critical role in achieving that security. United Way Kitchener Waterloo and Area supports programs that provide adults with important literacy services - and a chance at a better economic outlook.

I encourage you to get involved in International Literacy Day this year by taking the International Literacy Day Challenge. Simply participate in one or more of the following activities on September 8th:

1. Read a book to a child
2. Have a child read a book to you
3. Start a blog (my personal favourite!)
4. Take a professional development course
5. Join a social media platform – Linked In, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
6. Write a letter to an old friend – the snail mail way!
7. Share this list with friends and coworkers – and dare them to take the challenge!
8. Play a game of Scrabble
9. Look up and learn a new word (and continue to do so every day for a month!)
10. Use a new form of technology (Smartphone, self‐serve checkout, etc.)

Here’s my personal challenge to you – don’t just take part in these activities on International Literacy Day - do at least one of these activities each and every day of the year!

Nancy Bird
Director, Community Development

Thanks for “texting it forward” to support Goderich!

There are a lot of people out there that I want to send a big thank you to right now – those who supported the victims of the recent tornado in Goderich by participating in our special two-week mobile giving campaign for United Way Perth-Huron.
 
Between August 23-31, $2855 was raised via texting to support the citizens of the disaster-stricken town of Goderich. With $5 being donated for each text, that’s a whole lot of texting going on!

Twitter played a big role in spreading the word about this special campaign, as did our local media outlets. I think our CEO, Jan Varner, summed it up best with the following statement: "I am so pleased to see the support from the community, media partners and social media outlets. We’ve never seen so many retweets! Our community put caring into action by texting their financial support and sharing it with their networks.”

We also accepted donations from donors without texting capability. These funds will be added to the text donations and sent to Goderich.

While we’re no longer accepting text donations for Goderich, the mobile giving campaign continues throughout our fall workplace campaign season in support of those in need right here in the KW area.

Simply text “UWAY” to 45678 and $5 will be added to your phone bill. You can make up to six text donations per month.

Here’s an interesting fact for you: Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Libro Financial Group, we were one of the first Canadian United Ways to launch a mobile giving initiative.

Thanks again to all who supported Goderich through our special two-week mobile giving campaign, and to all who continue to support our community by “texting it forward”.

Keep Caring it Forward!

Meg

Hey "Care it Forward" Followers!

Thought it was time to give you an update since I’ve been MIA for a while!

I’ll be honest. I haven't had time to volunteer lately because I’m busy planning and organizing a huge day that encourages volunteering - United Way KW's 2nd annual Day of Caring.  This year's event will be even bigger and better thanks to our sponsor, Manulife Financial, and our partner, the Downtown Kitchener BIA.  I don't want to give too much away, but I will say that you won't want to miss the events going on in downtown Kitchener on Wednesday, September 21st.  Check out www.uwaykw.org for more details.

Back to caring it forward...

The importance of caring it forward really hit home when Goderich was recently devastated by a tornado.  We’ve been encouraging you to financially support the folks in Goderich through our text to give campaign.  Here’s another plug – if you can, please text "UCARE" to 45678 to donate $5.00 to those affected by the tornado.

I also want to encourage you to help the folks in Goderich by volunteering.  Simply call 211 and they’ll connect you with volunteer opportunities in that area.  If you do volunteer, be sure to send me your stories and photos so I can share them on my blog!

Until next time, keep caring it forward!

Meg

How we minimize fundraising costs to maximize donor dollars

At United Way KW, we aim to invest as many donor dollars as possible right back into our community. One way we do this is by keeping fundraising costs as low as possible.

Extraordinary volunteer commitment and numerous gifts-in-kind over the years have helped us keep these costs down. While the actual percentage fluctuates as revenue increases and decreases, we strive to keep our year-round fundraising costs at approximately 17%. This is evidenced by the audited financial statements available on our web site, which review the finances of our organization in great detail.

We’re able to keep costs low through opportunities such as:

·       working extensively with volunteers, including our Board of Directors, Finance and Audit Committee, Campaign Cabinet, Community Impact Council and Priority Impact Teams 

·       partnering with workplaces in our fundraising efforts

·       securing sponsorships and gifts-in-kind for events and operations

·       securing not-for-profit discounts from vendors and service providers

·       housing our office in space generously provided by the Marsland family at a significantly reduced cost

·       working continuously to improve the efficiency of our processes

·       incorporating our “Go Green” environmental initiative.

Cathy Snyder

CFO/CAO

Help Us Support the Citizens of Goderich

A message from our CEO, Jan Varner:

The town of Goderich lies disaster-stricken in the wake of an F3 Tornado that hit the community last Sunday. I find it hard to believe that the photos I see online and in the newspapers depict a once-idyllic location so near to my own home. The overwhelming personal and emotional loss suffered by the residents of Goderich extends far beyond the physical damage these images reveal. Like the buildings, their lives, too, need to be rebuilt.

In times such as this, with so many lives uprooted so close to home, we must step up and help each other. Please, put your caring into action. Text "UCARE" to 45678 to donate $5.00 to United Way Perth-Huron and let the citizens of Goderich know we're here to help them thorough this tumultuous time.

For more information, please refer to the media release on the our web site.

Jan