International Women’s Day - March 8, 2011

Celebrating 100 years of women’s achievements, March 8, 2011 is the centenary International Women’s Day. What does that really mean? Women have been contributing to family, community and global achievements for more than 100 years surely. Women are caregivers, peacemakers, financiers, artists, leaders, negotiators, managers, homemakers, chefs, coaches, personal shoppers, etc – and that’s just in their daily life!

There are many women in our community who have come to this Region from elsewhere on the globe and are making their mark. They have combined making Canada and Waterloo Region their home and making a difference in community for others. This is no small feat. I know several women who came to Canada with their children but without their spouse. They have to learn our education, health care and employment systems and in some cases, our language, just to function as we all believe we should – with opportunity, respect, food, shelter and safety. These women don’t stop there, however. Instead, they see the need others are experiencing and take action to help.

I think it’s important to mark women’s achievements and this day gives us a global perspective on who, what, where and why. 100 years – that is amazing! Now how about we give the women in our community credit for all they do EVERY DAY? I would like to take this opportunity to thank my mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, aunts, and girlfriends. I wouldn’t be who I am without their achievements, both big and small. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to make my mark too. I can’t wait to see what my daughter achieves!

Nancy Bird
Director, Community Development

Leave Your Mark on Our Community

A February 22 article in The Record about the late Bobby Kuntz got me thinking about the many ways individuals can help others, even after their death. United Way offers several opportunities for creating a lasting legacy in our community. I highlighted some of these possibilities in a letter to the editor published February 28, which I’ve repeated here:

By donating Bobby Kuntz’s brain to medical science for a concussion study, the Kuntz family is helping to support vital research that could unravel some of the mystery surrounding degenerative neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

As well as fulfilling their desire to learn if a link exists between the head injuries Kuntz sustained during his football career and the onset of Parkinson’s later in his life, the Kuntz family’s gift has the potential to make the world a better place for future generations.

Bobby Kuntz’s legacy in the football world may turn into an even greater legacy in the scientific world by supporting future developments that prevent others from having to endure a similar fate.

We all have the power to make the world a better place for future generations in a way that is personally meaningful to us and our families. Granted, donating all or part of a family member’s body — or one’s own — to research isn’t for everyone.

Consider making a charity the full or partial beneficiary of an insurance policy, or leaving a bequest in your will to a cause dear to your heart. There are many options to explore.

By considering the future needs of our community when planning a will or estate, we can help to bring about long-term sustainable change, not only for the family members we leave behind, but for our entire community and its future generations.

If you’d like to explore options for working through United Way to leave your mark on the future success of our community, please contact me at csnyder@uwaykw.org or 519-888-6100 ext. 254. You’ll also find more information at www.uwaykw.org.

Cathy Snyder
CFO

2010 Community Spirit Award Winners

Congratulations to all of the individuals and organizations acknowledged at our Community Spirit Awards held Friday February 25th. Our award winners - all true community heroes - are noted below. For a PDF listing of these winners, along with details about our award critera, click here.

Of course, the really big winner last Friday was our community. Special thanks to all who are helping to make the KW area a great place to live - for everyone!

Leadership Giving Award – The Economical Insurance Group

Corporate Support Award – Manulife Financial

Best First‐Time Campaign Award – Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

Joe Williams Award – Joan Geisel, Clemmer Steelcraft Technologies

Campaign Chair Award - Sun Life Financial

Agency Engagement Award – House of Friendship

Arlene Smith Memorial Award – Gebre Berihun

Joint Union/Management Award – Clemmer Steelcraft Technologies and United Steelworkers 838

United Way Choice Award – Chief Matt Torigian

Lisa Drew - some final words from our 2010 Campaign Chair

We at United Way love the message our 2010 Campaign Chair, Lisa Drew from News570, posted on her blog this morning. With her permission, we're re-blogging it here. Lisa did a fabulous job as Campaign Chair, and we can't thank her enough for her support and enthusiasm.

I have just wrapped up my stay at the United Way of K-W and Area, as the fall workplace Chair for 2010. A huge thank you to all involved. Starting with Jan Varner.

I will never forget what I have learned, and seen, and the many new friends I have made, and their stories. My eyes were opened so much more, and like the Grinch, my heart has grown a few more sizes. And I thought I had a pretty good sized heart to begin with, and had a good handle on what is really going on locally.

Thanks for helping us spread the word, bring new community members on board, and for giving-all to make change in our community, really right here in our neighbourhood.

So many workplaces came through. Really came through. Like Jacquie and Vivian and their huge team at Equitable. The Employees and management at Economical, Sun Life, and Clemmer Steelcraft Techonologies and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario were among those saluted on Friday for their outstanding campaigns at the Community Spirit Awards. Thanks to Chief Matt Torigian for his time and efforts, and agreeing to be toasted last fall on behalf of United Way.

Our final total? $5.2 million! Not quite hitting our $6-million dollar challenge issued last fall, but it’s still a big number. We have to be proud of that number for so many reasons. But will it be enough to carry forward close to a 100 agencies and programs? We will know in the next few months.

As United Way’s CEO Jan Varner says ” we cheer, yet worry”. $5.2 million is a great accomplishment, ...but the dollars raised are not enough to meet the social needs right here in our community.

I hope the dollars continue to come in. I know they will. And I know we living and working here in Waterloo Region can do more. As I’ve said again and again over the past few months, if you haven’t been personally touched by the United Way, there’s a very good chance that a family member, coworker or neighbour has.

We all are the United Way.

Thanks to my bosses for their support of the campaign, the extra on-air coverage, and being totally okay with my empty seat in the newsroom, many days after 9am.

James Chmiel takes over as this year’s Campaign Chair. He’s part of the United Way cabinet, a partner and President of Erb and Erb Insurance, and made this year’s Top 40 under 40 list. Let’s cheer him on.

Lisa

Happy Family Day!

So Monday February 21st is Family Day.  Hooray for a long weekend!  But shouldn’t it be more than just another day off?  Here’s the thing…I love my children and I am blessed to have teenagers who still want to spend time with me, but if all the malls are closed I can guarantee I will hear “Mom, I’m bored!” at least once.  So what can we do to make Family Day a pleasure rather than a chore?

I’d love to tell everyone to turn off the television, the video games, and the computers and spend time together doing something fun.  For some that comes more easily than others.  What if your child or children don’t want “quality time”?  What if they’d rather talk to their friends on Facebook or Twitter than their old parents?  Time for some creative thinking! 

I have learned a few things in the last 14 years of parenting.  First, I will never feel as appreciated as I would like to and I have to recognize the small gestures when they present themselves, as fleeting as they may be.  Second, the more I talk to the kids about doing something (like putting away the laundry or going to a movie) the less likely they are to want to do it.  Third, if I meet them where they’re at I get results.  Here’s my plan – it’s radical and you may not all agree, but I have tested it and it works.  I am going to hang out with my kids while they play video games and chat on Facebook and just see what happens.  I know what you’re thinking.  Trust me, this works.  I have had the best, most personal and revealing conversations when driving or doing something around the house and talking with the kids.  The secret?  Avoid eye contact.  It takes the pressure off and it’s just as meaningful.  I have even found that they start to ignore the screen in front of them as they become more engaged in the conversation.  I’m not forcing them into an awkward face-to-face conversation but I am engaging them while being physically present.

The family is one of the most important and basic units of every society.  Society is changing and so are families.  We have to learn to adapt while not giving up on core values.  Maybe we don’t sit around the table every single night to a home cooked meal, but that doesn’t mean we don’t connect as a family.  Figure out what works best for your family and before you know it you’ll be enjoying each others company.  You just never know what you’ll have to laugh about until you start talking.  Happy Family Day!!

Nancy Bird, Community Development Director

Text “UCHANGE” to 45678 to Donate $5.00 to United Way KW!

Hi there! It’s me, Meg Lagrotta, the Communications Coordinator here at United Way KW. I’m very excited to be writing my first blog and launching our new Text to Give campaign.

Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Libro Financial, we can now make a difference in our community one text at a time. (Sounds cheesy but it’s true, so hear me out.)

Relief efforts following last year’s devastating earthquake in Haiti demonstrated the incredible power of “text to give” - and the incredible difference young people can make simply by using their cell phones. In response to the disaster, Red Cross launched a Text to Give campaign that raised $22 million in the first week alone. Every text made a difference following that catastrophic event. Here’s what gets me excited – of that total, $1 million came from texts sent by youth!

Every day, disasters also occur right here in KW. Not as large scale as the earthquake in Haiti, but nonetheless devastating for those involved. Unfortunately, we rarely hear about them. Poverty, hunger, addiction, broken families, mental illness, unemployment, language barriers - dollars raised by United Way help support these and many other local disasters. How do we do it? Simply put, by investing in programs and initiatives that support our 5 Regional Priorities.

I really hope the next text message you write is “UCHANGE” to 45678 to donate $5.00 to United Way KW!

PS. You can text more than once - up to 6 times in a month, in fact!

'Tis the Season for Giving...