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Issued Quarterly by United Way of Union County,
Inc., 232 N. Main St., Suite I, P.O. Box 145, Marysville, Ohio 43040-0145 |
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In this issue: |
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The importance of Impact Areas: a continuum of care During a recent United Way campaign presentation at an area workplace, we were playing a game of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire – United Way Edition." The "contestant," an employee at the factory, was working her way through the multiple choice questions and answers that inform listeners about United Way and its programs. We came to the following question: Which United Way agency does NOT provide any type of housing assistance?
The woman responded that she knew the answer because she'd recently used two of the programs
– and she wasn't referring to an experience as a youngster in Girl Scouts. She proceeded to tell her co-workers
about how the shelter and The Salvation Army kept a roof over her and her daughter and some stability to her difficult
financial situation. It's commonplace, for example, for a person to call the Mental Health Association about a serious problem with depression. Mental Health would then refer that person to Consolidated Care for further counseling. That person may also attend support group sessions at the Wings Enrichment Center. It's common that an area senior citizen may eat lunch daily at Windsor as part of the Memorial Meals program and take part in the senior center's activities later that day. When you filled out your United Way pledge form this year, you may have noticed the addition of four Impact Areas to which you could have designated your investment, rather than just to one Member Agency. The Impact Areas are:
This allows donors to target a specific area of concern – without limiting their pledge to one Member Agency. It also allows United Way to make a greater impact with that gift. How so? If a donor designates to a specific agency, United Way must pass that money on directly to only that agency. Sometimes, agencies receive more in designations than they request or even need, leaving other areas short of necessary funding. It's happened that Agency A would receive more in donor designations than it needs while Agency B, serving a similar population, gets under funded by United Way because our hands are tied in respecting the donor's wishes. "It's frustrating because we're not always able to fully assist an agency and it may not be able to adequately serve its clients," said Derric Brown, Chair of the Budget & Admissions Committee that allocates undesignated donor dollars to United Way's Member Agencies each year. Since the advent of the four Impact Areas last year, United Way's Member Agencies are now grouped into one of the four categories. If a donor makes a pledge to one of the Impact Areas, United Way can spread that money among any of the agencies within that Impact Area based on the needs of the agencies in that group. "It maximizes our ability to efficiently and effectively distribute the funds," Brown said. Designating to an Impact Area gives more power to your pledge and makes an "impact"
in an "area" important to you – right here at home!
Health & Human Services Impact Area Hospice care, financial support for cancer patients, mental health recovery, legal counsel, and more.
Youth Services Impact Area Scouting, after-school activities, mentoring, child care, drug and alcohol prevention, and more.
Senior Services Impact Area On-site and home-delivered meals, activities, socialization, and life-enhancing programs.
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| Spend New Year's Eve in style and help United
Way It's not too early to make plans for New Year's Eve. Union County partygoers now have a new, trendy option for December 31. United Way of Union County will be the beneficiary of a New Year's Eve gala at Karen's Event Center in Marysville. "My husband and I often find ourselves sitting at home on New Year's Eve because we don't want to leave town and we don't like the bar scene," said Karen Paver of Karen's Event Center. "We're planning to create a high-class, New Year's Eve alternative for Marysville." She has the perfect venue for it. Karen's Event Center, a banquet facility on Square Drive in Marysville, will be the site for this semi-formal affair (no jeans or t-shirts). Guests will be treated to an evening of fun, food, and live entertainment. The band Flashback will be performing dance favorites from the 70's, 80's, and 90's. Doors will open at 7:00 p.m. A Steamedship Rounds/Oven Roasted Turkey dinner will be served at 8:00 p.m. Dancing and entertainment will keep us hopping through the countdown to Midnight and a champagne toast upon the arrival of 2007. Space is limited to the first 500 attendees and the event is expected to sell out. Tickets are $40 per person ($10 of which goes to United Way) and includes dinner. A cash bar will be available. Tickets should be purchased in advance by contacting United Way of Union County at 644-8381 or online at www.unitedwayofunioncounty.org. You can also purchase tickets at Karen's Event Center at 17601 Square Drive in Marysville or be calling 644-0731. |
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| Preying on houses of worship Protecting area churches from con artists It's likely that your church has a "Good Samaritan" fund or some other way to assist the stranger who knocks on its doors. They're passing through town and their car broke down. Maybe a family situation turned violent and a woman and her child need a place to spend the night. These legitimate claims of misfortune often result in some form of financial assistance to help the individual through a short-term fix. But over the last several months, area churches have been noticing solicitors with apparent need taking advantage of the generosity of area congregations. "People have been going from church to church asking for the same help they've already received from a church down the street," said Shari Marsh, Executive Director of the United Way of Union County. In one instance, multiple churches put up a transient in a local motel. The man claimed to have just found a new job in town, but didn't have a place to live yet. A week went by before the discovery that there was no job, and that he had used the same method to bum a week's motel stay in Logan County. "It's the modern-day equivalent of a hobo traveling by train from town to town, bumming motel stays off unsuspecting churches," Marsh said. A trio of solicitors visited multiple churches asking for help to pay for prescription medication. They were caught when one church, which pays the pharmacy directly for that type of assistance, noted that the bill to fill the prescription was less than the money requested. That same trio approached another church later in the week. One woman from the group entered the office and claimed she needed a motel stay to get out of a domestic violence situation. When told that there is a domestic violence shelter that she could use and that she should report the incident to local law enforcement, she declined the opportunity and went to a church down the street with the same story. "It's very difficult for staff at these churches to verify whether or not these are legitimate needs and whether or not they've been verified by someone else," Marsh said. After several calls of concern to United Way in late August, Marsh organized a meeting of area church officials, local law enforcement, and social service agencies to address the issue. Discussion centered around verification of solicitors' needs, potential policies and limits that Churches should adopt regarding their Good Samaritan funds, and the safety and vulnerability of church staff and property. "The concern begins with the inability to feel like you can contribute enough to make a big enough difference in anyone's situation," said Jack Heino, Pastor at St. John's Lutheran Church and Chaplain of the Union County Sheriff's Office. "When we are dealing with the problems that people are bringing to us, chances are the $50 we could give them is not going to go very far. You feel saddened that you are sending them on to continuous solicitation down the street that has an unknown end in sight." The group discussed potential coordination of "Good Samaritan" resources to make a greater impact for each legitimate case. Increased communication among churches is in the works to help them keep track of who is being assisted and prevent double-dipping from occurring. United Way also provided church officials with comprehensive listings of programs and resources available in the community – even those beyond United Way's reach – to use for referrals when solicitors approach. "The amazing thing is that there is a tremendous amount of resources, a network of organizations and people willing to help others in all kinds of different situations," Heino said. "There's a real heart for wanting to make life better for people." |
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Union County Community Services Association What it does:
Dick Douglass is the Director of UCATS and the Union County Council on Aging. He said that
he has learned of many services available in the county to his clients through his work with Community Services. |
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