Living United

Come to the Mentor & Tutor Opportunity Fair

Many thanks to the creative staff at NBC29, and reporter Henry Graff for creating this wonderful public service announcement about our Mentor & Tutor Opportunity Fair.

We hope you will come by the Omni Hotel in downtown Charlottesville on January 26 between 11 to 2 to meet face to face with the many local organizations that work with youth. You can ask questions about their programs and find the right fit for your time and interests.

 

 

Posted by: Kim Connolly, United Way

Be a mentor. Pass it on!

Sometime the best solutions are the simplest ones.

Four years ago, during a visit to the Charlottesville/Albemarle Regional Jail with the Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Charlottesville class, it was clear to me that many of the inmates were young men under the age of 25. That led to a question for Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo: At what age do we need to reach youth before they turn to criminal activities or drugs? His answer, that kids are deciding between school or gangs as young as the age of 10, stunned us.

 

 

So often these kids are a reflection of their environment. Something as simple as a mentor who will take an active interest in their lives, can change a kid’s outlook on life and raise their expectations for themselves. Think about it – who mentored you? A parent, a teacher, neighbor, coach, older sibling? They might not have thought of themselves as a mentor, but the positive attention they gave you meant a lot, and you probably wanted to live up to their expectations for you.

There are so many kids in our community – from elementary school kids who are struggling with reading, to middle school students who are latch-key kids, to high school students who don’t see the point of school – who could use a friendly adult to encourage them and help them see a future for themselves.

There are also many wonderful organizations in our community that provide these opportunities for kids, and for the adults who want to help them. Mentoring takes many forms – from reading a book with an elementary school student, to sharing your passion for music or sports with a group of teens, to taking a child to their first museum visit or college sporting event.

Which is why the United Way’s Volunteer Center became part of the Leadership Charlottesville class project – Mentor. Tutor. Pass it on! –  and has continued the month-long public awareness campaign about the importance of mentors and tutors for our youth. We are joined in this effort by our sponsors: MichieHamlett Attorneys at Law; the Omni Hotel, Charlottesvillle; Monticello Media radio stations, The Daily Progress and NBC29. Please join us on Thursday, January 26 between 11:00 and 2:00 at the Omni Hotel for a mentor and tutor opportunity fair, where you will be able to meet face to face with representatives from 17 local organizations that need volunteers to work with kids. You can find an organization that is the right fit for you – your time, your interests and your style.

January is National Mentoring Month. All month long, we are running guest posts from volunteers, staff and the kids who benefit from these organizations. We hope you will subscribe to our blog feed, or keep checking back to read their stories. And put January 26 on your calendar!

 

Posted by:

Kim Connolly, Vice President of Marketing & Communications, United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area.

Christmas Trees, Living on a Budget and Wonderful Volunteers

Years ago, when I was working at a nonprofit in another state, I had an assistant  who was one of the most outgoing, happy and hardworking persons I have ever met. She was also the same age as me (30) and had a 14 year old daughter. Yes, the math says she was 16 when she became a mother. One day, as we were driving to a meeting, she pointed out a large evergreen bush in front of an unoccupied industrial building. She told me the story of how one year, she could not afford a Christmas tree and so instead took a very large branch from the back of that bush and brought it home and decorated it for her young daughter.

Having grown up in a protected suburban bubble, this was the first time I had realized that for many families, a Christmas tree is a big expense. Perhaps that is why I so wholeheartedly embraced the Target stores’ Share-A-Tree program when their store opened in Charlottesville.

For 21 years, Target stores across the country have donated a couple of special display Christmas trees to their local United Way to give to families or a local nonprofit organization. We are so fortunate that our local store manager may actually be Santa’s special envoy, because he donates ALL of the store’s display Christmas trees to us each year. This year there were 24 trees.

We try to spread the joy every year by working with a different local organization to identify families who are struggling to make ends meet. These artificial trees enable families to keep money in their pockets each holiday season by eliminating the need to purchase a new tree each year. Whether you are a real or fake tree aficionado, you can agree that this makes good economic sense for these families.

In past years, we have worked with the Charlottesville City Public Housing Association of Residents, Love Inc.(which put us in touch with local churches), MACAA and GRACE in Greene County. This year, it was not hard to see that the people in hard-hit Louisa County, the epicenter of the August earthquake, could use some extra holiday cheer. So we contacted Donna Isom at the Louisa Resource Council, who immediately began finding homes for the trees. Two of the trees, which were quite high-tech looking as they were made of black tinsel, were given to Computers4Kids here in Charlottesville, to be decorated using a technology theme.

Ryan McKillip, regional manager of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, has provided us with a box truck for the fourth year in a row, and looks forward to volunteering to pick up and deliver the trees each year. Henry Graff, reporter for NBC29, joined as a volunteer last year when we delivered to his Greene County neighbors, and has now made this an annual volunteer effort (of course producing a news story along the way). The three of us are beginning to be a well-oiled machine.

Here is the link to our still photos from the day, and below is Henry’s story.

 

In addition, Bryan McKenzie of The Daily Progress, put his signature spin on the story in his column this week. Many thanks to the good folks at Target’s national headquarters, and many more to the employees of our local store for embracing and enhancing this wonderful concept.

Give. Advocate. Volunteer. That is what is means to Live United.

 

Posted by: Kim Connolly

Reflections on My First United Way Day of Caring

 On January 11, I walked into the United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area as the new Volunteer Center Director. In less than ten months, I would have to pull off the 20^th anniversary of the United Way Laurence E. Richardson Day of Caring. I had big shoes to fill and I was nervous about whether or not I’d be able to meet the expectations.

Planning for the event started early in the spring, but no amount of planning could have prepared me as much as living through the experience. I knew that as much as I prepared and planned, I’d have to see, hear and feel the United Way Day of Caring to really understand it. The experience of that day is something that I will never forget.

I woke up at 2:15am on September 21^st to the sound of my alarm and I got ready for the day, leaving my house at 3:30am to start my hour commute to Charlottesville. Our staff started right away to prep the parking lot for the 500 people we expected that morning.

Hundreds of balloons, two television interviews and one radio interview later, it was time to kick-off the breakfast. The rally flew by with performances by State Farm’s Choir, speakers and great food provided by State Farm.

From the breakfast, we all headed out to visit as many project sites as possible to thank the volunteers. The rest of the day felt like a flash and before I knew it, we were back at the office putting all of our banners and signs back in the basement… and the day was over.

Now, just 256 days after I started and two days after the United Way Day of Caring, I can’t help but reflect on the experience:

This community is amazing! I was really touched by seeing the joy of both the volunteers and the people they worked with.

• The United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area staff members were huge supporters of me in this event and I was floored by how happy they were to wake up so early to make the day a success.
•  I was thrilled by how many United Way board members volunteered their time on projects that day or traveled around to help us thank the volunteers.
• Being overly organized and making tons of to-do lists (yes, I’m an old fashioned pen and paper kind of girl) isn’t always a bad thing! Without my to-do lists, I don’t know if I would have made it through.
• As stressful as the planning process could be at times, I am 100% confident that I have the best job in the entire world.  To be able to plan an event that brings so much value to the nonprofit and public school community and bring so much joy to the volunteers is both humbling and rewarding.

I owe a HUGE thank you to all of our sponsors, my colleagues, our United Way Board members, all of the nonprofits, schools, volunteers, the media and the local community for making the 20^th United Way Laurence E. Richardson Day such a success story and for helping to make my job so rewarding!

 

Posted by Jessica Snyder

United Way Volunteer Center Director

When is a Deadline a Deadline?

Nonprofit project and volunteer team registration for the September 21^st United Way Laurence E. Richardson Day of Caring opened on June 1^st and a month before that for schools.

Since the first of June, we have had news stories and interviews on TV and radio and have run public services announcements on all three Charlottesville Newsplex stations and on nearly every radio station in Charlottesville encouraging nonprofits to register their projects and for volunteer teams to sign up. Several Constant Contact emails have been sent to everyone who has participated in the past.

Our intern called all the agencies who had not submitted projects a week before the deadline. CVille Calendar sent out a blast to their 7,000 subscribers. SuzySaidCville has posted about project registrations. Announcements have been made at meetings of local nonprofits and on the Chamber of Commerce weekly e-newsletter. And of course, we have done several blog posts about the Day of Caring, as well as had a prominent widget on our United Way home page and on the sidebar of this blog.

Volunteer Center director Jessica Snyder released the project list to all registered teams on Monday, and will be releasing the list of lottery numbers by which teams get to choose their projects next week.

And still…

Her phone is ringing and emails are pouring in from Proscrastinating Pollies (and Pauls) -  nonprofits who had not registered projects by the July 29 deadline and folks wanting to register their volunteer teams. One nonprofit even got phone calls from past volunteers who did not see the organization listed on the released project list asking why they did not have a project listed. What a missed opportunity for that nonprofit!

 The Proscrastinating Pollies say they had not heard anything about it… TV, print, radio, email, phone calls, Twitter, Facebook, website and postings on this blog since the beginning of June – are we missing something?

 

Posted by Kim Connolly

It was One Fine Day

Monday may have been hot and humid, but the participants in One Fine Day for the United Way, a day at Keswick Hall, Club & Estate, had “a total blast” as one person posted on Twitter later. Silver sponsors StellarOne Bank and Volvo of Charlottesville helped make the day possible, and the stellar staff of Keswick and the United Way made sure things ran smoothly.

The day started with a live broadcast of WINA’s “Morning News with Rick & Jane” from the patio at Keswick Club. Later, Rick played golf in the Keswick-United Way Golf Classic, in which golfers were able to be refreshed by beer tastings at the four par 3 holes.

Jane enjoyed “An Afternoon at the Estate,” where participants enjoyed resort activities like croquet and archery, tours of the grounds, wine tasting and flower arranging. One person described it as “a mini vacation”. Next year, we will tweak the offerings to hopefully include a cooking class and kitchen garden tour. The wine tasting was a big hit, taking place in the Hall's new wine cellar, so we will be sure that again.

At the end of the day, everyone came together in the ballroom for a wonderful summer buffet sponsored by BB&T. Brad Ramsey, general manager of the Charlottesville Newsplex, held a lively mini auction and then drew the winning raffle tickets for an amazing assortment of goods and services. Many thanks to the United Way’s exceptional special projects volunteer Margo Szeliga for assembling our sponsors and soliciting donations for the raffle and auction.

Congratulations to the winning golf team of Tom Barnes, John Echols, Jud Foster and Kevin Leibl, who received the Keswick-United Way Golf Classic perpetual trophy.

It truly was One Fine Day!

 

Posted by Kim Connolly

 

Preparing for Two Fine Days!

We have been in full preparation mode this week getting ready for One Fine Day for the United Way on Monday, July 25 - a Day at Keswick Hall, Club and Estate. Golfers are looking forward to the Keswick-United Way Golf Classic, which includes specialty beer tasting at four of the holes this year, and non-golfers will be enjoying resort activities normally only available to guests of Keswick Hall or members of Keswick Club.

We have been creating signs for our holes sponsors and posters thanking our sponsors and raffle donors, doing last minute team registrations, and so on to make sure the days runs smoothly. We are relieved that the weather report for Monday does not include such oppressive heat as we have today.

In the meantime, our staff continues to help the people walking in the door or calling on the phone seeking help or referrals to local agencies. They will be glad when the boxes, posters, coolers and cases of water and soda are out of the way after the golf tournament.

We will have photographers roaming around on Monday, so we'll be posting photos to make you wish you were there - and to make plans to join us next year. Our friends and event sponsor at NewsRadio 1070 AM WINA, will be broadcasting live from the patios at Keswick Club on Monday morning, so tune in between 6 am to 10am and listen to Morning News with Rick & Jane.

But there is another day that we are preparing for - one that takes about nine months to organize - the United Way Laurence E. Richardson Day of Caring on September 21. Our Volunteer Center director, Jessica Snyder, disappears into her office each morning to field phone calls and emails from nonprofits and schools with questions about registering their projects, or from businesses wanting to register volunteer teams. We have a new and improved system for registrations this year, but like anything unfamiliar, some folks need some help with the process.

We are in the final push for project registration for nonprofits and school - every year they seem to wait until the last minute to register, causing Jessica to lose a lot of sleep wondering if there will be enough projects for the 2,500 expected volunteers. Last week, we recorded a PSA with our friend Joe Thomas, host of The Joe Thomas in the Morning show on WCHV, 1260 AM and 107.5 FM, where we have a weekly 8:30 Thursday morning guest spot.

 

United way doc psa

 There is still time to sign up for the United Way Day of Caring - just check the link in our sidebar.

 

Posted by Kim connolly

 

You Deserve to Have One Fine Day

We are so fortunate to have great relationships with all the media outlets in Charlottesville. Recently, our good friends at WINA, sponsors of our One Fine Day for the United Way, a Day at Keswick Hall, Club & Estate, recorded the following public service announcement for us.

 

United Way Golf Classic PSA

 

And, our friends at Charlottesville Newsplex and Comcast Spotlight collaborated to created this terrific television spot.

 

Plus, event sponsor The Daily Progress is running this ad on Sundays for us.

Hurry up and sign up for your spot on the golf course or a relaxing day at the estate. We have sold out the golf tournament the last couple of years. Call Caroline Emerson at 434-972-1701.

 

Posted by Kim Connolly

 

Good Times for a Good Cause

Last night we have the privilege and the pleasure of holding our kick-off registration party for “One Fine Day for the United Way” at Keswick Hall, Club and Estate. Once again, our good friends at NewsRadio 1070 WINA, one of the event sponsors, had a live broadcast of Jay James’ “Best Seat in the House” show, and once again, UVA baseball coach Brian O’Connor was the featured guest on the show.

We wish that he could have been in Omaha coaching in the championship of the College World Series instead of sitting on the (lovely!) patio at Keswick Hall, but it was not a bad way to spend the evening. This year, we were fortunate to have his assistant coaches, Karl Kuhn and Kevin McMullan, join Jay for the show, as well as pitcher Tyler Wilson. And, many of our friends joined us for refreshments on the patio as well.

 

You have the chance to partake in the gorgeous venue and outstanding hospitality of Keswick Hall, Club & Estate if you join us for either the Keswick-United Way Golf Classic or An Afternoon at the Estate on July 25. You won’t regret it!

 

Posted by Kim Connolly

Does it Count?

It is like that old saying, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?". In yesterday’s UVA baseball game cancelled in the second inning due to bad weather, John Hicks hit a home run. The Daily Progress has the story. According to officials, the run does not count in the statistics.

But for the purposes of the United Way Home Run Club, we think it should count. After all, we are doing this to help our community.

What do you think?

 

Posted by Kim Connolly

Car Wars: The Revolution at JPJ this Week

Tuesday kicked off the five day extravaganza known as Car Wars: The Revolution. Our friends at the UVA Community Credit Union created this event, which features the four largest car dealers in the area: Battlefield Ford, Brown Auto, Colonial Auto and Jim Price Auto. They bring their inventories of new and used cars to the John Paul Jones Arena so that the public can come in and compare, test drive and get a great financing deal from the credit union, all in one location. No driving up and down Route 29 or Pantops trying out all the car models you are considering.

So what does this have to do with the United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area? We are the beneficiaries of the car sale. The more cars are sold, the bigger the donation we will receive at the end of the sale. So if you are in the market for a new or used car, come on down! You'll get a great deal and the community will get a helping hand.

We had a lot of fun with Chewbacca, Princess Leia and C-3PO, who will be making appearances at various times during the sale this week. Eric Pritchett of NBC29 did live interviews during the evening news, and Caroline Emerson, our Vice President and Campaign Director, had some fun with Chewbacca during her interview.

Enjoy the slide show!

   

Home Runs, Perfect Games and a Great Cause

The United Way Home Run Club is in full swing, having officially started on the first of April. Many thanks to David Coleman who hit a three-run home run in Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech.

 On Monday night, representatives from our Team Captain, CenturyLink, and our all Star Players, The Daily Progress, Union First Market Bank and WINA, gathered at Cheeseburger in Paradise for the Coach’s  Corner show on WINA, featuring UVa Baseball Head Coach Brian O’Connor.

(From left to right: Fred Greer, The Daily Progress; Rod Gentry, Union First Market Bank; Coach Brian O'Connor; Caroline Emerson, United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area; Simone Alley, CenturyLink; Mike Bisceglia, WINA.)

Coach O'Connor was clearly enjoying the moment and appreciative of the extraordinary week the team had experienced: being ranked #1, Will Robert’s perfect game, and then sweeping the Hokies. Will, a young man whose academic credentials (he is graduating from UVA this year after only 3 years) are equally as impressive as his athletic ability, also did a live interview. 

We are looking forward to an exciting series this  weekend against Georgia Tech.   

Come on and join the Home Run Club! We’ll be running quarter page ads in The Daily Progress every Sunday tracking the home runs and prominently recognizing our Team Members.

Listen for our ads on WINA during the games.

And, while we are having so much fun, let us remember that all of the funds raised through this effort will go to help local families and individuals struggling with many challenges. So, we all win.

 

Posted by Kim Connolly

Martha Trujillo, United Way's Community Outreach Coordinator and Link to the Latino Community

We at United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area have known for a long time how fortunate we are to have Martha Trujillo as part of our staff. Her cheerful, postive attitude and her sense of compassion for those who need help make her the perfect person to run our Information and Referral Center. As the person who answers our main phone line and who sits at our front desk, she helps people who call or walk in for help every day.

                                             

Martha came to the attention of CVille Weekly through her work as president of Creciendo Juntos, and they soon realized what we already knew - that all roads in the Latino community eventually lead to Martha here at the United Way. Then she takes that knowledge to another level with her volunteer commitments with Creciendo Juntos and at the UVa Medical Center as an interpreter.

Pick up a copy of this week's CVille Weekly to read about Martha. She epitomizes our mission: to serve community members with the greatest need, or at the greatest risk, in ways that make our entire community a better place to live for the long term.

Welcome New United Way Staff Members in Charlottesville

We have been very fortunate to welcome some new staff members in the past few months, and would like to introduce them to the public.

Melissa Beth Behl joined us in the fall as our Insurance for Children Outreach Worker. Her job is to make parents and referring nonprofit agencies aware of the availability of the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security (FAMIS) program for uninsured children. She walks families through the application process. They really appreciate having the personal touch of someone they can meet face to face and call when they have questions.

Melissa has never done press interviews, but when she sat down with NBC29 recently, she was confident and passionate about helping families.

   

Leigha Rae also joined us in the fall as our data assistant.

We have to keep a lot of data here – much of it required by our auditors and the IRS for our many programs. We also need to stay on top of keeping track of our donors so that we can thank them promptly for their support and keep them informed of how their gifts are working to make a positive difference in our community. Leigha has quickly become someone we depend on for her attention to detail and her ability to pitch in where needed.

And finally, Jessica Snyder joined us two weeks ago as our new Volunteer Center director.  Her head must be spinning from all of the meetings various staff members have brought her to as we try to introduce her to the many people and organizations she will be working with in the community. We have also brought her along to sit in on radio and TV interviews and PSA tapings as she will be doing many interviews in her high profile position.

She keeps showing up each day, so we have not scared her off yet! She has already begun work on and promotion of the nominations for the United Way Student Service Awards. After that, she will dive right in to planning the United Way Laurence E. Richardson Day of Caring.

We are thrilled to have Melissa, Leigha and Jessica as part of our United Way family. If you see them out and about, please introduce yourself and encourage them in the work they do for our community.

 

Posted by Kim Connolly

Happy National Mentoring Month, Charlottesville!

January is National Mentoring Month, and the United Way Volunteer Center, in conjunction with MichieHamlett Attorneys at Law, the Omni Hotel Charlottesville, NBC29, The Daily Progress and all the radio stations at Monticello Media, is running a month-long public awareness campaign to recruit more volunteers to become mentors and tutors. Here is our radio PSA

UNITED WAY VOLUNTEER MENTOR PSA -

There are 16 local organizations participating in our Mentor. Tutor. Pass it on! volunteer opportunity fair on January 27 from 11 – 2 at the Omni Hotel on the downtown mall.

The simple idea of mentoring is that by taking an interest in a child, and interacting with and taking an interest in them on a regular basis, you can make a tremendous difference in their life. The organizations participating in the fair offer opportunities from reading a book to or having lunch with a child in school once a week, to helping a child with math homework, to taking a socially awkward child with autism out to fly kites. You can even mentor an adult who needs help learning to read or learn English with Literacy Volunteers. They in turn will be able to help their own children with their school work.

Kids know when an adult is truly interested in them, and they respond to that. Think about it – did a teacher, coach, older cousin, neighbor or a friend’s parents encourage, challenge, comfort or guide you? They may not have even been conscious of the fact that they were planting a seed that changed your life. They may have just been role models.

Pay it forward.

Watch these videos from the National Mentoring Month website in which well-known people talk about individuals who made a positive difference in their lives.

Do you have an hour a week, a few hours a month, to extend a hand to a child? You will get more out of it than you can imagine.

Mentor. Tutor. Pass it on!

Download 2011 Mentoring Flyer

 

Posted by Kim Connolly

Nonprofit Collaboration in Charlottesville

At the recent Center for Nonprofit Excellence National Philanthropy Day luncheon, the keynote speaker, Dr. Paul C. Light, gave a talk entitled “Driving Social Change in a Time of Urgent Threats.” He emphasized the need for nonprofits to collaborate.

Those of us from the United Way were nodding our heads in agreement. "Collaborate” could be our middle name. We have collaborated with our local school systems for years to create awareness of our project to sign up all eligible area children for free FAMIS health insurance.

Our Child Care Scholarship Program collaborates with the social service departments of the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

In the spring, we collaborate with the local letter carrier’s union and the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank to promote the “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive. Because of our strong media partnerships, in 2008 the number of pounds of food collected nearly doubled, and this year we increased collections by thousands of pounds again. Our Volunteer Center made the connection with the Civil Air Patrol which has adopted the food drive as an annual volunteer activity.

We have applied for and received grants on behalf of two local coalitions, enabling us to hire new staff members to coordinate the work of coalition members so that considerable strides have been made for both groups: the Smart Beginnings initiative and the Thomas Jefferson Area EITC Coalition.

The Initiative for Effective Nonprofits is a collaboration of the Wardle Family Foundation and the United Way, working together to provide capacity building grants to local nonprofits so that they can strengthen their business practices.

Our Prescription Assistance program provides a Medication Assistance Worker who works at the Charlottesville Free Clinic and Region Ten Community Services Board every day, signing up individuals without health insurance for free prescriptions from more than 200 pharmaceutical companies.

About to kick off for this year is The Santa Fund, a collaboration between The Daily Progress,  NewsRadio1070 WINA and the United Way. We collect and distribute the funds by working with the school systems in several counties to identify kids with everyday needs like a pair of winter boots, eyeglasses, school supplies and so on.

Women United In Philanthropy was formed in 2004 by the United Way as a way of informing and empowering women to address the needs in our community. Since then, it has taken off, and has awarded nearly $120,000 in grants to local organizations. As a matter of fact, the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation based its Future Fund giving circle on the Women United in Philanthropy's model.

Of course, the Big Kahuna of collaborations is the United Way Laurence E. Richardson Day of Caring, coordinating 2,500 volunteers from 70+ businesses and organizations with more than 100 nonprofits and schools.

Those are just the formal collaborations we have here at the United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area. We have dozens of other everyday collaborations with local nonprofits, businesses and media outlets. It is because of these partnerships, big and small, that we are able to leverage our staff, volunteers and donations to have the biggest impact possible in order to change people’s lives for the better.


Meet Charlottesville’s Media

This Thursday night, rival media outlets will lay aside their competing interests and instead come together to show their support of a local nonprofit that has a far-reaching impact on our community: the United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area.

George Benford, owner of Siips Wine and Champagne Bar on the Downtown Mall, has for several months hosted a different local nonprofit every Thursday evening for a charity “Celebrity Bartender” event. George donates 10% of the gross sales to the nonprofit, plus the tips for the celebrity bartenders. Each of these events has had a different theme, so when George approached us about holding our own event, we decided to give a shout out to our friends in all the local media outlets. We have been very fortunate to have strong support from our local media, because they know how the work we do helps strengthen our entire community. Just today, The Daily Progress ran an editorial that started with this line: “Our region is fortunate to have an organization as hardworking, as gifted and as prudent as the United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area.” Thank you! It is wonderful to have that kind of endorsement.

We hope you will stop by Siips Thursday evening between 5:30 and 7:30 and meet the people behind the microphones: Jay James, sports director at NewsRadio 1070 WINA (Charlottesville Radio Group); and Steve Walker, morning DJ on Generations 102.3 (Monticello Media); in front of the cameras: Henry Graff of NBC29; and Travis Koshko of Charlottesville Newsplex; behind the printed word: Jay Jenkins, sports writer for The Daily Progress; and Hawes Spencer, editor of The Hook; and finally, because we fully appreciate the power of social media (this blog, Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook), Amy Eastlack, “Suzy” of SuzySaid.com Charlottesville, will ably represent social media.

Here is your chance to meet these folks face to face and talk to them about sports, music, local events and news and even the weather!

We hope to meet you there.

Posted by Kim Connolly.

Forget the Oscars, these awards change lives

Sunday night may have been the Oscars, but awards that truly have an impact that can last a lifetime were given out on Friday in the Charlottesville area. Local business leaders presented the first annual Star Quality Awards to fourteen exceptional teachers at local child care centers and preschools.

Over and over again, studies have shown that children who have quality child care and preschool experiences enter kindergarten ready to learn. Conversely, children who enter school behind their peers, stay behind. This is why it is so important to encourage participation by child care centers in the Virginia Star Quality Initiative, which helps improve the quality of the care and early learning environments that they and their staff provide to our youngest children.

Additionally, quality, accessible child care has been found to be a key concern among local employees. Our local business leaders have stated again and again that the success of our local workforce is tied to ensuring quality early learning environments in our local community.

For these reasons, Mark Giles, Chairman of Virginia National Bank, and Peggy Echols, Vice President, Operations at State Farm Insurance, as members of the local Smart Beginnings Leadership Council, came up with the idea to publicly recognize outstanding child care providers, nominated by Star Quality-participating center directors.

Mark and Peggy envisioned the award as a Pre-K version of the coveted local “Golden Apple Awards” for outstanding public school teachers. They felt so strongly about it, that their companies combined to give each recipient a $250 personal award, certificate, books and a teddy bear for the classroom, plus some public recognition for the positive impact they have on our youngest children.

Like the Oscars, the recipients were all surprised to receive the awards; many had no idea they had even been nominated for this first-time recognition. There were tears, hugs, some speechlessness, and clapping from their young “audiences”.

Mark and Peggy spent the day with Smart Beginnings director Miriam Rushfinn, traveling from Charlottesville to Crozet and Covesville, to personally present the Star Quality Awards. Charlottesville Newsplex, NBC 29 and The Daily Progress (includes list of recipients) each sent reporters to cover the awards.

Congratulations to the participating Star Quality child care centers, and well-deserved public kudos to the 2010 recipients of the Star Quality Awards.

Posted by Miriam Rushfinn.

Western Albemarle High School English Lesson

On March 2 & 3 I had the privilege of being a guest instructor for two Western Albemarle High School English classes. The original concept was to have the students learn editing skills by writing a commercial or public service announcement with a final length of just 60 seconds when read aloud.

I thought it would be fun to bring a professional broadcaster along with me to read the finished products. Jim Hanchett, news director and news anchor at Charlottesville Newsplex (CBS19, ABC16 and WAHU FOX27), and Crozet resident, was pleased to be asked and accompanied me to Nancy Hiles-Johnson’s Tuesday morning class. Jim shared the importance of knowing how to get to the point when writing for television, as his reporters often have to edit their news stories down to 30 or 60 seconds. He also spoke about writing skills as they relate to getting a job through the first impressions of a cover letter and concise resume.

Good thing Jim is used to thinking on his feet, as it quickly became more of a creative writing exercise, with us coaching the students on possible topics and offering suggestions on how to best sell their ideas to an audience. The finished commercials were diverse: a service to drive intoxicated people home; a heavy metal concert; help for Haiti, and so on. I think the students were amazed at how great their commercials sounded when Jim read them as a professional would. I’m not sure the words “five-fingered death punch” have ever left Jim’s lips before! What a sport.

The next day, wiser from having experienced the first class, I returned with Jay James, sports director at NewsRadio 1070 WINA. Jay spoke about the need to be a good communicator no matter what path you take in life, and then immediately upped the ante by offering a pair of tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters next week to the author of the best-written commercial. Once again, the topics chosen ran the gamut: from mud-bogging, to the SPCA, roller coasters and horseback riding.

The class appreciated the fun Jay had reading their work. You may need to turn up your sound.

All the ads were wonderful and it was VERY hard to pick just one winner, but the ad for Mint Snuff edged out the others. Jay later managed to get another pair of tickets for the student who wrote a very descriptive ad for a new roller coaster at King’s Dominion.

All in all, the classes were a success: when students have fun with a writing assignment and then have their work performed by a professional, it is a winning formula. Nancy Hiles-Johnson is already talking about reprising this effort with her other classes later in the year. I had no problem playing “straight man” to Jim and Jay, and I’d love to do it again.

Many, many thanks to Jim Hanchett and Jay James for their willingness to volunteer their time. Their presence showed the students that successful professionals care enough about them to spend their valuable time with them. Jim and Jay helped demonstrate that writing skills have a practical use in real life in a very fun and memorable way. You will notice that Jay wore his Live United shirt to the class. To Live United means to Give, Advocate and Volunteer. Jay and Jim showed that they don’t just wear the shirt, they live it.

Posted by Kim Connolly.

Mentors and Auctions

The past seven days have been a whirlwind here at the United Way. Last Thursday we held our second annual Mentor & Tutor Opportunity Fair at the Omni Hotel. This was a joint effort of the Volunteer Center and a group from last year’s Leadership Charlottesville class, who had initiated the Mentor. Tutor. Pass it on! campaign.

This year, we coordinated the event to coincide with National Mentoring Month, and were fortunate to have wonderful sponsors: MichieHamlett Attorneys at Law, Omni Hotel, NBC29, Monticello Media Radio Stations (NewsTalk WCHV 1260 Am and 94.1 FM, Sports Radio 1400, Country WCYK, Hot 101.9, Tom@107.5 and Generations 102.3) and The Daily Progress. The month-long media campaign paid off, because we had just over 50 very motivated people attend. The feedback we got from potential volunteers and the 15 local agencies attending the fair was quite positive. We were thrilled that so many people were able to meet face to face with local programs that work with kids to find the one that is right for them. Many thanks to the attorneys and staff from MichieHamlett Attorneys at Law who helped out during the event.

The very next day, we shifted gears to get the final preparations ready for the All Around Town Auction, which started Wed. Feb. 3. There were TV ads to approve, flyers to finalize, following up with merchants, printing of posters, updating donation spreadsheets and all those small details that go with a special events to make sure it runs smoothly.

On Tuesday, volunteers and United Way staff spread out to bring the bid sheets, brochures and posters to the various businesses all over the county. It was nice to hear the merchants say what a great idea this is and how they were looking forward to participating. To the right of this blog is a link to the complete list of merchants and locations, plus descriptions of the items or services donated and their values. There truly is something for everyone: A fully furnished dollhouse, a kayak, many beauty packages, $150 certificate for school or office supplies, UVA baseball tickets, ballet tickets, a high quality car seat and baby stroller system and on and on.

Whether you live in Crozet or Charlottesville, visit one of these businesses, place your bid, pick up a flyer

Posted by Kim Connolly.

and start making your rounds. Bid. Buy. Better your community.