United Way of the Midlands Blog

During AmeriCorps week, March 9-17, we recognize the service of individuals working with AmeriCorps to combat poverty and encourage others to follow their lead. Nationally, more than 80,000 people currently work with AmeriCorps, a federal program maintained by the Corporation for National and Community Service. Over 700 AmeriCorps members served in South Carolina last year, including nine VISTAs who served through the United Way of the Midlands VISTA Partnership.

The VISTA Program is a yearlong term of service in which volunteers make a stipend equal to 105% of local poverty level. The meager stipend is intended to teach those who serve the true effects of poverty on an individual and community. VISTAs work full time for nonprofit host sites and are not allowed to obtain outside employment during their service.

Through the United Way of the Midlands VISTA partnership alone, three different sites with three varying goals are provided the opportunity to have a helping hand that many nonprofits are not able to afford without the service.

The motivation for individual VISTAs to serve is unique, but each VISTA is impacted by the service term and hopefully leaves the host site with valuable non-profit work experience and a new perspective on the importance of community service and poverty.

VISTAs are given many incentives to serve for a year at a poverty level stipend. Often the biggest reward noted by VISTAs as they complete the service year is the experience gained.

The purpose of AmeriCorps Week is to acknowledge and commend the service of individuals serving in any branch, and to encourage others of any age to become involved in their local community, or the larger community of national service. If you are interested in becoming an AmeriCorps member, please visit www.americorps.gov for opportunities and listings.

About AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps is separated into three main branches; AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps), AmeriCorps State and National, and AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America).  The VISTA program is the only federally sponsored national service program singularly focused on combatting poverty. The history of the program dates back to 1963, when President Kennedy proposed a national service corps “to help provide urgently needed services in urban and rural poverty areas.” Two years later, President Johnson welcomed the first 20 VISTA volunteers. Then in 1993, after thousands of VISTAs and service projects, President Clinton signed the National Community Service Act, creating AmeriCorps.

Today we’re taking a break from our SNAP Challenge Reflections to share a way that you can help! United Way and the Columbia Housing Authority are collecting supplies for the homeless during November 11-17. If you can help, drop off the supplies listed below to our office (1800 Main St. Columbia, SC 29201) or to Columbia Housing Authority (1917 Harden Street Columbia, SC 29204). Check out the flyer below for more information and if you have questions, let us know. Your help is greatly appreciated!

Join United Way of the Midlands and hundreds of volunteers Thursday, September 20, 2012 from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. for our community Day of Action, sponsored by Lexington Medical Center.

Get your employees out of the office to build team spirit and leadership skills while helping the community!

Day of Action is a great way to thank your employees for a wonderful United Way campaign by giving them the opportunity to have an afternoon volunteering for the community.

If your company has not begun the United Way campaign, this is a great way to educate employees about United Way’s work in the community.

All volunteers are encouraged to attend United Way’s campaign kickoff following the Day of Action from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at EdVenture Children’s Museum. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their family for afree night exploring the museum and celebrating their volunteer work!

All volunteers will receive a free LIVE UNITED t-shirt.

Please note that Day of Action is open to anyone. You may register as an individual or as a group. For group registration, select the number of volunteers participating under the “registration” drop-down menu beside the project description. You will not need to provide information for every volunteers, just the contact person.

If you have any questions, please contact Bridgett Molony, Volunteer Center Manager at United Way of the Midlands, at bmolony@uway.org or (803) 758-6987.

Click here to sign up! 

The Blueprint for Leadership program is wrapping up and it’s time to welcome our newly trained graduates into the community to serve! Graduation is tonight and we can’t wait to celebrate.

We are incredibly proud of the work this class has done and are anxious to see them lead the community in new ways with a new-found understanding of what it means to be a leader. We asked them to explain what they learned over the course of the program, and created this wordle to sum it all up:

Congratulations to the 2012 Blueprint for Leadership Class!

What fires you up? Literacy? Poverty? Hunger?

Whatever it is, there are opportunities waiting for you to get connected.

United Way of the Midlands has just launched Get Connected, a tool where volunteers can match their preferences with the needs of non-profit agencies throughout the Midlands.

Visit uway.org/volunteer to sign up or log in with your Facebook account. Once you’re in, you can choose a cause and find volunteer opportunities, see requests for in-kind needs, board opportunities, and even look for employment opportunities. You can even subscribe to updates from your favorite cause. Because it’s all based on your preferences, you don’t have to worry about anyone spamming you, and United Way will never give your personal information to anyone else.

“We looked at the work we were doing with partners in our community and realized just how great the need for volunteers is,” said Mac Bennett, President and CEO of United Way of the Midlands.  “We’ve been a leader in promoting volunteerism in the Midlands through our community-wide Days of Action and through our workplace campaigns and this website is a way to continue that work with a broader reach.”

Non-profit agencies in the Midlands, even those not affiliated with United Way, are encouraged to create an agency page and utilize this resource to further connect with their community and volunteers. More than 1,400 people have signed up already, and there are over 40 agencies with 100 volunteer projects, 60 in-kind needs and 30 events.

“We wanted to use this website as a way to strengthen not just our partners, but all non-profits in the Midlands,” said Bennett. “This is a resource that will benefit everyone in our community.”

For more information on “Get Connected” contact Bridgett Molony at 803-758-6987 or bmolony@uway.org. To sign up as a volunteer or agency, visit the website at www.uway.org/volunteer.

Find out more on our Facebook pages as well:

United Way:
http://www.facebook.com/uwmidlands

Young Leaders Society: http://www.facebook.com/UWYoungLeadersSociety

Women in Philanthropy: http://www.facebook.com/WomenInPhilanthropy

January is National Mentoring Month, and it is also the month we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his dedication to service in the community.

In this spirit, United Way of the Midlands organized a Week of Action, taking place now, to highlight the importance of mentors and tutors in the community, especially the need for more African American male mentors.

The group BADD (Black Achievers Determined to be Different) kicked off the week by having 20 high school students spend an afternoon reading to children at the Ben Arnold Boys & Girls Club. Click here to see more pictures from yesterday’s volunteer opportunity. 

Bridgett Molony, Volunteer Center Manager chose to highlight BADD for the positive role they play in the community.

“The goal of this week is not only to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. but to emphasize the need for African American male tutors and mentors in the community. We chose to highlight BADD because they are already a presence in the community filling this much needed role every day, not just during this week,” she said.

There were also volunteers participating at four other Boys & Girls Club sites in Richland and Fairfield County yesterday. Over 200 volunteers are expected to volunteer during this MLK Week of Action and will spend their time in shelters, afterschool programs and child development centers across the Midlands.

“Our hope is that our volunteers will connect with these agencies and continue volunteering year round,” said Molony. “Ongoing volunteerism is what will really start to make a difference.”

Volunteer opportunities are still available Wednesay, January 11^th from 9-11 a.m. and Friday, January 13^th from 9-11 a.m. To register, please email bmolony@uway.org.

Members of the 2010 Blueprint for Leadership Class

One of my favorite activities at UWM is Blueprint for Leadership (BPL).  BPL prepares folks to serve on nonprofit boards and committees.  There are lots of great leadership programs in the Midlands, but none have the unique objective to prepare folks to lead nonprofit organizations.

I love BPL for lots of reasons, but because this is a short post, I’ll present three.

• First, I get to meet 20-30 new people who share the same interest, working with nonprofits. BPL participants may share this common interest, but their experiences and perspectives are diverse, such that there always is a lively conversation.
• Second, I have the opportunity to meet and talk to some of the best nonprofit staff people, consultants and volunteers around.  Most BPL sessions include an interview/ conversation with a local nonprofit professional.
• Finally, I get to hear how BPL participants would respond to certain situations because BPL uses case studies to present information.

Nonprofits operate to serve community interests.  Nonprofit board members act as stewards of those interests.  I think this is an important responsibility that shouldn’t be taken lightly.  Anyone interested in being a thoughtful, prepared board member in service to the community might want to join the 2012 BPL class.  Information and applications will be posted on our website in the coming week. The deadline to apply is January 12th. Check the link for more information, or stay tuned to the blog!

Click here to sign up for Day of Actoin

Chris Long pulled into the Carolina Children’s Home last April to volunteer for United Way’s Day of Action. He and 20 SCANA employees left behind their work for the day to refurbish the living quarters for displaced teens.

The day began with a tour of the 50-acre complex. Volunteers learned about the Carolina Children’s Home’s 100-year history of housing teens with nowhere else to go. They saw the bleak conditions the teens called home. Bleak or not, it was a safer, more stable home than from where they came.

Chris and his co-workers spent hours painting inspirational quotes in the five living quarters and cafeteria.

By 3 p.m. the teens arrived “home” from school. That got Chris wondering, “Did I ever realize in high school that the kid next to me in class may not live at home with a family?”

SCANA volunteers treated the teens to ice cream sundaes. Chris started talking to the teens and realized all of them had afterschool jobs. Some worked at the corner pantry, some at the nearby grocery store and others in restaurants nearby.

When the day came to an end, Chris said, “My eyes have been opened.”

Chris had lived within a mile of the Carolina Children’s Home for over 14 years. He drove past it every day. He shopped at the corner pantry and the grocery store that employed the teens. Yet, he never knew anything about this place right in his backyard.

United Way’s Day of Action gives us the opportunity to lend a hand to our community’s non-profits. But it also does so much more. Day of Action educates us about the need in our community and the non-profits that work tirelessly to help that need.

The next time Chris drove past the Carolina Children’s Home, he knew exactly what was behind the brick fence.

Every time Chris goes into the corner pantry or grocery store, he can’t help but wonder if the teen serving him calls the Carolina Children’s Home home.

United Way’s next Day of Action is Friday, October 21 from 9 am- noon. Over 350 volunteers are needed to volunteer at 40 non-profits. If you or your company wants to get involved, please register at www.uway.org/volunteer.