Executive Director Laura P. Gilliam and Director of Resource Development and Marketing Cassey Bowden shared a lot of information with the class about the United Way and what the main focus areas of the organization are in the local community. Gilliam told the class that the United Way is more than just fundraising and handing out money, and that it has many collaborative projects and campaigns that they are currently working on in the greater Huntington area.
The two main collaborative projects that the United Way is working on are improvements in early childhood education, and substance abuse prevention programs. Gilliam said that the United Way is focused on finding "supporting strategies that create solutions to those issues." There are also four main focus areas that the United Way is working on in this area. They are learning & earning, health & wellness, families & children, and basic needs & unforeseen hardships.
Gilliam also introduced the class to the new United Way Worldwide. The United Way went global in the past year, with each separate branch being its own independent affiliate of the organization. Each branch is run by its own separate board of directors, but the United Way Worldwide has outlined some goals for the next ten years that it wants all of the local branches to focus on. Those goals are to cut America's high school dropout rate in half, to help stabilize financially troubled families, and to increase by one-third the number of youth and adults who are healthy and avoiding risky behavior.
Bowden also made a presentation to the class about some of the marketing and fundraising projects that the United Way is currently working on.
The United Way uses mostly outdoor advertising and print media as its main forms of marketing and advertising. In the next few months, there will be some billboards and signs going up in the Huntington area to advertise the United Way's messages and events to the community.
One of those upcoming events is called Putt & Play for United Way. It is a putt-putt golf tournament sponsored by the United Way that will take place in the greater Huntington area. The tournament usually has a great turnout and is a great fundraiser for the organization.
The fundraising goal for the United Way of the River Cities is $1.4 million in 2009. There are many ways for people within the local community to support the United Way, whether it be by financial donation or volunteering their time or services for specific programs. It is important for the United Way to reach its goal so that its programs and the 32 local non-profit organizations that it supports can function at their fullest potential. Its programs are for the improvement of the community, and that is a goal we can all give towards.
For more information on how to help, visit the United Way of the River cities website at unitedwayrivercities.org
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