LIVING UNITED in Erie County

Who am I?!!! I help facilitate your giving so you can touch the lives of thousands!!!

Thats's right.  I CO-OR-DIN-ATE!  I don't stop at the mushroom belt!  (Did you see the movie Boomerang?)

If you don't know me, my name is Jennifer Dobbs Woods and I'm the Leadership Giving Coordinator here at United Way of Erie County.  I oversee Leadership Giving, Young Leaders Club and Women In Action.

Hopefully I've met you already, but if not, hit me up anytime...I love to meet new people! Contact me anytime at 814.456.2937 x227 or jennifer@unitedwayerie.org.

I'll be posting information on this blog from time to time about various happenings in my area, so be on the lookout!

Ta-ta for now...

I’m R.J. Zonna, VP of Campaign and Communications here at United Way of Erie County. Well, consider the 2009 Campaign “officially” kicked-off! Last night we held our Labor Kickoff at the 3^rd St. Polish Falcons, home of the best “three meat buffet” in town. United Way has partnered with Organized Labor for over 60 years because we both have missions steeped in community service and advancing the common good.

Speaking of United Way's Campaign, we here at United Way of Erie County recently completed our first-ever online workplace giving campaign. Our 13 employees pledged over $13,000…that’s over $1,000 per employee. I’m so proud of how our staff “walks the walk”. We don’t just wear the shirt…we LIVE it! 

The 2009 Campaign has officially begun. Everyone here at United Way knows that this is going to be the most challenging campaign of our lifetimes. Unfortunately, the economy presents a twofold challenge: there are less people who are in a position to give, and there are more people in need of the services we fund.

But everything comes back to LIVE UNITED. That simple phrase holds so much possibility. It's a credo. A mission. A goal. It's a constant reminder that when we as individuals think outside ourselves, we have the power to facilitate change. When we think of others lives as linked to our own, our compassion grows. And when we reach out a hand to one, we influence the condition of all. Because united, we stand. United, we elevate. United, we can change what we see in our world.

The LIVE UNITED message is all about the power of unity. If we all work together, we can overcome the challenges we as a community face. And we at United Way of Erie County believe that's going to happen. When you're get the chance this fall to make your pledge to United Way, we hope you see it is an opportunity to directly touch over 100,000 people in our community...and indirectly improve the lives of everyone.

The other big news you've probably heard by now is our president & CPO, Alan Perez, is retiring at the end of the year. Alan's been a great boss to all of our staff and he's been a great leader in the community. He certainly deserves his retirement and I think I speak for everyone at United Way when I say we wish him the best.

Beginning October 1, Bill Jackson, currently our chief operating officer, will become interim president. We're only a few years away from celebrating our 100th anniversary in Erie County, and Bill's well-suited to lead us into our second century. Congratulations and good luck, Bill!

So it begins.

Over the past couple of years, we've taken great strides to expand our presence on the Web. We launched a new website (which you're currently visiting) last summer, started sending out regular updates via our eNewsletter and more recently became active on Facebook and Flickr. We think these steps are really important because they make it easier for you to see how your donation to United Way of Erie County is making lives better in our community.

But we wanted to take it a step further, which is why this blog exists. United Way of Erie County's mission is "together, improving lives and building a stronger community." Every year, United Way helps improve the lives of around 100,000 people in Erie County. Think about that for a second: 100,000 men, women and children. As of July 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau listed Erie County's population at 279,175. That means United Way is touching the lives of over 1/3 of the population! That's because of the help YOU provide.

We at United Way of Erie County will use this blog to let you know about how your gift is helping us fulfill our mission. We'll highlight some of the individuals helped by United Way funding. We'll give some insight into our efforts to advocate for Education, Income and Health. We will also spread the word when there are volunteer opportunities you can fill. In other words, we want to let you know how much of a difference United Way is making in Erie County, thanks to the support provided by you and so many others in our community.

I'm John Simon, Communications Coordinator at United Way. You'll probably see quite a few posts from me, but you'll also see them from other members of our staff as well as a few of our volunteers. Let us know what you think! Feel free to post comments anytime here or on our Facebook page. Your involvement is very important to us, because we know that together, united, we can inspire hope and create opportunities for a better tomorrow. That's what it means to LIVE UNITED.