Entries For: 2010

Happy Winter Solstice tomorrow!  Hope you get to enjoy the eclipse.  And for those celebrating Christmas, Merry Christmas.  Our guest blogger this week is Nick Parsons. Nick is Mr. Day of Caring.  I'm pretty sure he's been at all of them.  And he loves painting.  Well, maybe not so much but he always seems to be at the sites with the most paint.  Here are his remarks, welcome Nick!

I am writing this as the season is changing from fall to winter and another year starts its closure with a bit more chill in the air. Another successful campaign has wrapped up for the year and the focus now shifts to sharing time with those close to me and counting my blessings for how fortunate I am. One of my true blessings has been my association with United Way of Jackson County and being a part of the lasting change that happens daily.

United Way has given me a remarkable chance to become involved in the community, which is a true passion of mine. Over the years I have served on the board, assisted with the annual Day of Caring projects, and worked with the campaign as a division chair and campaign chair. Each moment along the way has given me inspiration and made the simple point that we can all help each other out. The positive change that occurs within our community is empowering. And the dedication of volunteers is heartwarming.

The New Year brings about more uncertainty and, with that, more need. Questions continue to focus on when will the economy turn around and what will it take to get our community back to work. These are difficult times for many people and the struggles have affected everyone in one way or another. However, these times have also shown how close of community we live in and the willingness of those more fortunate to lend a hand.

I read a quote recently by James C. Penney that said, “It is the service we are not obliged to give that people value most.” I found this to be such a short yet perfect summation to those that I have been involved with in United Way. I have seen the best of the best and have been surrounded by the most incredibly talented, caring, thoughtful, energetic and hard-working people that I can imagine.

My wish to you is that you take the time to enjoy those around you over the holiday season, call an old friend you haven’t heard from in a while, and take time to reflect on how privileged we all are to live in such a beautiful country.

Happy Holidays! Nick

See you next year here everyone!

This week's guest blog comes from a board member, the chair of our personnel committee and our member with the dryest wit, the one most willing to wade through tough policies and pick up a brush at Day of Caring with his kids!  And before Charley, the most valuable lesson he has taught me is that having a lawyer chair your personnel committee is a true gift and important organizationally!  Now Charley...

I am writing this the week of Thanksgiving, a time to express thanks and gratitude, and also a time to take stock in one's life.  Please bear with me while I take a moment to do just that.  I have had the privilege of serving on the United Way Board for almost six years now.  I am very proud of the United Way and the impact it has had on our community.  But I am also equally proud of the impact that our community has had on the United Way.  It is truly a partnership, and this relationship continues to evolve and strengthen.

I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on the United Way Board.  Serving on the Board has given me the chance to not only see the problems we face as a community first hand, but also witness the process of coming together to solve those problems.  It has been empowering and at times quite uplifting.

I am very proud of my fellow Board members and thankful that I have been able to associate myself with people who care so deeply about the community we live in.  It has been an honor to work with them on some very challenging issues.

I am also very grateful to live in the Rogue Valley and I am hopeful about our future.  I know we are in some very difficult times, but I have seen how our community meets challenges and I am confident that we will get through this together.

On a personal note, I am very thankful for my family, my wife and children and I hope all of us are able to share some time this week with someone we love and care about.  I also hope that we are able to take a moment to reflect on who we are and where we are going in the days ahead.

Special thanks to Charley for writing during Thanksgiving.

I was at choir practice last Thursday night.  Not the kind of choir you might have imagined or if you're heard me sing you'd be relieved I wasn't singing.  Instead on a dark, cold, rainy night, the Jackson County Council Against Domestic and Sexual Violence held a vigil for the 39 people and a few animals who have been killed in domestic violence situations in Oregon this year.  This year.  39 people.  There was a candle burning for each one.  And as their names were read, and their lives remembered one more time, the candle was extinguished marking one more ending for their lives.  The oldest was 87 and the youngest was 9 years old.

Medford Police Chief Randy Shoen said there were more than 241 domestic violence calls and 211 arrests.  I wish instead of the 39 candles burning for those who had died that we had 211 burning for people who'd been arrested, for the opportunity to end violence, for the opportunity to save lives.  I know it isn't perfect to light candles for arrests but what can we do to show hope for ending violence.  I needed to feel hope amongst the pain in that moment.

I couldn't count the people huddled close together trying to all fit under the gazebo at Alba Park.  I think there were around 45 people.  There was no media.  As the chief said, he was speaking to the choir.  He came.  He was prepared.  The DA, Mark Huddleston was there.  He too was prepared and committed.  Deputy Chief Tim George and another detective-looking fellow were there.  There was a group of four or five people wearing subtle jackets that said, "Parole Officer" in huge letters across their backs.  There were young and old and black and brown and white people all there. 

A young veteran spoke of her abuse by a champion high school wrestler more than twice her size.  A Native American woman shared a poem she wrote using a leaf dropping to the ground as her metaphor.  Others spoke and even an offender spoke.  The Council made room for all.  Not being there doesn't mean we're not committed to ending domestic violence because this was the first time I've been.  Sometimes though showing up matters.  I hope we all make time to show up at a vigil for something we believe in over the coming 12 months.  Tell me when you do it.  It's important to show others what we know:  domestic violence is not okay.

Still Standing

There’s so much on my mind today.  It’s the Day of Caring eve in our office.  It’s noon and all the sites have been delivered their stuff.  Stuff is the technical word for ladders, wheel barrows, paint, stain, rags, brushes, shirts, you name it.  Amazing!  Tomorrow we’ll have hundreds of folks painting, landscaping, staining and doing all kinds of things to help agencies help people in need.  Special congratulations to Diane Mathews for saving us tons of money on stuff this year.  Her relationships with Shooting Star, Lowe’s and Leave Your Mark really have made them part of the United Way family.

Today we also launch video on our website.  We’ve come so far since our great social media task force and raising awareness council helped us join this century.  Jan Sanderson Taylor has done so much work on our website and social media!  She is an amazing staff member.

It’s campaign time!  We’re already at 23 percent of our $875,000 goal.  Lance Reyes is doing a great job as campaign chair.  Our division chairs are rocking and the campaign volunteers are so enthusiastic.  It’s fun only doing a good thing!

So still standing…does it mean we’re still standing?  Of course, we are.  It also is about something all together different, sort of.

Last weekend I had the amazing opportunity to attend Still Standing.  This is an amazing workshop with horses.  Not being a horse person myself, I was pretty ambivalent.  The others in the workshop were horse people.  Cheaters.  Well not really but you know how I felt.  We arrived, sat in the arena, and received instructions for the day.  Simultaneously, someone let five horses into the arena.  The horses galloped around and played, laid down, and just kicked around.  It looked like they were having fun to me.  Sort of the usual arrive at a meeting thing and check in and mess around.  Two played together, four played together and always there was this one watching, wondering, and noticing.  Again it was just like some meetings I’ve been in.  The group of Still Standing includes Anne Kellogg, Tedi Tate and the Herd.  I don’t want to share too much about the exercises because I think everyone should have the same amazing experience.  The instructions, while always offered with safety first, are intentionally vague.  What a powerful learning experience!

There are individual activities with the horses as well as a group activity.  I found it to be extraordinary as a leadership exercise.  Listening, watching, learning, wondering, noticing is something I can always learn from.  For me the exercises were not unlike community collaboration meetings.  There are groups; there are loaners; there are outsiders; there are those desperate to be included but too quiet to say so.  The list is long.  They are large and small and powerful and weak and loud and quiet.  There is so much to say and yet so little that needs to be said, other than this is an experience to be had.  I was reminded quickly of work in the learning community, the early and later days of the meth task force, the formation of CAN, the ending homelessness in 10 years planning group.  Check out Still Standing’s website at www.stillstanding.us.

And not only are we still standing, we’re rocking.  Check in, tell us how you are.  Enjoy the pictures and for those of you wondering am I moving fast in the action shot that has me blurry, the answer is yes!  Horses are big.  So are community issues.  Here’s a new and creative way to contemplate them.  Thanks Anne, Tedi and the Herd!

Another guest blog as we dive further into summer.  This week's blog comes from Debbie Williams.  Debbie is with Avista Utilities and has as long a career with community service as most people aspire to.  She's former chair of the local Girl Scouts Council and has held every leadership role at United Way except treasurer.  How'd she miss that?!  Debbie remains committed to community, to children and to changing our world.  This is how Debbie lives united!

There is so much in this world to be cherished and protected.  Starting with a major wake-up call on September 11, 2001, along with the recent disappearance of Kyron and the tragic death of Kacy, I have been reminded that there are so many parts of my life that I have taken for granted—for far too long.  These events have made me painfully aware that violence, intolerance and hate have become the focus and that differences are profiled more than commonality. 

It is time to teach acceptance and tolerance in a new way.  You and I must begin with our children—those precious gifts.  They are the key to changing our focus away from hate and on to acceptance and appreciation.

To start making such a change, you and I must begin treating our children like the precious miracles that they are.  Finding a way to show each child that they are loved, they are special, they are important, and that they are not alone.  What they have to give to the special people in their lives matters.  What they have to give to the world matters.  Every person is significant.  You and I must teach our children that differences are settled through understanding, not violence, and we must teach them that life is a precious gift to be treasured, just as they are treasured by us.

Making a difference starts with you and me—one person at a time, choosing to be that person in a child’s life.  All children, no matter their race, religion, gender, physicality, or socio-economic circumstance, are deserving of the opportunity to grow up loved, respected, and valued.  And if they know there is a community, a nation, a world that honors their presence and strives to join together in building an environment of acceptance and tolerance, they will carry that legacy into the future.

It starts right now, with one person.  Will you—will I be that person?  Will you—will I accept the challenge to improve the world, starting with a child?  Yes, I will.

Today, United Way’s National Day of Action, found me standing on the corner of Main and Central from 4:15 to 5:15.  We stood there in silence, listening.  Last Tuesday, June 15, 2010, Kacy died.  She is our community’s latest victim of child abuse.  Today wasn’t about the person accused of killing her.  It was about her.  It was about how we, as a community, can do something different.  The idea came to me through a friend’s comment on United Way’s FaceBook page.  Cher wondered how no one could have heard something.  That spurred me to say let’s listen.  Today, people came and listened.  I wonder what they heard and noticed.  I noticed I don’t know as many cars as I knew when I was young.  I noticed I can’t name tunes in 3 notes as cars raced by.  I noticed how many distractions I must have to not notice all the skateboarders, the bicyclists, the walkers who crossed the street so as not to be with us.  Did they cross out of fear, out of confusion, out of lack of interest or out of what?  Sadly, I’ll never know.  I know only they crossed the street.  Would I in some other situation?  I don’t know.  If faced with it in the future, I’ll react differently.  I’ll think before I cross the street.

I thought about all the things I think about usually between 4 and 5:30, usually it’s work stuff, sometimes it’s family stuff.  Today I thought about a dear person in my life who lost her mom this weekend.  I thought about my younger sister’s father-in-law and his valiant fight against pancreatic cancer.  I thought about another sister and her potential need of a liver transplant.  I was moved about Kacy.  Right before going off to listen, a woman approached me.  She asked if I was responsible for this.  I thought of course not.  Sadly Kacy is why we’re here.  A little girl I’ll never know.  A little girl who’s voice and laughter her family will never hear again.  She then said she was Kacy’s grandma.  I couldn’t believe that in a community’s sorrow, there was a grieving grandmother in our midst.  I was honored, humbled and amazed she shared her grief with us.  To her, I am deeply grateful.  Sometimes we don’t want to be held up as the example.  Sometimes we don’t have a choice.  She didn’t.  My thoughts and prayers are with Kacy’s family and loved ones.

I heard the song, Teach Your Children.  I couldn’t remember the words, just the chorus.  I looked it up for those of you humming right now.  And to Graham Nash and to Kacy and to those who stood and listened on the corner of Main and Central and to those who joined in silence in New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, California, Portland, British Columbia, and Japan, thank you.

Teach Your Children
by Graham Nash

You, who are on the road
Must have a code
That you can live by.
And so, become yourself
Because the past
Is just a goodbye.

Teach, your children well
Their father's hell
Did slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick's
The one you'll know by.
Don't you ever ask them why
If they told you, you would die
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you.

And you (Can you hear and)
Of tender years (Do you care and)
Can't know the fears (Can you see we)
That your elders grew by (Must be free to)
And so please help (Teach your children)
Them with your youth (You believe and)
They seek the truth (Make a world that)
Before they can die (We can live in)

Teach your parents well
Their children’s hell
Will slowly go by
And feed them on your dreams
The one they pick's
The one you’ll know by.

Don’t you ever ask them why
If they told you, you would cry
So just look at them and sigh
And know they love you.

Today, members of CAN (Child Abuse Network) came together to listen.  There are so many ways to show up in the lives of children.  There are so many resources.  There are resources on the volunteer page on our website.  There are numerous child abuse prevention resources on www.mailtribune.com/dontturnaway.  Please don’t turn away.  We can’t anymore.  There don’t have to be more Kacys.  We can show in the lives of children, in the lives of our neighbors, in the lives of our community.  We don’t do this work because it’s important, because it’s right, because we must, we do it because we CAN.  Join us!

Today's guest blog is from Suzanne Zapf.  Suzanne came to our board, and quickly became chair of our Raising Awareness Council.  She helped to fundamentally put in place our strategy platform to launch Live United.  And she does and so does her daughter Zoe.  Suzanne exempifies the following Confucious quote:  "To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right."  Without sometimes knowing, Suzanne helps to put our hearts right.  Enjoy her blog...

What a great volunteer fair this past Wednesday, presented by United Way of Jackson County and other community partners!  We had over 50 agencies seeking volunteers as hundreds of potential volunteers streamed into our large KOBI studio space for the 2 hour event.  Some of the agencies represented at the fair included the Consumer Credit Counseling Service, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), the Family Nurturing Center, and the Ashland Film Festival.  The diverse set of agencies at the fair reflects the very diverse needs of our community!  United Way’s hope is that potential volunteers find positions and internships that fit their skills and interests.  Check out the the website for a full description of volunteer opportunities and contact information for all the agencies represented at the fair.

On a personal note, my 7-year-old daughter Zoe and I had a rockin’ time!  We partnered with Peggy Wisneski at the United Way table, and Zoe and Peggy became fast friends.  Peggy, in between deep discussions with Zoe about Cinderella, cultivated relationships with many new United Way and WiLL (Women Living Leadership) volunteers.  The afternoon culminated in Zoe winning a Goodwill matchbox truck in the drawing, which absolutely thrilled her!  Thank you to Rita Vance, WiLL and the United Way staff for organizing such a terrific event.  Sign us up to help with next year’s event, our 3^rd annual volunteer fair.  We’ll be there.

Welcome back!  This week Anne Ashbey Perotti guest blogs about the case study on United Way of Jackson Couny and social media.  Anne was chair of our task force last summer and she shared at the Oregon Nonprofit Leaders Conference our case study.  And a case we were!  Anne rocked it and is now a United Way of Jackson County board member.  Here's Anne...

UWJC Social Media “case study” – a model for Oregon Non-Profits

Last summer, United Way Jackson County board member Suzanne Zapf and Dee Anne approached me with a proposal:  to form and lead a group of community, board and staff members in developing a social media strategy for the agency.  As a (primarily) for-profit retail marketer, I was hesitant.  Would my expertise translate?  Would I have time to do the effort justice?  The opportunity won out.  Under Suzanne and Dee Anne’s leadership we brought together a small but mighty Task Force of board members, community volunteers and staff.  We had a great time tapping into our collective expertise, and over the course of about six weeks created a series of recommendations that were prioritized and adopted by the agency. 

Now, several months later, and as newly inducted UWJC board member, I received an invitation from Jenny Council of NetCorps to share the Task Force’s process, recommendations and results with non-profit organizations through a presentation at the Oregon Non-Profit Leadership Conference (ONLC).  I immediately recruited two key members of the Task Force:  John Williams, an industry veteran and entrepreneur, and Meri Aaron Walker, a social media evangelist and virtual meeting coach.  It was great to reconnect with John and Meri, take a moment to recognize the progress this organization has made, and offer it as a model to other non-profits.   For me, the very nature of this Task Force – bringing together a diverse group of experienced and invested participants for the greater good of our community – is yet another phenomenal example of this agency’s commitment to “live united.”   

There are many tangible results of this effort.  Guest blogs, like this one, have been a great way to share a diverse set of voices with the public, giving depth and breadth to our shared passion for the works of this agency.  UWJC’s Facebook group (United Way of Jackson County) has grown to nearly 400 members, is regularly updated with event information, and has become a great vehicle for interaction with and among supporters.  UWJC’s Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/uwjackson) has about 120 followers and is an important way for the organization to keep in touch with and disseminate news that is relevant to its mission and priorities.  Website content is now refreshed on a regular basis, and provides a means to showcase the great work of our partners.  Is any of this having an impact?  Yes!  So far, we’ve seen 23% more visitors to www.unitedwayofjacksoncounty.org – which tells us that the web is helping us get the message out to more people.   Web traffic and community engagement will only continue to grow as we implement additional social media strategies, like a monthly newsletter (you can sign up here).

What else do you think United Way of Jackson County should we be doing to increase awareness and participation?  Please leave a comment with your thoughts and suggestions! 

Hi everyone!  Today the Jackson County Board of Commissioners proclaimed April Child Abuse Prevention month.  All three commissioners spoke eloquently and urgently about the need to eradicate the horrific abuse and neglect children in our county live with -- yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I'm proud to have invited them to do this proclamation.  There were my remarks...

My name is Dee Anne Everson and I am the executive director of the United Way of Jackson County.  Also I am one of three co-conveners of Jackson County Child Abuse Network, CAN.  My lead partners are Jackson County and the Oregon Department of Human Services.  Last year I stood here as a stunned community member who has just completed grand jury duty with a calling to do something.  This year I stand here as a member of CAN with more than 40 partners of providers, survivors, policy makers and interested community members who are determined to change the ravages of child abuse in our community.  We are focused on systems change, prevention and public awareness.  We do this with your help.  I thank you for your commitment.  I have learned so much this past year about the lives of children in our community, about the level of destruction present in families, and about hope.  Even Baby Hope who suffered multiple skull fractures this year.  I remember vividly learning from my grand jury experience but what I didn't understand before was that child abusers steal the essence of a child.  And it can take years and years and years before they find that essence again to deliver on the promise to community of engagement, involvement and productivity.  We could read every day of the horrific cases sadly.  We don't do this work because we are able to or should or even must, we do it because we CAN.  Please join us April 14 at noon in Vogel Plaza for the annual child abuse awareness event.  Thank you.

My remarks were followed by an incredible man whom I have had the incredible fortune to become friends with.  His name is Randy Ellison.  He is bright, charming, witty and loves music.  Randy is an incredible asset to our community and his remarks follow:

My name is Randy Ellison.  Statistics tell us that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before their 18th birthday.  It is estimated that at least 39 million Americans are survivors of child sexual abuse.  Using that number we can estimate that over 25,000 residents of Jackson County were victims of child sexual abuse.  25,000 of our community are survivors of this horrible epidemic.

They are family members.  We go to church with them.  We sit on boards with them.  We stand in the line at the grocery store with them.  We see them at the gym.

You are currently listening to one of them.  And what happened to them and to me is invisible.  You do not see that most of us are totally incapable of something as basic as trust of another human being.

Over 80 percent of us are or have been addicted to alcohol or drugs.  Many of us suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.  We have lives that are broken in ways you cannot even imagine.  We live in a world of guilt, shame and secrets.  Many of us find we are uncomfortable in our own skin.  And yet we do not even know why.  Most victims never tell a soul what happened to them.  Many never admit it to themselves.  I was 56 before I started counseling and finally confronted what my minister did to me.

I am fortunate.  I looked pretty normal to the casual observer.  But I'm not.  I have been an alcoholic and drug addict most of my adult life.  I fought off thoughts of suicide until I was in my thirties.  I have had 5 different careers in 5 different cities and moved my family to 18 different homes.  I was not there for my daughters growing up and I was very little support for my wife of 38 years.  Yet I am called successful.  Just imagine what has gone on in the lives of the rest of our 25,000 neighbors who suffer from being child victims.

As I sat in church last Sunday, the preacher talked of resurrection of life and new beginnings.  A line from hymn we sang went "There is a dawn in every darkness bringing hope to you and me."

Please look at this proclamation as a way to shine a light of hope to as many as possible not only by calling attention to the problem but as a call to action to all of us to do more.  Work to eliminate intentional harm to children.  Support programs that help survivors recover and change laws to help them find justice.  Thank you.

Besides being moved to tears, I too heard Randy's call to action.  I will do more.  I CAN.  You CAN too!

Guest blogs are back!  This week brings you Amy Belkin.  Amy has served in many roles with our organization.  She's been board president, campaign chair and is doing another round of service on the board.  She's our go to person on communications.  Amy and I met under very funny circumstances, at least they are now.  Enjoy her blog post and ask her to tell the story sometime about how we met.  Enjoy!  Here's Amy...

I came to do the United Way video, way back when.  About a million years ago, or so it seems.  That was in the mid-90’s, yes, in another century.  It was an interesting time at United Way of Jackson County.  Dee Anne had been the executive director for about a year and the energy was bouncing off the walls.  What I knew about United Way came from my background in news and how our station covered the organization.  And ideas that I brought from childhood, mostly erroneous.  That’s the thing about information we glom onto in our sprout years.  It reflects our small and wondrous view of the world.  While all memory is created as it passes through our filters and then conjured up with even less accuracy, in childhood it is even more distorted because the magnifying glass sees only one small piece of the world at a time and we don’t have much experience to put it in perspective.  So, United Way for me was a a do-good organization that helped people in need, but was run by dull adults who didn’t have much to do in life or much ambition of any sort.  Fast forward to my television news days and you find a reporter starting to piece together the bigger picture when covering stories about agencies, poverty, and United Way’s helping hand.  However, all of those experiences fell way short of truly understanding the reach and the depth of United Way of Jackson County.  To learn about that, to put it in perspective, I actually had to come do the video, and then serve on a committee, and then participate on the board of directors.  Only then did my true understanding of the importance of United Way deepen to do the organization justice.  It took another couple of years to truly get up to speed, because United Way is so much more than an organization that raises money to help people.  And over time it has grown to encompass truly exciting and visionary work.  When I came to do the video the message was about community.  And we, all of us, are that community.  A strong community is about collective strength, caring, and the ability to solve problems.  We, together, make a difference.  Today, the message is the same.  Only it’s deeper, broader, and more encompassing.  How so?  We now engage on a community building level. We help bring agencies and community leaders together to see what’s possible by having conversations that engage our collective wisdom.  We have stepped into a new level of participation.  Why?  Because we can.  Because we have a strong and innovative leader willing to take chances.  Because we have a board of directors diverse in experience, expertise, and age.  Because we have a staff willing and able to accept torch after torch and make it happen.  One of our great strengths is our continuity of leadership, both at the staff and board levels.  These are the reasons United Way of Jackson County has become a standout among United Ways in the country.  These are the reasons it’s all about community, collective wisdom, strength, caring, and the ability to solve problems.  

As Vince Lombardi said, "Winning isn't everything, but the will to win is everything."  This past week, Sanne Specht and I engaged in a contest of wills to raise money for HOPE (Helping Out People Every Day) Chest.  HOPE Chest is United Way of Jackson County's emergency response fund.  The contest rocked!  HOPE Chest has money and we began writing checks from proceeds of the contest on Tuesday.  Pledges and donations poured in and together we raised almost $7,000!  We're not done even though our contest was a week.  People who didn't make it in or remember to pledge, you still can.  And those of you who stepped up, thank you!  For each of you who gave, inspired others, got excited and had fun and especially for Sanne, here's a closing quote.  "Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone."  Gladys Brown Stern.  Scream from the rooftops, we all won!

Wait till you read this!  Sanne Specht, Mail Tribune reporter and columnist, and I are in competition this week.  Sanne isn’t sure about social media and its benefits.  She has written a column that appears in today’s Mail Tribune to kick off our contest.  So here’s the deal…Sanne has asked for donations to HOPE Chest in her name and I’m asking them in whoever’s name you want them to be in…your grandmother, your mom or dad, your brother or sister, your best friend, your true love and oh yeah, ME, so I can WIN!  The reality is HOPE Chest and people in need really win.  But this week, and this week only, we’re challenging each other.  I get to tweet once, do one email, one FaceBook posting and one blog.  Sanne, she gets one column.  Then at the end of the week, we’ll tally the donations and figure out who wins.  As Bob Hunter says, there will be some public humiliation price to be paid to one who doesn’t win.  Me, I’m all about winning.  So come on.  Take a moment this week to give a gift to HOPE Chest.  There are so many ways.  You can go online to UnitedWayofJacksonCounty.org.  You can call us at 541.773.5339.  You can send your pledge via email and we’ll be in touch about you’ll fulfill it.  So join me in this competition and let’s show that social media rocks!  Please forward this to everyone you can think of and encourage them to participate.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

Long time, no blog and what better reason to come back and get back to it.  Expect more to come.  HOPE Chest has interesting mojo if you ask me.  There was its humble beginnings in memory of Hank Collins and then its name change to HOPE Chest.  In our first year, we helped more than 270 families with an average gift of $261. We helped folks with rent, utilities, car-related expense (repair, insurance, registration), and coming in a surprising and necessary fourth place, were funds for therapy.  Partnering with local therapists and having it announced and shared by Stacey Guss, The Sharing Place, has built a solid and important partnership.  So much so that on a desperate day after I received a call about a family in dire need, Stacey got the whole family into therapy, with the help of other therapists, to deal with the suicide of their teenage daughter.  The last few weeks have been dramatic for HOPE Chest.  A few weeks ago, we got a call from a partner needing only $70 for a drug and alcohol assessment.  Without the assessment, the client would have lost her job and her home.  Her children would have potentially been placed in foster care.  Instead, she got her assessment, is in outpatient treatment, has her children and her job and her house.  An amazing victory for $70.  The next HOPE Chest call that week was a for a woman who needed a bus ticket to a safe location.  After a little bit of hoop jumping, the Greyhound ticket was purchased and she was off on a trip to a safe place to live, protecting her from her former batterer.  That happened for a small amount of money as well.  Finally, there's the story of baby Hope.  She needed an option for transportation to medical appointments.  She got the option and while no investment was made and fog didn't permit the donated flight, baby Hope will know forever how much a community cared for her at 8 months old.

This contest is important not because it proves I can beat a reporter at her game but because it helps people who need a small amount to create a gigantic change in their lives.  Join us, not just today, but always in this opportunity to connect people who need help with people who can help.  Thank you.