Oregon Nonprofit Leaders Conference

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!

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!