What Sesame Street, my son and others have taught me about “food insecurity”

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Jennifer Bosk

In my day it was known as plain old ‘hunger’. What’s up with “dressing up” the issue by calling it ‘food insecurity’? It seems like now I’m hearing that term all the time. So I started thinking that maybe I didn’t fully understand ‘food insecurity’ and it turns out it is much more than just hunger.

I started learning about food insecurity from my son who is an elementary school principal at a Title I school where the majority of children live in families with little to no income. While he knew that most of the children would qualify for free lunches, he was apalled at how hungry they were. When it dawned on him the children would only eat that one meal each day at lunchtime at school, he implemented free breakfasts for the students as well as provided backpacks filled with food for the weekends from his local Backpack Buddies program.

Another time I learned about the ‘food insecurity’ issue was in a Sesame Street special featuring the new muppet, Lily, who comes from a food insecure home. She’s a pink muppet in a blue dress and she is hungry. She goes to a community garden for food where she meets Elmo and Grover and shares a bit of her story on how her rumbling tummy is about much more than hunger. Continue reading →

How can you compete with a billionaire?

Posted on April 23, 2013 by mrodgers

Do you know who Warren Buffet is? Bill Gates? Of course you do. How about Patrice and Precious Motsepe? Not ringing a bell? Well, Mr. and Mrs. Motsepe are a couple from South Africa – and they also happen to be among the wealthiest individuals and families in the world.

Another thing they have in common with Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and most recently Richard Branson, along with another 101 billionaires (so far!) around the world is they have pledged to donate half – or more – of all their wealth to charitable causes during their life or immediately upon their death. They have all embraced a philosophy of philanthropy created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet called “The Giving Pledge”.

At the core of the pledge is this affirmation: “We are inspired by the example set by millions of people who give generously (and often at great personal sacrifice) to make the world a better place.” Each donor decides how much they will ultimately pledge, and to what organization and causes.

According to the National Philanthropic Trust, 81% of the high net worth individuals in the U.S. that donate to charity cite “giving back to the community” as their chief motivation for giving.

But all of this is only for “high net worth” individuals, right? Well, according to the same report 65% of all households in the U.S. give to charities. And while the average amount of all donations was $2,213, the middle amount given was only $870. You don’t have to be a “high net worth” individual to donate $870.

And in 2011, 73% of all charitable giving came from people – like you and me. And while billionaires can easily afford to pay someone to research the 1,080,130 charitable organizations to decide where to donate, you don’t have to.

United Way of the Greater Triangle supports many successful and vital programs in the Orange, Durham, Johnston and Wake county area. Eighty-seven agencies and 162 programs that focus on hunger and literacy, safety and well-being of children, single parents, homeless and more provide services for the 1.4 million people of the four counties.

That’s a powerful reach that helps “make the world a better place.” And while you may not have the money of a billionaire, your money, along with your neighbor’s and mine, can have a powerful and lasting impact on our world right here in the middle of North Carolina.

Go to http://www.unitedwaytriangle.org, look around our website and see the ways you can help. If you can’t donate money, there are plenty of other ways you can give – donate your time, advocate our mission to help others, tell someone about 2-1-1. Just know that we’re here to support your community, and a better community is better for you.

Generosity isn’t an action…it’s a lifestyle

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Jennifer Bosk

Our United Way Marketing Intern, Logan Tallent, wrote this post. Enjoy!

“You’re going to die. You’re going to be dead. It could be 20 years; it could be tomorrow, anytime. So am I. I mean, we’re just going to be gone. The world’s going to go on without us. All right now. You do your job in the face of that, and how seriously you take yourself you decide for yourself.” –Bob Dylan

“About 85% of the millennial generation stated that they wouldn’t mind less pay if the company they were employed for was socially responsible and gave back to the community,” Jessica Best from Emfluence LLC, a digital marketing and platform services company in Kansas City, MO. recently tweeted.

Although much is said in a negative light about my millennial generation, I have to say this is one thing that we have gotten right in life. Bob Dylan said it perfectly when he stresses the hard truth about this life that we all have. To say it bluntly, when it’s done it’s done. We can’t take anything with us – our home, our clothes, our car, our money… that all means nothing in those final seconds.

However, the question that we should be asking ourselves is if we can’t take anything with us, what are we leaving behind us? I for one don’t want to simply leave behind a bunch of “things.” I want to leave an impact behind. I want others to be able to say that because of my time, because of my life, someone else’s life was better.

So what does this look like in the workplace and our everyday life? I’m not saying to give everything you have to the poor and go live in indigenous villages in Africa (although that does sound amazing ).Not everyone is made for that life.

I’m simply saying, in whatever you do; make sure you’re doing more than just grabbing a paycheck and going through the motions. Have a desire to want to do more than cross a few good deeds off your checklist every year. Generosity isn’t an action. It’s a lifestyle.

United Way has so many opportunities for the workplace to show you just what this looks like. Our goal isn’t to ask you for some money. Our goal is to show you what your money is doing for the community, to show you the impact you are leaving.

However, even greater than the financial impact, we show you how to live in generosity. Our partner agencies are in constant need of volunteers. There are kids that are in constant need of mentors. There are places that NEED help. There are women in homelessness that need a friend. The Triangle Area NEEDS real impact.

So again, I ask you the question, what are YOU leaving behind?

Image from scholarsandrogues.com

Impact the Triangle for Good…Join Us?

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Jennifer Bosk

This morning we announced our first ever Community Impact Plan…a list of goals and outcomes we plan to achieve, with agency partner help and your help, to impact our Triangle for good!

Early last year, volunteers and corporate, community and nonprofit agency partners worked with United Way to shape a focused Community Impact Plan with accountability for specific goals. Together we developed a new approach and new plan for our community based on:

Assessment of our communities’ needs and identification of the priorities to be addressed.
An open invitation to all Triangle nonprofits to apply for funding and undergo our rigorous certification process.
A successful 2012 campaign that raised $5.3 million of donor designated funds and $5.3 million of Community Impact Funds, the first increase in several years.
The allocation of Community Impact Funds to selected agency programs to achieve specific goals.

We are putting $1,889,676 towards Education/Youth Development programs in 2013 and some things we plan to achieve as a result include: Continue reading →

Rich Blocks, Poor Blocks

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Jennifer Bosk

Those interactive maps are addicting – at least to me. So when this one popped up, I had to take a look. I suggest you do, too, by clicking here.

It’s a map of income and rent in every neighborhood in every city in America. I’m guessing that, just like me, you went right to your neighborhood.

But I hope you’ll take the time to zoom back out and look at not just your neighborhood but also at surrounding neighborhoods, your city, your county and your state.

What do you see? Are you surprised by what you see?

The reason I ask is I’m wondering if we’ve come to just accept there are huge pockets of extreme poverty right near our own backyards?

What do you think?

Image from blog.reillypainting.com