This year ’s publication is interactive and allows you, our United Way supporters, to answer those key questions while sharing your thoughts and ideas. The interactive publication is now available at http://www.unitedwaytriangle.org/counting and includes information such as:

• 3 out of 4 Triangle public school students entering 9th grade in 2005 graduated by 2009 or earlier.
• By 2020, the Triangle’s population will exceed 2 million people.
• 90% of Triangle adults age 25+ are high school graduates.
• 1 in 11 people living in the Triangle now identify themselves as Hispanic or Latino.
• About 1 in 6 people under the age of 65 living in the Triangle do not have health insurance.

Your input is wanted!   Go to the site above and give us feedback on these questions:

• What needs to be done to make sure everyone in the Triangle is healthy by 2020?
• What would you do to improve the high school graduation rate by 2020?
• What does a ‘safe’ Triangle region look like in 2020?

and many more questions inside “Counting on the Triangle”!

Nearly 2,500 runners filled the downtown Raleigh streets for the 26th annual Old Reliable Run on Sunday, Nov. 15. Race sponsors included Talecris Biotherapeutics, ABC 11, Syngenta, Curtis Media Group, News & Observer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, and many more.

Talecris Biotherapeutics was honored as the largest corporate team. The largest community team was Peace College while the largest youth team award went to the Lace ‘em and Pace ‘em team made up of young teen girls from the Raleigh Girls Club and members of the Women’s Leadership Council of United Way of the Greater Triangle.

Proceeds from the race benefit United Way of the Greater Triangle’s partner agency programs in Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties. Currently 25% of residents in those four counties are receiving services or programs form a United Way funded agency.

For complete race results go here

View the photo gallery here

View our sponsor's video here

North Carolina Governor, Bev Perdue recently appointed United Way of the Greater Triangle president and CEO, Craig A. Chancellor, to the North Carolina Commission on Workforce Development.

Board duties are to enhance and develop strategies that produce a skilled and competitive workforce through various powers and duties.  The commission has 38 members, each serving a four-year term.  The governor appoints all members.

To ensure quality of life, United Way of the Greater Triangle concentrates on four building blocks: education, income, health and safety.   The combination of those four build a firm foundation for improving lives in the Triangle.

Sixty-two years old, an Asian immigrant, married for 40 years – Mrs. Fong’s life was not safe.  She was being physically, emotionally and psychologically abused by her husband.

Her husband isolated her and controlled her every move.  He promised even worse things would happen to her if she ever told anyone.  
 
One day Mrs. Fong picked up the phone and called the Durham Crisis Response Center crisis line.  The advocate who answered helped develop a safety plan for Mrs. Fong which included shelter, counseling and legal advocacy.  As Mrs. Fong settled into a new routine away from her abuser, she received supportive counseling to re-build her life.

The funds you give to United Way make it possible for the Durham Crisis Response Center to operate their emergency shelter and crisis line.  Their mission is to work with the community to end domestic and sexual violence through advocacy, education, support and prevention.

For more information about the Durham Crisis Response Center click on  www.durhamcrisisresponse.org .

If you would like to help those being abused, go to www.unitedwaytriangle.org and click on ‘give’.

L to R: Kevin Trapani, Trig and Alice Horton, JohnStallings, and Craig Chancellor

Spanish and French foods, wines, music and art were all a part of the Tocqueville Society Gala on October 7 at the Nasher Museum in Durham. A private showing of Picasso's works followed the honoring of 28 United Way Tocqueville Society donors who had contributed more than $100,000 over 10 years. Alice and Trig Horton were honored during the evening.  They represented the F. M. Kirby Foundation which has donated $1 million to United Way of the Greater Triangle.

Tocqueville members are a special group of influential individuals who partner with United Way of the Greater Triangle to make our community strong, vibrant and healthy.  In 2008, Tocqueville Society members contributed over $1.4 million to help fund local health and human service programs across the Triangle.  Their unparalleled commitment reflects their extraordinary concern, foresight and dedication to inspire a better way of life for everyone.

For information on becoming a Tocqueville Society member, click here.

AALI founders toast 10 years of philanthropy with United Way of the Greater Triangle

More than 80 founders, current members and guests toasted 10 years of philanthropy for United Way of the Greater Triangle’s African American Leadership Initiative (AALI) on Thursday, Oct. 15 at the new Marriott City Center in Raleigh.

The African American Leadership Initiative (AALI) is a group of individual and community leaders across the Triangle who have-through their leadership donations, volunteer time and overall support-partnered with the United Way of the Greater Triangle (UWGT) to address the most pressing needs in our community-especially those affecting the African-American community.

To read more about this event, find out about membership and to view additional pictures, click here.

Students taking part in a College Awareness Tour

On November 13th, United Way of the Greater Triangle ’s Young Leaders' Society (YLS) sponsored the first of many College Awareness Tours in partnership with students at the Durham Performance Learning Center. The YLS mission is to foster participation, commitment, growth and education of United Way of the Greater Triangle’s Young Leaders in order to further United Way’s vision that, “All who need help find it.”

Twenty students, mostly high school juniors and seniors, had the opportunity to visit three Triangle area schools: Louisburg College, NC State University and Shaw University.   The trip was fully underwritten by the YLS group who raised the money during their August 2009 Campaign Kick Off and Silent Auction.

At the end of their visits, students were able to assess the similarities and differences in the schools in hopes of narrowing down which college or university would be best suited for them.

Bryson Powell (far right) CEO of East West Partners is the YLS Chair and is joined by YLS members and the students they took on college visits.

For information on joining in on this worthwhile project and being a YLS member, click here.

Sunday, December 6, Harris Teeter, United Way of the Greater Triangle and Inter-Faith Food Shuttle hosted the 7th Annual Harvest Feast at the Raleigh Convention Center in downtown Raleigh.  Over 3,500 Triangle residents-in-need enjoyed a traditional holiday meal complete with turkey, live music and children’s activities.

“It’s a nutritious, hot meal for people who need it,” said Jason Boone of the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. “In these tough economic times, that is a valuable thing for many people. It helps build a spirit of community.”

It takes the support of over 400 hundred Triangle volunteers to make the Harvest Feast a success. Corporate, family and individual volunteers gave their time to help greet guests, serve food and clean up.

Leftover food from Harvest Feast was donated to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to feed hungry children, families and seniors across the Triangle. Following the event, Harris Teeter donated grocery gift cards to its food bank partners in the amount raised in their service area.

To enjoy the sights of the day, click here for Harvest Feast photos.

Local children involved in the 2009 MLK Day of Service, pose for a quick photo

4th Annual Martin Luther King Day of Service Offers You Opportunities

In January 2009, over 1,200 Triangle area volunteers like yourself joined forces to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a “day on, not a day off” by helping with a variety of service projects throughout the Triangle.  Take a trip down memory lane in the MLK photo gallery by clicking here.

This year what is needed more than volunteers are actual projects for the volunteers to work on!  If you know of an organization in need of building repairs or projects that need to be assembled, please contact Dalia Santos of United Way of the Greater Triangle at (919) 463-5006.

For More information, please visit our website at http://www.unitedwaytriangle.org/mlk/

(Also Honored with Orange County Disability Awareness Council Award)

L to R: Al Reynolds, Shelly Bowers-Roghelia, Joe Burgess, Mr. & Mrs. Cecil Wright, Jr.

United Way of the Greater Triangle’s Teaming for Technology (T4T) program recently received the prestigious Diamante Award for education based programs which help the Hispanic/Latino community learn about computers and help in bridging the digital divide between those with and without computers at home and at school.  Teaming for Technology hosts several LaFamilia events during which Hispanic/Latino families learn the basics of computer hardware, Internet safety, protecting against viruses and other useful tips.

Upon completion of the workshops, each family receives a refurbished computer to keep.

For more information about how you can donate your computer or volunteer with Teaming for Technology, click here.

You can advocate on behalf of United Way of the Greater Triangle by sharing our story with others.  Blog, tweet, or promote us on your Facebook page!  Or just forward this e-newsletter to your friends and family members.

For more information, you can check us out on Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, and YouTube!