2011 Edition of REACH Now Available

It's here!

  
  
Be sure to check out the 2011 edition of REACH, our annual report to the community.

You can read REACH online or contact our office to request a print copy.

Jan

Bittersweet Father’s Day

On Sunday June 19th, we pay tribute to fathers all over the world - biological fathers, adoptive fathers, stepfathers, foster fathers, and anyone else, regardless of gender, who fills the role of a father in someone's life.

The day will be bittersweet for me this year, as my father passed away a few months ago in his 92nd year.

My usual visit with my father won’t be happening on Father’s Day, so there’s no need to call ahead and make arrangements. Nor do I need to search through an endless selection of greeting cards to find the perfect sentiment. Someone else’s father will be getting that card this year.

These thoughts would create emptiness inside were it not for the wonderful memories of my father that I have to fill the void. While I miss him deeply, I realize how very fortunate I am to have had him in my life as long as I did, and how very fortunate he was to have had so many years to live life to the fullest.

Thinking about my father invokes not only fond recollections, but also a sense of pride. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps - an optometrist who held the rank of sergeant in charge of vision care. He served his country with great pride for the duration of WWII.

My father made a positive difference in the lives of many people. It is with him as my inspiration that I attempt to do the same through my role with United Way KW. I couldn’t have wished for a better role model.
  
Jan

Arrival of 211 Service Makes Finding Local Help Much Easier

Earlier this month, the long-anticipated 211 service was launched in Waterloo Region, allowing people in our area to conveniently connect with the local services and help they need through one easy-to-remember phone number.

United Way KW is pleased to play a significant role in the 211 project, which is a joint initiative between ourselves, the Province of Ontario, the Region of Waterloo, and United Way of Cambridge and North Dumfries.

Along with the live telephone helpline accessed by dialing 2-1-1, information is also available online at http://www.211ontario.ca/.

In total, 211 provides access to about 56,000 programs and services in the community, social services, health and government sectors. Access is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year, in more than 170 languages.

Our Board Chair, Victor Zamin, best summed up the benefits of 211 when he told attendees at the official launch, “This process is about becoming more efficient. It can be difficult for residents to find the information they need without investing large amounts of time and energy. Having a person actually there giving you answers can make all the difference.”

211 phone lines are staffed by Information and Referral specialists trained to connect people to the agencies and resources within their community that can best meet their needs.

I encourage you to visit http://www.211ontario.ca/ and see for yourself how 211 empowers individuals to quickly and confidently find the help they need.

Please help United Way KW spread the word about 211. It’s one more way we’re working within our community to change people’s lives for the better.

Jan

Record Article Highlights Neighbourhood Challenges

United Way KW is committed to strengthening our local neighbourhoods through the exploration and development of a more comprehensive neighbourhood strategy. Melinda Dalton’s May 4th article in The Waterloo Region Record - “Residents work to take back neighbourhood, honour slain friend” - offers a powerful reminder of the challenges some of our neighbourhood’s face. It inspired me to write the following Letter to the Editor, which was published May 12th:

I applaud the residents of the late John Ferreira’s Kitchener neighbourhood for their efforts to clean up and reclaim their section of our community. Out of the tragedy of an untimely and needless death has arisen a wonderful legacy of unity and caring.

Unfortunately, the long term answer to preventing future tragedies of this nature lies with proactivity, not reactivity.

Covering up graffiti and cleaning up garbage will not eradicate the issues that plagued John Ferreira’s neighbourhood. We must, as a community, take the necessary steps to resolve the underlying issues and circumstances that led to these negative behaviours in the first place.

While Waterloo Region neighbourhoods may vary in terms of demographics and income levels, ultimately their residents all share the same basic wants and needs, including the desire to feel understood, valued and respected. Creating such a caring and welcoming atmosphere requires a willingness to trust and the ability to respect diversity rather than fear it.

There’s a famous line in Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall” that states, “great fences make great neighbours.” The implication is that putting up boundaries and encouraging neighbours to both literally and figuratively keep their differences to themselves will result in a safe and peaceful community. I’d argue, however, that what masquerades as peace and security in such a situation is really fear and distrust.

What really makes a neighbourhood great is the ability for residents to accept each others’ differences and work together for the common good to bring about positive change.

It is an unfortunate truth that it often takes a sudden and tragic event before circumstances are deemed critical enough to merit action. By identifying and addressing the underlying root causes of neighbourhood issues, hopefully the necessary changes can by identified and actioned before history repeats itself.

Until then, however, to expect that another innocent individual won’t suffer the same fate as John Ferreira would be simply naïve.
 
Working with our community partners, United Way KW is taking steps to learn more about the challenges within our region’s neighbourhoods and to determine appropriate actions and investments for the future. With your support, I know something can – and will – be done.

Jan

United Way KW Celebrates 70th Anniversary

With age comes wisdom, and 2011 marks the 70th year that United Way KW has been gathering wisdom about our community, its social service needs and the best way for these needs to be met.

My column in the May edition of Business Times recounts the early beginnings of United Way KW, relying heavily on well-documented details from a history prepared by former United Way KW CEO John Thompson, who retired his role to me in 2005 after 28 years with the organization.

What started out in 1941 as Kitchener-Waterloo Federated Charities, a fundraising appeal initiated by a small group of community and business leaders to raise funds for local efforts supporting the Second World War, has grown into the United Way KW we’re familiar with today.

While so much has changed over the years, both within United Way KW and in our community at large, a surprising number of similarities remain from that war-time era. The original “economies of scale” rationale behind our inception – the idea that a unified fundraising campaign would be far more cost-effective and efficient that numerous separate fundraising efforts – remains viable today. The concept of the workplace campaign introduced back then also carries on as a mainstay of our current efforts, as does a heavy reliance on volunteers and support from community leaders.

United Way KW was there to help back in 1941, and thanks to the ongoing support of so many in our community, I fully expect we’ll be there helping to be change, make change and see change in the KW area another 70 years as well.

Jan

A Tribute to Mothers Everywhere

On Sunday May 8th, we pay tribute to mothers the world over - biological mothers, adoptive mothers, stepmothers, foster mothers, and anyone else, regardless of gender, who fills the role of mother in someone's life.

I encourage you to visit our Community Heroes blog, where our Director of Community Development, Nancy Bird, has written about her mother and the valuable life lessons her mother taught her while growing up.

Thanks,

Jan

We've Moved - Same Building, Different Floor

We've just relocated from our offices on the 11th floor of the Marsland Building to a great new spot on the 8th floor. Please note our new contact information:


United Way of KW and Area

20 Erb Street West

Suite 801

Waterloo Ontario N2L 1T2