'Show Your Lucky Colors'

In less than two weeks Sherburne County Area United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council will be having their annual spring runway show at the Crown Room in Rogers.  The runway show supports Sherburne County Area United Ways iEmpower after school program.  Along with generous sponsorships and grants, the Women’s Leadership Council’s events have been one of the main sources of funding for the iEmpower program.  Last year’s runway show funded the summer youth camps, which in turn grew into the iEmpower after school program.

This year the event will be on Friday the 13^th of April.  In keeping with the date, our runway show will have a good luck/bad luck theme, keeping the theme running with the runway show title ‘Show Your Lucky Colors’.  There will be spilled salt, a ladder for models to walk under and magic 8 balls as part of the decorations.  But were does good luck come in, you ask?  Well, in addition to lists of how to bring yourself good luck, each model in the runway show will walk out with a quote on what makes them lucky, along with what their lucky color is.

Fun themes aside, the best part of the runway show is the mixture of good times with a good cause.  All money raised from ticket sales, as well as the raffle and dessert auction at the event, will go towards keeping the iEmpower program in the schools.  This means that every dollar goes towards helping youth gain skills that will result in them creating a better life for themselves and a better community.

Tickets for the runway show are $30, if you are interested in purchasing a ticket or would like more information about the United Way, the Women’s Leadership Council, ‘Show Your Lucky Colors’ or iEmpower, please contact Jenna at jenna@shercounitedway.org or 763-633-5886.

We hope to see you there!

iEmpower: The Halfway Point

Hard to believe, but it has indeed been eight weeks since we started the iEmpower program in Princeton schools.  Since then, we have been working with the youth on building myriad skills all with the purpose of self-reliance skills, communication skills, and self-confidence.  As the half-way point of the first sixteen weeks of iEmpower comes and goes, we are taking time to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the program.  So far, we’ve come to one conclusion: we like what we see.

Just in case it’s needed, here’s a little refresher on what iEmpower is all about.  iEmpower is an after-school program for youth grades K-12.  The groups are broken up by ages: K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12.  Faculty and staff at each school refer students to the iEmpower program.  Students are chosen by school faculty and staff after being identified as falling through the cracks, students who might have difficulty relating to their peers, or students who would otherwise not get the attention they deserve if it wasn’t for the iEmpower program.  iEmpower then works with those students to build their skills and confidence through a variety of lessons and activities aimed at giving the students the skills that they can use to create their own solutions now and in their future.

As we review the past eight weeks, it has been truly rewarding to reflect upon the growth of the students in the program.  Students in all the groups have grown more confident, their self-esteem has increased, and they’ve gained the ability to help themselves with the obstacles and challenges they encounter in their day-to-day lives.  You don’t just have to take our word for it, the students have talked about how they’ve benefited from iEmpower, letting us know how it is impacting their lives.  As part of a video about the event, the students were asked to give their thoughts on iEmpower, and to talk about their favorite parts of the program.

But we still have a long way to go.  This April we are bringing iEmpower for the first time to the Elk River school district.  In addition to the program being in Princeton schools, iEmpower will also be in an elementary school in Elk River.  From there Sherburne County Area United Way plans on bringing iEmpower to all of the schools in our service area, which includes the Princeton school district, Elk River school district and the Big Lake school district.  Sherburne County Area United Way is honored to have had the support of our Women’s Leadership Council, Target, Coldwell Banker Vision and Metal Craft to help make iEmpower possible this spring.

Give to the Max Day - Less Than One Week Away

November 16^th is Give to the Max Day.

But what’s Give to the Max Day, you ask?

Well, Give to the Max Day, otherwise known as The Great Minnesota Give Together, is just that: a day when people can go to givemn.org and donate to their favorite non-profits.  Of course, people can go online any day of the year and make a charitable contribution. 

But Give to the Max Day isn’t just a regular day, no, it’s a day for Minnesotans to come together to give as much as possible in a single day for nonprofits.  In 2010, $10 million was donated to over 3,600 Minnesota charities on Give to the Max Day.  There are also incentives for nonprofits to raise money on Give to the Max Day.  The nonprofit that raises the most money on November 16^th will receive a $15,000 prize grant, second place will receive a $10,000 prize grant, and third place will receive a $7,500 prize grant.  It was also announced that the 4^th-10^th nonprofits with the most dollars received on Give to the Max Day will get a $5,000 prize grant each.

So, in less than one week, nonprofits all over Minnesota will be asking for your dollars to help their causes, and Sherburne County Area United Way is no different. 

Sherburne County Area United Way is among the nonprofits that are participating in Give to the Max Day.  Sherburne County Area United Way will be seeking donations which will go towards our funded programs.  One of the ways Sherburne County Area United Way makes change in the community is by funding local agencies’ programs.  By partnering with these agencies, we ensure that donor dollars are used as effectively as possible. 

Sherburne County Area United Way also has started youth programming.  This summer, we had four camps for middle-school-aged youth.  The camps focused on building self-reliant skills, communication skills, and self-confidence.  In 2012, we hope to bring this programming to local school districts and work with students who are falling through the cracks.

Give to the Max Day, November 16^th, is a wonderful opportunity for Minnesotans to show everyone what we already know: that Minnesota is one of the most generous and giving states.  We hope that you will go to givemn.org and contribute to the goal of the Sherburne County Area United Way: to create long lasting changes that prevent problems from happening in the first place.

Simple Pleasures

This past Sunday, Daylight Savings time ended.  Now, I know that this is old news, but it brought something to my mind that I felt like sharing. 

I LOVE when Daylight Savings Time ends.  I love it.  I enjoy the fact that there’s an extra hour in the day.  I enjoy that it’s lighter in the morning (I find that it’s much easier to get ready for work when it’s light out.)  When I was younger (not much younger, mind you) I would wait to set the clock in my room and my watch back.  I was waiting.  What was I waiting for?  I was waiting for a really good time, a really good hour.  After I had enjoyed that really good hour, I would switch my clocks back and live that hour again.

It was quite fun.

But what’s the point of this anecdote?  Well, I was remembering this tradition this past Sunday, and it really hit my how sometimes the smallest, silliest things can really be some of the most happy.

I don’t know about you, but as I grow older and get busier (and busier and busier), I find that I value those little things that bring joy more and more.  Things such as the cat chasing the dog into the bathtub, unexpectedly finding the perfect gift for someone, or hearing my favorite song on the radio.  Those are all things that I consider pretty simple, but have a disproportionately large ability to cause happiness.

And is there ever too much happiness?

I don’t think so.  Daylight Savings ending has so inspired me that I’ve been trying to do random, simple things that can bring happiness to others.  So far I’ve helped decorate a store, straightened the cupboards, and bought snazzy coffee cups.

Doing simple things such as these has been beneficial, and in some unexpected ways.  Of course, these things have brought joy to others.  For instance, straightening up the cupboards has allowed everyone to be able to see what’s inside, and it makes people happy to not have to frustratingly dig through the cupboard to find something (especially since if any cupboard door is open for more than a few seconds the cat darts in and there has to be time taken to fish him out.)  No, the thing that I didn’t expect was that doing these things makes me happy as well.

Now that I’ve written that, I think it seems like that statement is a cliché and I should have anticipated that, but I didn’t.  I just didn’t expect cleaning cupboards to be that rewarding, because it seems like such a small thing.  So now I’m advocating for this notion.  Try to do one or two small things, and see how they make other people happy.  See how they make you happy.

Halloween Myths and Safety

I love Halloween.  This year I am showing my love for the holiday by buying seven bags of candy, even though we get about nine trick-or-treaters, and I bought a costume for the cat.  It’s a bowtie, and it’s adorable.

Of course we all know what’s really important on Halloween.  Trick-or-treating, of course!  But what can be one of the most exciting days of the year for kids, can be a tricky (no pun intended) day for parents.  Considering all the warnings that are common on this holiday, it’s no wonder that parents might worry.  So, in hopes that everyone’s Halloween might be a bit more restful, here are some common Halloween myths, and some information that disproves them from http://www.keepyourchildsafe.org/child-safety-book/halloween-safety.html. 

1. There are razor blades and foreign objects in candy.  There has never been a single documented incident of razor blades in candy.
2. Strangers poison candy.  Again, there has never been a documented incident of intentional candy poisoning in the United States.  There have been claims of this, but it turned out to be parents trying to cover up the murder of their child.
3. Child abductions are more common on Halloween.  Statistics show that abductions are no more likely to happen on Halloween than they are on any other day of the year.  In many states there are also rules for registered sex offenders on Halloween, such as a curfew, requiring that lights be left off, and signs on doors saying there is no candy.

With that being said, there are some risks that everyone should be aware of on Halloween, here’s a list of things to be watching for:

1. Pedestrian accidents or deaths.  Child pedestrian deaths spike to more than four times normal rates on Halloween, partly due to the large number of children out in the streets, and partly due to drivers coming home from Halloween parties.
2. Fire.  There is always a risk when children are dressed in flammable costumes or costumes with loose or dragging pieces of cloth.  The risk is increased when there are lit candles in homes, in jack-o-lanterns, and bonfires.
3. Risk of theft and bullying.  Children are often targeted for theft, bullying and other kinds of harassment on Halloween, usually at the hands of other, often older, kids.

Ways to help keep kids safe on Halloween are pretty simple.  One of the simplest ways to ensure that your child/children stay safe is to go with them as they trick-or-treat.  If you have a child who is old enough to go trick-or-treating without an adult, make sure they go in a larger group, and make sure that you know all the kids who are in the group.  Have children bring a flashlight with new batteries with them when they trick or treat, not only will this help their own visibility as they go door-to-door, but this will make them more visible to other pedestrians and motorists.  If you are driving Halloween night, make sure you pay more attention and drive more cautiously than normal, especially in residential areas.  Last, but not least, go over safety tips with your kids.

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Word of the Week: Team Work

Team work.  I think that the general consensus would be that team work is an important thing.  We urge kids to have good team work, there’s an emphasis on team work in jobs as you work together to make things happen and get things done, and what would organized sports be without team work.  So, why is team work this week’s word of the week (yes, I know it’s actually two words), if it’s already so well known?  Well, I think that, though people are familiar with the concept in general, there are areas where team work isn’t as emphasized as it is in other areas, though it should be.  And that’s what makes team work this week’s word.

Dictionary.com defines team work as cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interests of a common cause, or, work done with a team.

The area where I feel teamwork could be enhanced is within my own area, the nonprofit sector.  There are excellent cases where nonprofits work well together, United Ways are typically a good example of this.  Why team work is so important to nonprofits is the same as with any other group working together: nonprofits can get more done when we work as a team than we can if we work separately all the time.

In the end, it’s not the nonprofits that benefit most from team work, it’s the community.  When nonprofits combine their resources to work towards a common goal, or if nonprofits work independently of each other, but still side-by-side to reach the same goal in a community, that benefits us all.

The reason behind everything we do at the Sherburne County Area United Way is to stop issues at their source, rather than merely treating the symptoms.  We are well aware that we cannot do this alone, and, thanks to many partnerships within the community, we don’t have to.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank the agencies, businesses, and individual community members that we are fortunate to work with.  And I would like to say that I am very excited to see how we can broaden our efforts through team work within the community.

Campaign Kickoff 2011

It’s that time of year again: the leaves are changing colors, the air is crisp, and people are bringing out their sweaters.  Yes, it’s time for the Sherburne County Area United Way’s campaign kickoff!  The kickoff is done every year, but this time around there are two changes.

The first change isn’t directly related to the campaign kickoff, it’s our Business Blitz.  For the first time, the Sherburne County Area United Way is having a Business Blitz.  The blitz will be on Tuesday, September 27^th, and all local business are invited to participate.  The goal of the Business Blitz is to make connections with local businesses, and collect a one-time donation from participating businesses.  Like all other money given to the Sherburne County Area United Way, donations collected during the Business Blitz stay local, and will be used to fund local agencies and programs.

The second change is that this year, our campaign kickoff is going to have a carnival atmosphere, including a magician and fun food!  We are also encouraging networking at this year’s kickoff, both to let local business people get to know each other, but also to facilitate the sharing of campaign information between companies.  Our goal for this year’s kickoff is for people to get to know each other and for everyone to come away with information that will help create a better campaign.  There will also be speakers talking about the impact of the Sherburne County Area United Way in the community.

The Sherburne County Area United Way’s campaign kickoff will be held at the Elk River Golf Club from 11:30 – 1:30 on September 29^th.  For more information on ways to contribute to the Sherburne County Area United Way, or for more information on either the Business Blitz of campaign kickoff, please call 763-633-5886 or email joy@shercounitedway.org or jenna@shercounitedway.org.