LIVE UNITED Utah County

Teenagers aren’t always pictured as your typical community volunteers, however, the teens who worked at United Way of Utah County’s Summer of Service proved themselves as hard-working, volunteer-oriented individuals.

Many teens participated in United Way of Utah County’s youth-oriented service projects, but two particular individuals stood out as dedicated volunteers: 14-year-old Jonathon Cahoon and 16-year-old Kelsey Carlson.

These two individuals performed service almost every single week while involved with United Way of Utah County’s Summer of Service.

This was Cahoon’s second summer spent volunteering. He became involved last year when looking for ways to complete his Boy Scout merit badge.

“I got my merit badge last year, and I liked it so much I came back,” he said.

Carlson became involved when she saw a flier advertising the program. Carlson is working for the Presidential Service Award where youth get honored for completing more than 300 hours of service and knew this would be a great way to complete her hours.

Cahoon’s favorite service project was volunteering at Friday’s Kid Respite where volunteers played with special needs children.

“I really like playing with little kids and being around them,” he said. “We played duck, duck, goose and a couple of other games. The kids seemed to really enjoy it; they had fun.”

Carlson said her favorite activity was visiting the elderly at a senior center. She was able to spend time with a 105-year-old woman with whom she really bonded.

“I’ve never met anyone that old,” she said. She was so cool; she told me stories and was really with it.”

Carlson said she promised the woman she would come back and visit.

“The seniors were so much happier when we were there. It struck my heart,” Carlson said.

Both youth said they have learned a lot through service and would encourage others to get involved.

“Serving is really enjoyable,” said Cahoon. “It’s fun to see what you change for the better and what good you did.”

For Carlson, service has become addictive.

“It just makes you want to do more,” Carlson said. “Whenever we would serve people, their faces would light up. It was a very positive experience.”

Click here for pictures of this year’s Summer of Service activities.

This post is written by Jocelyn B. our guest blogger and PR intern.

Big News for United Way!

Forbes published its list of the World’s Most Valuable Brands and United Way was the only nonprofit to make the Top 50!

United Way ranked #26, beating out Nintendo (#27) and following Verizon (#25). This means that United Ways brand is the 26^th most recognizable brand in the United States.

Wikipedia, my favorite online source, says a brand is “the personality that identifies a product” and can be a name, logo, slogan, etc, but a brand can also have a “psychological aspect” that provokes thoughts, feelings, attitudes and more.

For United Way, this means that out of all the companies in the nation, our name stands out! People recognize our brand and know United Way does good and associate our brand with positive feelings.

Let me put this in monetary terms for you. If United Way’s brand could be sold, it would be worth $14.3 billion according to Forbes.

United Way is thrilled to be recognized for the good it does but it is all thanks to the individuals who LIVE UNITED, wear the shirt, advocate for United Way and get involved. You are the ones who are spreading the word about United Way.

Thanks to all our supporters!

One of my favorite times of year is right around the corner. No, I am not talking about fall. I am not referring to football season either (though I am really excited for that too). I am referring to our annual Day of Caring. Each year, hundreds of employees from several companies come together to do some good. Last year, we had over 1,000 employees from 40+ companies participate in 18 service projects throughout Utah County. Projects included our partner agencies, other non-profits and several homes in need on some TLC. We are hoping for bigger and better things this year. We are expecting more than 1,100 volunteers to help on nearly 30 projects. How is that for LIVING UNITED?

Have you ever been at the dentist with a mouth full of some unidentifiable liquid and the dentist is constantly trying to talk to you? You mumble as if they understand what you are even saying. Well, of course, this happened to me. My dentist (and he’s great) asked me if I knew of any fabulous Eagle Scout projects. Well, it just so happens that it is everyone’s job at United Way to know where to find fabulous service projects! Did you know that you can call United Way of Utah County at 2-1-1 to find out ways to volunteer?

So 2-1-1 is basically the coolest number out there. With the touch of three buttons, you can be connected to almost all of the community resources. Imagine being the super hero of the neighborhood who knows the best places to lend a hand or get the help you need. Pretty cool, right? Pass the word along.

Tips on how to avoid investment fraud from our good friends at AAA Fair Credit Foundation:

ASK QUESTIONS.

It doesn’t matter who the person asking you to invest is, ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS.  Even if it’s a family member, always do your homework:

1. Are you currently licensed in my state?
   
2. Are you licensed in any other States?
3. How long have you been licensed?
4. Has your license ever been in probation status or revoked?
5. Have you ever been disciplined by the SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission)?
6. Do you have references you can provide?
7. What are the terms of the investment?
   
8. What are my options if/when I decide to sell?
9. How often are statements sent to investors?
   
10. How often are your financials audited?
11. Who performs your financial audits?
12. What is the name of the company you are with and who are its principles/owners?

Check the answers with the agency in your state that regulates licensing for investors and investment products.

If you fall victim to an investment scheme or think you have been asked to participate in something fraudulent, report the incident immediately to your local regulatory agency and the SEC.

For more tips on investing wisely and other fraud prevention tips, visit Investor.gov and the FBI’s list of Common Fraud Schemes.

Post written by guest blogger and PR Intern Jocelyn-

So summer is pretty much over and my first ever, real internship is coming to a close. I am surprised at how much I learned as a public relations intern at United Way, and how much I have loved working here.  This post will be dedicated to the 5 things I have loved the most about United Way.

1.       All the volunteer opportunities-I love to serve in my community and now I will forever know where to turn when I want to get involved.

2.       Participating in Meals on Wheels-bringing free lunches to the elderly who couldn’t leave their homes really brought joy to my day.

3.       I loved taking pictures for Summer of Service and going to their activities-I was really impressed with the youth who got involved. I especially think the visits to the retirement homes changed the most lives.

4.       Interviewing people for the volunteer newsletter-these people serve in so many ways and are inspirational.

5.       Feeling like I am LIVING UNITED-it’s an awesome feeling, I highly recommend it.

So thanks, United Way of Utah County, for making my summer a little more charitable.

Everyone should get involved with the good United Way does in the community. It just feels good.

FIND YOUR INNER CHILD!

I thought today I would share some of the fun activities that I have discovered here at my job working under the early childhood initiative at United Way of Utah County.  We all could use a moment or two in our life to embrace our inner child and have a little fun!  Try some of these and see what you discover.  For more fun activities, child development information, and other articles, visit the Help Me Grow blog or the Welcome Baby blog.

Mix dry ingredients.  Then mix together wet ingredients in a large sauce pan.  Add the dry ingredients, then cook on medium heat, stirring consistantly.  Continue stirring until dough starts to form a ball and is stiff.  Then turn dough out on a floured surface and knead.  Be careful because the dough will be hot.

Homemade Silly Puddy!
1. Take a small mixing bowl and add 2 Tablespoons of Warm Water. Then add 2 Tablespoons of White Elmer’s School Glue (other glues might not work as well) and a drop or two of food coloring. Mix together thoroughly.

2. Sprinkle in 1 and 3/4 to 2 Tablespoons of Borax into your glue mixture while stirring constantly. Your mixture will thicken up quickly. When the borax is all added, gather the mixture into a ball and knead together for a few minutes till firm.

For the last year, Wendy Edwards has given up her lunch hours to pass out Meals on Wheels. Some weeks Wendy only donates one lunch hour to this service, other weeks she forgoes four lunch hours to Meals on Wheels.

A United Way of Utah County employee knew of Edward’s passion for service and recommended her as a Meals of Wheels volunteer. Edwards was very familiar with the Meals on Wheels program and jumped at the opportunity to get her company involved with the service.

“My mother was a recipient of Meals on Wheels out in the Cedar City area, so I am fond of and appreciate the program and the way it took care of my mother,” she said.

Edwards said her mother loved the Meals on Wheels program for more reasons than just the food.

“For one thing, it brought a smiling face into her home Monday through Friday,” Edwards said. “My mom was a shut in, she was terminally ill, she had an upper respiratory illness and wasn’t able to go out so it brought in a meal and a smiling face daily.”

Because of her mother’s experience, when the call came from Mountainlands last June asking if she would get involved in Meals on Wheels, Edwards immediately accepted on behalf of Questar and recruited her coworkers to participate.

Questar had already been in involved with Meals on Wheels in Salt Lake City for quite a few years. Between the two operations in Salt Lake City and the location in Springville where Edwards works, more than 54,000 meals have been delivered, Edwards said.

Volunteering her lunch hour has become an essential part of Edwards’ work week, she said. The people she brings meals to have become more than just faces, they’ve become friends.

“I look forward to it daily, mainly to check on my friends,” she said. “They have become my friends and family. We have a rapport. We talk visit joke and you become very attached to these people.”

Edwards said there are many benefits to become a Meals on Wheels volunteer.

“It brings an awareness of the needs of the elderly and shut-ins, their needs to have a warm hot meal,” she said. “It also brings awareness to their needs to see that smiling face and friend to check on them.  It has become inspiring to us. You appreciate the friendship you have gained of getting to know these people.”

Challenge what you think you know about the homeless.

Research specialist on homelessness, Dennis Culhane, wrote an article for the Washington Post debunking common misconceptions about homelessness.  Here’s the Reader’s Digest version:

1. Homelessness is usually a long-term condition

2. Most of the homeless have a severe mental illness

3. Homeless people don’t work

4. Shelters are a humane solution to homelessness

and my personal favorite…

5. These poor you will always have with you

These are MYTHS.  The homeless are people, and we can change the world–at United Way of Utah County we do it every day.  Homelessness is frustrating, because we have the solution: Permanent Supportive Housing, it’s just out of reach.  What we need is more funding and advocates for the cause.

Click here to read the full article or contact me at (801) 374-2588 to get involved.

One of our Americorp VISTA’s project is to prepare Utah County for a natural disaster.  How much have you done to prepare?  Take a little poll and let us know if you have made the first step to prepare.