The Welcome Baby program here at the United Way of Utah County has been doing a book drive to help two different causes.  1) New board books, age appropriate for 0-3 years, are collected to give as gifts to new mothers in the community to show they are supported.  2) Gently used books, age appropriate for 0-8 years, are being given to title 1 schools throughout the county to build parent resource centers at the schools.

I didn’t know exactly what would happen when we started this project, but I can tell you this…I wasn’t expecting the response.  We have collected about 300 new board books and between 3500-4000 gently used books! I have been overwhelmed by the response from the community.  Because of the service of the hundreds of people who have helped and who plan to help in the future, reading can stay an important part of our education and parenting.

I have talked to some of the staff here in the office and we have discussed what kind of impact this really can have on our school districts and the community.  Many times, schools feel they cannot start a parent resource center or a library because the cost of books is just too much for their budget.  What we have seen here is that there are books out there, not being used and not being loved.  We just need to find them.  I am so excited that we have been able to find so many books from our community and I am excited to see how many more appear.

I want to take this oppourtunity to thank everyone who has not just helped with this book drive, but to everyone who has ever taken the time to serve in our community.  For more information on service opporunuties at the United Way, please visit our website or call 2-1-1.

When we do something to help others, we create good.

Although we may not see when or how this good has made a difference, we know it does.

On Veterans Supportive Services Day (January 28) veterans at-risk of homelessness came to Food and Care to get a hot meal and learn about resources available in our community.  Even though I was there to tell veterans about services United Way offers, I think I learned more than any of the attendees.

I talked with a man who came to Utah searching for work.  He has a wife and kids back in Idaho.  He found a job delivering phone books that pays enough  to cover gas for his car, but not enough for housing.  So he’s been sleeping in his car and asked if he could have a sleeping bag or something to help keep him warm at night.  A shower would be nice, too, he said.  He wasn’t asking for a hand-out or pity.  You could tell he was a normal, honest guy just trying to get by.

Of course not all those who are homeless are like this man, but there are many people in our community who are struggling.  The butterfly effect is a theory that small changes at one end of a complex system can produce dramatic and unpredictable results in the long-run.  You never know how one small act of kindness can change the course of a life or of history.  That’s what it means to LIVE UNITED, and why I really believe in the United Way slogan:

Last Friday we celebrated EITC Tax Awareness Day.  This day was started to help raise awareness of the Earned Income Tax Credit.  This is a special tax credit that many people are not aware of, but may be able to qualify for.  VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) volunteers joined together on this day at the UCCU Riverwoods in Provo and helped members of our community file taxes.  Mayor John Curtis even stopped by to talk to the volunteers and community members about the VITA program.

The Mayor talking with VITA volunteers

You can learn more about what the Mayor’s experience at EITC day here.

VITA provides free tax filing for tax payers who make less than 49,000 a year.  This program is run by many volunteers who help file community members taxes for no charge!  For more information about this program or to sign up for free tax preparation, call 2-1-1.

VITA volunteer hard at work preparing taxes

We have many VISTAs (volunteers in service to America) working with us at United Way of Utah County.  These VISTAs are doing incredible things for our community.  Recently, Jes Rigo, a former VISTA, was spotlighted by a local blogger.  She helped start the community center in the South Franklin neighborhood in Provo.  She accomplished a great deal and we are proud of her and all of our VISTAs.  Click here to see the post written about Jes!

We are so lucky to live in a community full of people who always want to help. Many people have reached out to us at United Way of Utah County to find out how they can help with the relief efforts in Haiti. Most major nonprofit organizations (e.g., American Red Cross, Salvation Army, USAID, United Way Worldwide) are sending out one message–donate money.

A Sam*s Club in Puerto Rico

And here’s something else that you might not have thought about when it comes to donating money. Lots of surrounding nations that were not affected by the earthquake have many of the needed supplies. How great would it be if your money could be spent to buy MORE supplies that cost much less to ship because they were purchased in Haiti or Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic? By donating money, we can help rebuild economies at the same time we help provide relief. I think that’s really cool.

While many people want to go immediately to Haiti as a volunteer, volunteering at this point is actually quite dangerous and inefficient if you have not been previously trained. Something you can do now, though, is become a trained volunteer so you can go help in future crises. If you are interested in getting trained, you can register for the American Red Cross disaster services courses in Utah County by clicking here.

Do taxes scare you to death? You’re not alone. However, if you make less than $49,000, our volunteers can help e-file your taxes through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA). Marcee was recently highlighted on Provo’s Channel 17 as she explained about the VITA program and the training volunteers go through.

As part of the VITA program, our volunteers are trained to help maximize your tax return and help claim the same credits other tax preparation programs promote. One common credit not claimed by many eligible Utahns is the Earned Income Tax Credit. Today Melissa Jensen with Community Action Partnership of Utah shared some information on the Earned Income Tax Credit with Studio 5 viewers.

So don’t be scared of doing your taxes! For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 2-1-1 or visit utahtaxhelp.org or unitedwayuc.org/vita.

Maybe you don’t share this same fear of taxes and want to do your own! Or maybe you make a little bit more than $49,000 but less than $58,000? If this is the case, you can do your own taxes for FREE online at myfreetaxes.com/mountainland.

Save some money this year on your taxes by participating in one of the FREE options above. For questions, please feel free to contact me or 2-1-1.

Thursday, January 28th is Utah County’s first-ever Veterans Supportive Services Day.

A patriotic ceremony will be followed by Food and Care’s regularly scheduled lunch.

Service providers from 10+ agencies will have booths where veterans can get information about community resources.  Goody bags with winter supplies like socks, hat, and toothbrush will be distributed as well.

“What we need are critical lovers of America–patriots who express their faith in their county by working to improve it.”

-Hubert H. Humphrey

If you know a veteran who might benefit from this event, please encourage them to attend.

You can contact Chelsea Ruiz at United Way of Utah County with questions: (801) 374-2588.

–This post was written by guest poster Sully Bryan–

Community Outreach Day which was on January 18^th, was a wonderful event. We had close to a 1,000 volunteers from all over Utah County join in to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr’s Legacy. Children, parents, and students from Utah County woke up early that morning to go to the BYU Wilkinson Center to start signing up for volunteer projects that ranged anywhere from a readers theatre at the South Franklin Boulders Community Center, to feeding horses and cleaning saddles at Hoofbeats to Healing in Spanish Fork.

This was my first year coordinating service projects for the event, even participating in the event altogether! For that matter it was my first project as an AmeriCorp VISTA. So I was a bit nervous as to what was going to happen. Although it was a little stressful, it was mainly my own anxiety about the event. But once I saw the faces of those smiling children I was ready to go and all anxiety went out the window. I was at BYU at 7:30 a.m. that Monday, a day that kids were off school, and some parents had the day off. And yet as I got there, some families were already ready to start the day. Which in my opinion was totally amazing since any day that I get off I am sleeping in, and convincing my two year old to sleep in as well. And with just one child, I still have trouble getting myself and him ready to go anywhere, much less arrive early to an event. That morning families and students started lining up to register and sign up for their event. I enjoyed seeing the kids running around trying to convince their parents to sign up for the activity with the horses, the smiles as they picked up their doughnuts and milk and walked into the ballroom. They were eager to start their projects. If it were that early in the morning and I were a kid, I would have wanted to stay home and sleep. But, these kids were great champs! They impressed me with their enthusiasm and ready-to- go attitudes.

Families registering for the event.

All the volunteers listening to a devotional before staring their projects

After devotional all 900 and something people got ready to go to their projects. I decided to go to Hoofbeats to Healing which proved to be a very fun experience. Parents were not afraid to have their children work hard. They spray painted wooden beams for the horses, some kids got to feed the animals with hay, and others cleaned saddles. There was so much to do, and people were not afraid to do a little bit of hard work either! Which impressed me even more, that it was 30 degrees outside and yet the kids and parents were willing to be outside and feed the horses, and clean. Personally I am from California, so anything below 70 degrees is considered extremely cold! Thanks to Tami , who runs Hoofbeats to Healing, for all her wonderful help, and for letting us be a part of her organization. Her big super friendly dog was fun. As he jumped on my car to greet me when I came in, his dog paws are still on my car door. He set the mood for fun, animals, and preparing myself not to be afraid of getting a little dirty!  At the end of the day, this event was definitely a fun experience, and definitely something I would do again. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped at the event and those who gave of their free time to serve in the community. BYU has been hosting this event for a long time, and I hope that United Way of Utah County can be involved again next year.

Children with the help of volunteers built an imaginary airplane for their skit at South Franklin Community Center

When Hollywood portrays the perfect relationship, finances aren’t always at the forefront, yet financial conflict is a top predictor of divorce.

Quiz your pop culture knowledge about credit cards, or better yet, commit to make time to talk with your partner about finances on a regular basis.

A short conversation can go a long way toward creating that fairy tale relationship.