Our mission at United Way is simple – to fight for the health, education and financial stability of every person in our communities. And while that fight always includes things like fundraising, advocacy, marketing & PR, and relationship building, it also always includes kindness. And compassion. And generosity. And support.
Our communities are facing incredibly difficult times right now – parents & children, educators & students, employers & employees, first responders, healthcare workers, small business owners and so many others are dealing with overwhelming weight of daily stresses and difficult changes. It is an unprecedented time that is begging for our communities to make the decision to come together, support one another, and consciously choose to be more compassionate and supportive.
We are asking you to make that choice. We are asking you to join us in our fight. We are asking you to commit to actively participating in our first-ever Virtual Week of Caring.
What will that entail? We’ll ask you to share positive words of encouragement with a community worker who has helped keep us all safe and healthy. We’ll ask you to support a local business through a purchase or a positive review. We’ll ask you to commit to becoming an active volunteer and community advocate. We’ll ask you to lend your support to others and prioritize taking care of yourself! These missions can be as simple or as grand as any participant wants them to be. We don’t have a lot of requirements or expectations, other than your pledge to share positivity and joy across our communities.
Because while our communities have been hurting, so many people, organizations and businesses have been working tirelessly to do everything they can to keep people healthy, safe, connected and employed. While we all may not agree on policies, protocols and procedures, I think it’s safe to say we can all agree that our communities are filled with hardworking, generous, amazing people – people who deserve our thanks, recognition and support.
We know that spreading caring power won’t solve all of the complex issues our communities are facing. But we do know that the impact of caring power is infinite and has the ability to strengthen communities like nothing else can.
So we hope you’ll join us. We hope you’ll join our team, our board of directors and everyone else who chooses to step up for seven missions across seven days – seven impactful ways to show you care.
And let’s never underestimate the power of kindness, compassion, generosity and support. Let’s never forget that we can always make the choice to actively add positive value to our communities and to show others how much we appreciate them and their efforts.
Let’s all contribute to the future strength & stability of our communities.
Let’s all lend a hand, raise our hand, and offer positive words of encouragement.
Let’s all care.
Megan Hartwick
United Way executive director
