'The Weather Outside....'

...as the holiday song goes 'is frightful.' And I'm no fan of the cold and snow. I often joke 'when my Grandfather came to America from Ireland, why did he have to settle in Akron? Surely there were jobs to be had in Phoenix or Sante Fe!'

But I do enjoy one part of this time of year - and that's how helpful so many people are. When there's a car stuck in a snowdrift or a neighbor's sidewalk needs shoveling, there always seems to be someone (or many someones) willing to pitch in.

I was recently swapping emails back and forth with my new friend Erin, the Marketing and Communications Specialist with the United Way in Milwaukee, and she commented on how folks in her town are dealing with two feet of snow. "There is great comraderie built when neighbors have to join together to get a city bus unstuck," she wrote. "People wandering around with shovels looking for people to dig out. It's great!"

And we see the same thing here in Summit County as well. Our job is to tap into that natural inclination most people have to help, and show that an investment in their community through United Way is a way to offer that help day in and day out.

But the bottom line is, whether you're helping with your checkbook or your shovel, (hopefully both), just be aware that that's how you LIVE UNITED.