Utilizing the 'New Media'

Marketing folks of a certain age - well, let's say old enough to remember when Michael Jackson was famous for his music - are scrambling to make sure that the latest phenomenon - the New Media - doesn't leave us behind.

United Way of Summit County is hosting a Marketing Summit for our affiliated agencies on Thursday, March 13 from 8 am to 12 noon at the offices of Rubber City Radio group.

One portion of the seminar will focus on the New Media, and we're assembling an impressive panel of authorities including Scott Piepho, one of the region's top journalist/bloggers (read his Pho's Akron Pages) and Todd Bertsch of Triad Communications.

I'm looking forward to putting on this seminar, and also learning much from these experts.

In the mean time, here's a link to the United Way ad that ran during the Super Bowl.

If you go to YouTube.com and put United Way in the search, you get to see some wonderful campaign videos and media coverage from all across the country (and even some from around the world). It's especially nice to see my friends from Lexington, Kentucky (nice job David) and Milwaukee (well done Betsy) represented on YouTube.

By the way, if you search Docs Who Rock on YouTube, you'll find many videos from many of the bands who have participated in our show over the past few years. So, we've got a presence there, too.

'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.

Brand Forum - Follow-Up Report

Hello again.

The 2008 United Way Brand Forum is now over, and from my point of view, and according to everyone I talked to, it was a rousing success. Cynthia Round, Peter Hahn and the whole Brand Management staff at United Way of America deserve a big round of applause for a job well done.

The roll-out of the new LIVE UNITED campaign/social movement was exceptional, dare I say, even inspiring. The videos that were shown (there were about 3 or 4 of them spread out over the 2 and a half days of the seminar) were all greeted with loud cheers and rousing ovations.

Before I arrived in Jacksonville, I was rather nervous about the format. All the presentations were done in the large conference room to the whole group – there were no ‘break-outs’ until the very last day. But now in retrospect, that was the right thing to do. There was a lot of information to disseminate around this concept, and for the most part, the speakers had valuable information to impart and they did an excellent job of being informational and entertaining.

In order to help us remember the various concepts of LIVE UNITED, they showed it to us in a Rubix Cube template. There were three sets of three components – our programs should now fit into one of the three impact areas: Education, Income and Health; our requests of our consumers should be around these three areas: Give, Volunteer, and Advocate – and we must remember to: Ask, Thank and Inform.

One of the interesting parts of the Forum was the case study project. We were assigned to a table number when we arrived, and each table formed a team to take what we had learned about LIVE UNITED and apply it to the United Way of Southeast Pennsylvania. We were provided a great deal of background information about their situation, including Community Impact progress, giving history, annual report, and much more.

On Thursday evening the groups were given a few hours to put together a projected roll-out plan for LIVE UNITED in UWSEPA (Philadelphia). Each team turned in their PowerPoint presentation on a Disc to the UWA team, and they spent several hours selecting three teams to make a live presentation on Friday morning.

Wouldn’t you just know it; one of the teams selected was Table 3, including yours truly. After all three teams made their presentations, a vote of the attendees and a panel of judges (including UWSEPA President Alba Martinez) chose the winner. And once again, I was shocked an honored when Table 3 was selected.

When my teammate Kim sends me the PowerPoint presentation, I’ll share it with you here. Congratulations to the rest of Team 3, Cindy Wester of Huntsville, Alabama; Wayne Collins of Chattanooga, TN; Terry Tolan of United Way of Kentucky; Kimberly Morgan of Danbury, CT; Yashvinee Narechania of New York City; and Nancy O’Malley of Forth Worth, TX.

United Way Brand Forum

Greeting from warm (if not sunny) Jacksonville, Florida. I'm here for the annual Marketing professionals' gathering (although there are plenty of folks from every aspect of the UW world).

It's been a great experience. The are sharing the LIVE UNITED campaign, and emphisizing to us that this isn't just a tagline - it's a way of life. It's a way of explaining our new focus on these three areas: education, income and health.

The welcome reception last night was held at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, home of the NFL's Jaguars, hosted by Publix Supermarkets and Jaguars' owners Wayne and Delores Weaver. I got the chance to speak with Mr. and Mrs. Weaver for a few moments and they are just the most delightful and down-to-earth people. They've made four separate $1 million gifts to the local United Way since coming to Jacksonville with the team in 1993. Very impressive.

Today's first presentation was by Bill Toliver, Managing Director of The Matale Line. To say he was inspiring is to understate his presentation. He spoke on 'The Moral Obligations of a 'Movement Leader,' and he told us that our country is hungry for change and hungry for a leader. 'If non United Way, then who will it be?'

He encouraged us to find the right leaders in our community, discover how many of them we need to reach the tipping point, and decide what sort of commitment are we asking of them (and it needs to be more than just financial).

One other comment I want to share with you. Alex Sanchez of United Way of America was commenting on creating champions for change and told the story of Wendy's founder Dave Thomas. As he was looking for investors in his fledgling chain, occasionally he would find himself discouraged. Whenever that happened, Dave would go into a Wendy's, and order a meal. As he ate his hamburger, Dave would say to himself, 'this is a great product. If I can't sell this, I need to find another line of work.'

The same goes for those of us in the United Way movement. If we can't sell this great work that we do, we need to find another thing to do.

UPS company, employees and retirees are #1 nationally, pledging nearly $61 million to strengthen local communities through United Way

For the eighth consecutive year, UPS, its employees and retirees delivered record-breaking contributions and are once again United Way’s top national contributor, pledging $60.8 million during the 2007 United Way campaign for continuing support of those in need. In the 26 years UPS has supported United Way, the company and its employees have donated an astonishing $872 million.

“When Jim Casey started UPS in 1907, he established a company-wide passion for philanthropy and care for the communities that UPS delivers to on a regular basis,” said UPS Chairman and CEO Scott Davis. “In celebration of our centennial, we donated more hours and gave more money than ever before to United Way, honoring our roots and the thousands of communities UPS has touched over the past 100 years. We are so proud to have helped enrich the lives of others through our strong partnership with United Way.”

In addition, more than 246,000 UPS employees volunteered more than 960,000 hours of service worldwide in 2007 through the company’s Neighbor-to-Neighbor volunteer program and Global Volunteer Week. UPSers helped local communities by repairing schools, reading to children, landscaping for local organizations, assisting food banks and much more. UPS also donated loaned executives to several local United Way affiliates across the country.

UPS was also named the most socially responsible company among all companies in FORTUNE magazine’s “America’s Most Admired” survey and was one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens in Business Ethics magazine.

While the local figures are still being finalized, UPS Area Sales Manager Mark Cherryholmes said all indications are that giving to United Way of Summit County by UPS employees in this region are also up.

“The 26 year partnership between UPS and United Way of America has impacted countless families and communities nationwide,” said Cherryholmes. “United Way provides a seamless, efficient conduit to funnel funds and volunteers to those agencies that need them most. UPS and its employees are committed to supporting the communities we serve every day. I am proud to work for a company with a culture of philanthropy and honored to serve on the Board of Directors of the United Way of Summit County.”

According to United Way of Summit County President Bob Kulinski, “We are so fortunate to have the generous employees of UPS supporting our community through United Way. Their employees’ philanthropy goes far beyond the financial. UPS employees participate every year in our Day of Caring volunteer event, and Mark Cherryholmes provides his time and expertise as a member of our Board of Trustees.”

“We’re very proud of our partnership with UPS,” said Brian Gallagher, president and CEO of United Way of America. “Year after year, through generous gifts and significant volunteer time, UPS and its employees demonstrate a commitment to community that is second to none. In addition to being a world-class global leader in business, UPS also understands the ability of philanthropy to create success, realize positive sustainable change and ultimately improve lives.”

More than 246,000 UPS employees participated in the 2007 United Way campaign, contributing more than $52.8 million with contributions still coming in. The company matched those donations with an additional $8 million through The UPS Foundation. Overall, this is a $1 million increase over their 2006 campaign contributions and a 3% increase over goal.

United Way of Summit County improves lives by mobilizing community assets for health and human services. For more information, call 330-762-7601, visit our website at http://www.uwsummit.org/, or write us at United Way of Summit County, 90 N. Prospect Street, P.O. Box 1260, Akron, Ohio 44309-1260.

Hot soup is cure for cold at Lock 3 Park

By Betty O'Neill-Roderick Special to the Beacon Journal
Published on Monday, Jan 21, 2008
Sunday's freezing cold was perfect weather for soup and the Soup-er Bowl at Lock 3 Park in downtown Akron. It drew several hundred hardy people who warmed up with hot soup from area restaurants.

Nicole Read of Akron's Community Events office chaired the fundraiser for the United Way of Summit County. Cindy Hartline and Sarah Scovall greeted guests and explained how they could vote for their favorite soup.

United Way President Bob Kulinski prepared his special ''Dragon Breath Chili'' for the event. Sandy Auburn sampled Chin's Hot'n Sour Soup, while her husband, Mark, liked the chicken pot-pie soup from Ido Bar & Grill. Aladdin's Eatery offered nine different vegetables in its V9 soup, while the Barley House brought its traditional favorite, chicken noodle soup.

The Diamond Deli served wild rice, corn and sausage soup; Ivan's, chili and mushroom barley soup; Kevin O'Bryan's, twice-baked potato soup; and the Lockview Restaurant, Italian wedding soup. Mike Gaffney recommended Panera Bread's cheddar broccoli soup, which was served in a sourdough roll.

Soup samplers included Steve and Carmie Smith, Pauline Persons, Jim and Hazel Dunderdale, Vernon and Barbara Sykes, and Katie Rennard.

Thomas Glen Hoffman, 2, enjoyed the event with his grandparents, Glen and Joellen Hoffman, and his aunt, Elizabeth Hoffman.

Adrienne Griffith braved the cold for a few spins on the outdoor ice rink. Mike Caprez said the rink will be open today for skating and then Thursday through Sunday until Feb. 3, with a Broomball Extravaganza at 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

Tracie and Jerry D'Antonio brought their nephew, Alex, and nieces, Amanda and Noelle Smigel to sample soup and visit the adjacent Marble Museum. Joyce Lagios invited everyone to try their luck at the WQMX prize booth. Barb Stewart gave the wheel a spin and won a beach bag; Billy David, a piggy bank for his grandson. It was a lucky day for Cheryl and Bryce Williams, each of whom won twice. Jen Blatt and Dina Younis distributed prizes.

Homeless situation is stable at Akron shelters

United Way of Summit officials don't see need for extra space at winter
By Bill Lilley Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Friday, Jan 11, 2008

A meeting at the United Way of Summit County to address the Akron area's homeless situation left organizers believing the problem is not as dramatic as initially thought.

Questions about the size of the problem were raised Dec. 7 at a meeting of nearly 50 area social agency leaders.

''We came to realize that a lot of the people could be repeat numbers — they go from shelter to shelter to shelter when they are turned down for whatever reason,'' said Michael Gaffney, vice president of marketing for United Way of Summit County.

''That led to the conclusion that while there may be a slight increase in the number of people seeking shelter in the area,'' Gaffney said, ''it's not so extraordinary that we need to look to come up with a similar solution to Ocasek Garage Shelter 15 years ago.''

Gaffney said the six leaders of area shelters who attended Wednesday's smaller meeting (20 leaders of area social agencies) will put together information among themselves and then analyze the data to come up with ''true statistics about the homeless problem in the Akron area.''

''There was a lot of progress made,'' said Lois Foster, vice president of community investment for United Way of Summit County.

At that point, which is expected to be before the end of January, another meeting will be scheduled to include all of the leaders of area social agencies that want to be involved.

''One thing that we know is different now than 15 years ago is the number of families — women with children — seeking shelter has increased,'' Gaffney said. ''It's definitely not just single men who are in need and seeking shelter today.

''I think the consensus was that at this point, especially with the great weather we've had lately, there is enough shelter to serve most of the people who seek it.

''That could all change if there is an extreme change in the weather . . . Even the die-hards who normally don't want to come in look for shelter at that point,'' Gaffney said.

Gaffney said the recent record-high temperatures in Akron have been a blessing. But he recognizes that winter is far from over.

''The fact that we're looking into the problem now could help later this winter and definitely will help us get better prepared to handle this problem even better next winter,'' Gaffney said.

''Unfortunately, this problem simply won't go away.''

Bill Lilley can be reached at 330-996-3811 or blilley@thebeaconjournal.com.