Inspirational Subject of The Blind Side, Leigh Anne Tuohy, at United Way’s Community Speakers Series

Posted on March 19, 2018March 19, 2018 by Shelby Newsome

Inspirational Subject of The Blind Side, Leigh Anne Tuohy, at United Way’s Community Speakers Series

Greensboro, NC (March 16, 2018) – United Way of Greater Greensboro is welcoming the inspirational subject of The Blind Side and New York Times best-selling author, Leigh Anne Tuohy, as this year’s keynote for the 2018 Community Speaker Series at the Grandover Resort and Conference Center on May 21, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. The media is invited to attend.

Leigh Anne and her family legally adopted a teenage homeless foster child. They raised and educated him and encouraged his passion for football. He later became the NFL Super Bowl Champion, Michael Oher.

Her personal journey was later documented in Michael Lewis’ New York Times best-selling 2006 story The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, which follows Oher from his impoverished hopeless beginnings to how Leigh Anne and her husband, Sean, adopted him to reach football success. In 2009, the book was adapted into the film, The Blind Side in which Sandra Bullock portrayed Leigh Anne in an Academy Award winning role.

At United Way’s event, Leigh Anne will share her personal “Blind Side” observations, from seeing Michael for the first time to how the experience changed her as a person and the Tuohy’s as a family. She will also share the importance of recognizing the full potential of individuals in our community and inspiring us to recognize value in others.

Leigh Anne has authored two New York Times best-selling books, entitled Turn Around: Reach Out, Give Back, and Get Moving and In a Heartbeat: Sharing the power of Cheerful Giving

The Tuohy’s continue to make an impact nationwide with the establishment of their charity, The Making It Happen Foundation, which promotes awareness, provides hope, and improves standards of living for all the children fighting to survive in the invisible cracks of society. In 2010, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Christian Brothers University and is a member on the Board of Directors for Taco Bell Foundation for Teens, an organization dedicated to supporting teens on their path to graduate from high school and prepare them for a successful future.

United Way of Greater Greensboro’s Community Speaker Series convenes people from across our community to learn together, connect with one another, and be inspired while supporting the work of United Way. United Way’s Women United is hosting this year’s event and VF Corporation is this year’s presenting sponsor. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased at www.UnitedWayGSO.org/SpeakerSeries.

The Courage to Move Forward

Posted on March 7, 2018October 29, 2019 by Kacie Lynch

Written by Kacie Lynch, Marketing & Communications Intern

Dorothy Stroud was referred to the Family Success Center by Section 8 Housing after her case manager recognized her desire to build a better future for her daughter.

Dorothy initially came to the Family Success Center (FSC) seeking daycare. She soon she could also finish her GED – something she had always wanted to do. Dorothy exclaimed, “Childcare was the main purpose. But I came here, and they offered me a lot more. I saw all the opportunities that they had for me. Computer classes, GED classes, the Speaker’s Bureau, and HRD classes and I took advantage of some of that.”

Before the Family Success Center, Dorothy was unsure of what her next move was. “I was struggling,” stated Dorothy. When she decided to become a part of the FSC, Dorothy was assigned a career coach, Cameo Parks. She attributes much of her success and her plan for the future to Ms. Parks.

Since September, Dorothy has gained employment and is working towards earning her GED. “The GED is only the beginning,” says Dorothy. She has plans to start her own business and is working towards setting up her own website. Like many other participants, the FSC has opened a door of possibilities.

Dorothy sharing her story with Kacie Lynch on the Family Success Center — Dorothy sharing her story with United Way Marketing intern, Kacie Lynch

Dorothy shares that “before [FSC] I was just thinking about going back to work, but now it’s getting my GED, because I am going to have to do that and I want to do that. I want my daughter to see you cannot fail. You cannot quit, you cannot stop.”

The Family Success Center has played an integral part of helping Dorothy work towards her dreams. While being a part of the FSC community, she has taken it upon herself to serve as a motherly figure to many of the younger participants, offering guidance and a helping hand when she can.

Dorothy helped out a fellow FSC participant when she was going through a rough time. Dorothy enlisted her family and church to donate clothing to someone in need. She even donated some of her own child’s clothing. When recounting this event, she explained, “it’s all about helping. They help me. I gotta help you. We gotta help each other.”

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Six United Way Partners Receive Statewide Spirit Awards, Cone Health Honored as Exceeding Excellence

Posted on February 27, 2018February 27, 2018 by Shelby Newsome

Six United Way Partners Receive Statewide Spirit Awards, Cone Health Honored as Exceeding Excellence

Greensboro, NC (February 27, 2018) – Six local United Way of Greater Greensboro partners were honored with Spirit of North Carolina Awards at United Way of North Carolina’s annual award luncheon on February 21. Cone Health was additionally honored with an Excellence in Community Spirit Award.

Each year, the United Way of North Carolina (UWNC) recognizes and awards companies and organizations that demonstrate strong community support through local United Way involvement. The Spirit of North Carolina Award celebrates the partnership of people working together to develop and implement innovative solutions for long-term community change.

Local Spirit of NC Award winners include:

Hunter Elementary
Jesse Wharton Elementary School
Northwest Middle School
Youth Focus, Inc.
Guilford County Schools
Cone Health

“We are so grateful to this year’s winners for being collaborative, hands-on partnership and corporate supporters. This year’s winners led the way with campaigns that communicated the important message of our work while creating a spirit of healthy competition and engagement” says Nadine Malpass, Senior Vice President, Resource Development, United Way of Greater Greensboro.

UWNC also honored Cone Health with an Excellence in Community Spirit Award, which is not awarded every year, for far exceeding its Spirit of North Carolina Award standards of excellence. Cone Health stood out from other award winners not only because of their number of volunteer hours and financial donations, but the number of lives they impacted in the three NC counties they serve.

Excellence on Community Spirit Award:

· Cone Health

Skip Hislop, Vice President, Oncology Services and chair of the Cone Health United Way Campaign, accepted the award on behalf of all Cone Health employees.

“Our employees give of their hearts every day and the work of the United Way is an extension of that. It is easy for us to support an organization that shares our values and commitment to the communities we serve,” says Hislop.

“Cone Health Network is an excellent example of people who care about all aspects of humanity and doing good for others,” says Michelle Gethers-Clark, United Way of Greater Greensboro president and CEO.

Winners were determined by a panel of 20 judges from United Way organizations across the state. For more information about the Spirit of North Carolina Award and a complete list of winners, visit unitedwaync.org/spirit-north-carolina-award-winners.

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OUR PARTNERSHIPS END POVERTY: United Way of Greater Greensboro supports solutions that work together to end poverty. Our partners provide basic needs, access to care, learning opportunities and financial stability so your community can thrive. The federal government defines poverty as family of four earning $24,600 per year. According to local self-sufficiency standards many four-member households need to earn around $60,000 to meet basic needs without subsidized assistance. www.unitedwaygso.org

College Students Invited to Apply for United Way Alternative Spring Break

Posted on February 7, 2018February 7, 2018 by Shelby Newsome

Greensboro, NC (February 7, 2018) – United Way of Greater Greensboro is seeking college students to participate in a local Alternative Spring Break, March 5 – 9, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Interested students must complete a short application by February 23, by visiting www.UnitedWayGSO.org/SpringBreak

10 to 12 local college students will be chosen through the application process have hands-on volunteer experiences and exclusive “behind the scenes” visits to awesome Greensboro businesses.

Volunteer activities include street clean up, community garden work, sorting donations and painting.

Behind the scenes locations include FORGE, Center for Creative Leadership, HQ Makers Space, International Civil Rights Museum and Revolution Mill.

Breakfast snacks and lunch will be provided daily.

Participants must be able to meet at United Way’s office each morning – travel to volunteer and behind the scenes location will be provided.

Ben & Jerry’s: Spreading Awareness and Impact

Posted on February 7, 2018March 27, 2019 by Shelby Newsome

Written by Kacie Lynch, Marketing & Communications Intern

Every year, United Way of Greater Greensboro partners with organizations throughout the community to create meaningful impact in the community. Three years ago, Richard Golden, general manager of four Ben and Jerry’s in the Triad area, reached out to United Way looking to get involved in creating impact and to form a relationship with United Way.

Richard first heard about United Way through TV commercials as a child, but never fathomed that he would partner with this organization decades later. Through working with United Way, Richard realized that Greensboro, his very own backyard, was one of the hungriest cities in America. He felt compelled to do something about it.

Eradicating homelessness and hunger have always been causes that have been close to Richard’s heart. Coincidentally, United Way of Greater Greensboro’s primary focus is to address root causes of issues like homelessness and hunger. Through partnering with United Way, Richard and his Ben and Jerrys team have reached hundreds within the community through their Free Cone Day, Dollar Scoop Day, and United Way’s Halloween Trunk-or-Treat.

Richard & Team | Ben & Jerry's — Richard and Friendly Center Shift Leader, Tyrone proudly standing in front of a store graphic of depicting the Greensboro Four

Through Ben & Jerry’s involvement within the greater Greensboro community, Richard and his team are helping to spread the word about United Way and giving people an opportunity to make an impact in their community.

“The best thing I like about United Way are that the people that I’ve associated with are very passionate and you can really get involved in an organization when there is passion,” says Richard. He has been truly surprised and inspired by United Way’s commitment to eradicating poverty in the Greensboro community.

Richard and United Way share similar dreams, in that nobody will go without. Richard says his dream for Greensboro is “for everybody to have a pillow to lay their head on… and it can be done.” Together, United Way and community partners like Richard and Ben & Jerry’s can make this dream a reality.

During the month of February, we’ve teamed up with Ben & Jerry’s to bring you something sweet. If you swing by Ben & Jerry’s at Friendly Center and drop off spaghetti dinner items and/or sign up for the loveGSO volunteer mailing list, you’ll get a FREE scoop of your favorite ice cream. Learn more.

Bonus: Throughout the month, Ben & Jerry’s will doante $5 of every Valentine cake sold! Order your cake today.

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Thanks(for)giving Helps United Way’s Family Success Center Members

Posted on December 11, 2017January 24, 2018 by Shelby Newsome

After hearing one too many Black Friday horror stories, Jenny Stilley decided that the madness needed to stop.

“Black Friday can be a little intense. So we decided that we wanted to do something for our community that would give our customers a chance to give back while they shopped,” says Jenny Stilley, owner of BohoBlu, a local boutique shop.

Five years ago Jenny and her husband started BohoBlu. They now operate a total of six locations across the Triad and they are committed to using their success to make a difference.

For the last three years, Jenny and her husband, Patrick, have invited their Black Friday customers to participate in ‘Thanks(for)giving’ as a way to support local organizations.

This year, Jenny and her husband asked customers to donate gently used or new clothing that would be given to families at United Way’s Family Success Center.

“My husband and I are blown away by what the Family Success Center offers. Members can drop their kids off and earn a GED, develop job skills training or access whatever they need to become self-sufficient.

We’ve met some of the families and heard their stories. There’s no doubt the center is meeting a tremendous need, which makes it a no-brainer for us.”

Jenny says the support their customers gave this year was overwhelming. In total, 86 large bags of clothing was collected during Thanks(for)giving.

“We really believe that people want to give. You just have to make it easy. United Way makes it easy for us to give, so we make it easy for our customers to give,” Jenny Stilly, owner of BohoBlu.

Family Success Center members picking out clothing donated by Boho Blu.

Jenny and her husband are continuing to explore new ways to help United Way replace poverty with self-sufficiency, including offering onsite job training to Family Success Center members.

“I love the size of our community. We’re big enough to have restaurants and entertainment, but small enough so that individuals can still bring our community together to make an impact,” says Jenny Stilly, owner of BohoBlu.

“We’re just in awe of what United Way does. We own retail stores. But to be able to touch just a little of what United Way does in our community is such a gift to us.”

Please make a year-end gift today to support initiatives like the Family Success Center.

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United Volunteers: Alyce Barrett & Jen Caldwell

Posted on December 1, 2017January 24, 2018 by Katie Glaser

“In order for a community to function and be successful, everybody has to chip in when they can.”

Every year, a handful of dedicated volunteers in North Carolina are awarded the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award. This award honors the true spirit of volunteerism by recognizing individuals who make a significant contribution to their community through volunteer service. Two of this year’s recipients include local United Way volunteers Alyce Barrett and Jen Caldwell.

Their passion for volunteering stems from a love of community. When Alyce and Jen moved to Greensboro with their families several years ago, both immediately sought ways to become involved in the new community they called home, and both looked to United Way to make it happen.

They started as volunteers for Handbags for Hope, an annual handbag auction hosted by United Way’s affinity group, Women United. Both women chose this event because it engages local women and raises money to support United Way’s focus on breaking the cycle of poverty.

Today, Alyce and Jen are co-chairs of the Handbags for Hope planning committee. Both always show up, recruit volunteers, form partnerships with companies and ensure everything goes as planned. “We want to have fun, and we always want to make the event better than the previous year,” says Alyce.

While both women are thankful to be recognized with the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award for their contributions, both also say the act of encouraging others to volunteer is more important.

Alyce says, “United Way reinforces the importance of being a part of a community by making an impact and we should encourage everyone to be involved. Supported people support others.”

Likewise, Jen says, “nothing in history has ever survived when it functions by itself. In order for a community to function and be successful, everybody has to chip in when they can.”

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United Way Receives $210,000 Grant to Help Local Women Earn GEDs and Increase Financial Stability

Posted on September 28, 2017January 24, 2018 by Shelby Newsome

United Way of Greater Greensboro has received a $210,000 grant from the Women to Women Fund of The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro to help local women earn GEDs and increase their financial stability.

United Way will receive $70,000 a year over the next three years to support programming at its Family Success Center (FSC) which connects families with education, work and income supports, employment and career advancement, access to health and wellness services, and financial education and asset building.

United Way serves as the strategic leader of the FSC and leverages relationships with 30 human services experts, business leaders, governmental agencies and philanthropists to develop solutions. The FSC is located at Guilford Child Development and its integrated service delivery approach connects families with resources and services that reduce the impact of poverty.

Grant funds will be used to:

Support local women at the FSC who are on the path to earning GEDs and skills training to prepare them for employment and job advancement.
Ensure that children of mothers in the GED program obtain on-site, high-quality childcare and afterschool care.

The FSC’s GED program is the only high school equivalency degree completion program in Guilford County that offers on-site high-quality childcare. This cornerstone two-generation approach to learning has been identified as a main reason mothers participate.

National statistics indicate that 80% of the 12 million children living with a single parent live with their single mother. In most cities, including Greensboro, female headed households with pre-school aged children are experiencing 40% poverty rates. United Way of Greater Greensboro is creating partnerships to reduce generational poverty by increasing household income to the point of self-sufficiency and financial stability.

Vanessa Ferguson to Perform at United Way’s 95th Campaign Kick off and Community Celebration

Posted on August 18, 2017August 18, 2017 by Shelby Newsome

The community is invited to join United Way of Greater Greensboro on August 31, 5:30 to 7 p.m., at Revolution Mill in Greensboro for a celebration 95 years in the making.

The entirely free event, which kicks off United Way’s 2017 campaign also celebrates United Way’s 95^th year in the community and will feature a performance by Vanessa Ferguson. Ferguson was a finalist on NBC’s The Voice and tours the U.S.

Attendees will also be treated to Natty Greene’s beer, Cugino Forno pizza and gelato, Wow What a Drink juice, water, a DJ and more. People are encouraged to RSVP at www.UnitedWayGSO.org.

Participants should enter Revolution Mill at Textile Drive and walk across the bridge. United Way volunteers will be on hand to offer directions to the event location.

Additionally during the celebration, results from this year’s Pacesetter Campaign, which began in July, will be announced. The Pacesetter Campaign includes 18 companies that decided to conduct their United Way campaigns early to set the pace for a successful community-wide campaign.

2017 Pacesetter Campaigns:

Allen Tate Realtors
American National Bank & Trust
BB&T
Carruthers & Roth, P.A.
Center for Creative Leadership
Children’s Home Society
City of Greensboro
Duke Energy Corporation
First Citizens Bank & Trust
Guilford County
Mylan Pharmaceuticals
Norfolk Southern Corporation
Piedmont Natural Gas
Sharrard, McGee & Co., P.A.
Target Corporation
United Way of Greater Greensboro
UPS
Volunteer Center of Greensboro

MeaningFULL Meals Helping Feed Children Over Summer Months

Posted on July 17, 2017July 17, 2017 by Shelby Newsome

MeaningFULL Meals Helping Feed Children Over Summer Months

Greensboro, NC (June 17, 2017) – United Way of Greater Greensboro is mobilizing the community throughout July with its annual MeaningFULL meals program in partnership with BackPack Beginnings and The Volunteer Center of Greensboro.

Four years ago, United Way and The Volunteer Center started MeaningFULL Meals, a nutrition project that seeks food donations to help feed school children in need while school is out for summer.

More than 65% of Guilford County School’s students qualify for free or reduced lunch. In the summer months, many of these children do not have the same access to a nutritious meal and go hungry.

Through the month of July, community members are encouraged to host food drives to supply the food pantry at Wiley Elementary, that also supports students of Jackson Middle and Smith High School.

For the second year in a row, BackPack Beginnings has joined the partnership by managing the food pantry during the summer months, preparing bags of food for pick up and being a drop off location for food donations.

Food drive donations supporting MeaningFULL Meals can be dropped off at Wiley Elementary, BackPack Beginnings and United Way of Greater Greensboro.

A full list of needed items can be found at UnitedWayGSO.org/Volunteer

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United Way of Greater Greensboro is celebrating 95 years: 1922 – 2017. We fight for the opportunity, prosperity and future of every person in greater Greensboro by creating partnerships that reduce poverty. We bring together dynamic and caring professionals and volunteers who teach, coach and inspire the 57,000 people in our community living in poverty. With so many of our neighbors struggling to become self-sufficient, United Way believes poverty must be replaced with sustainable solutions that meet the unique needs of children, adults and ENTIRE families. www.unitedwaygso.org

The Volunteer Center of Greensboro strengthens our community by creating meaningful volunteer connections. We connect people, promote volunteerism, support nonprofits and build partnerships. www.volunteergso.org

BackPack Beginnings, founded in 2010 by Parker White, a native of Greensboro and mother of 2 children, is a 100 percent volunteer-run and donor-driven organization. What started out as a feeding program in one school feeding 50 children has grown to a multi-program organization serving over 4,000 children a year. BackPack Beginnings’ mission is to deliver child-centric services to feed, comfort and clothe children in need. By ensuring food and basic necessities are given directly to children in need, we make a positive and lasting impact on their health and well-being. Find out more or support BackPack Beginnings through in-kind donations, funds or volunteering, visit www.backpackbeginnings.org.