When I became Executive Director of the Hutchinson Area United Way in November 2006, I had friends who I’d grown up with in town express they were unsure as to United Way’s function, or even local existence. Those statements are not meant to disparage any of the civic-minded people who have volunteered their precious time serving on the organization’s board, or helping with the annual fall campaign dating back to 1962. It’s simply a reality, that despite a lot of people’s best efforts over five decades, a percentage of the region’s population knows little about United Way’s work. That’s not to say their lives have not been affected by our organization, they may just not realize it.

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After two years of consulting with our United Way peers and hours of board deliberation, we are excited and proud to have launched Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in August. This program is one of the first steps we’re taking to shift our focus from solely fundraising, to providing a proactive component called Community Impact. My hope with this commentary is to answer a few of the most frequently ask questions surrounding this new initiative. For example: What is the Imagination Library? How can I get my child enrolled? How can I support the program? 

First off, the launch means every child who resides in McLeod County and was born in 2009 is currently eligible to receive an age-appropriate hard back book in the mail each month. The books are a gift from donors to the United Way of McLeod County. The program is absolutely free to the newborns and parents. As you read this, we have already enrolled over 125 children, representing all eight county zip codes.  (more…)

For some time United Ways across the country have fought the perception that they are an organization that, “Surfaces to ask for money in the fall then goes underground for the rest of the year.” We took an introspective look in the mirror, and realized that statement hit uncomfortably close to home. Until recently, we did not have a single special event or program that people in the region recognized as a United Way initiative. That fact, coupled with the reality that we face an enormous informational learning curve with many county residents, gave us pause for concern.

Soon after merging with the Glencoe Area United Fund in the summer of 2008, our board of directors began to look into what other United Ways were doing in regards to changing the way their communities viewed them. In talking to other UW boards and staffs, we realized that we needed to tweak our business model to retain our corporate partners and attract a new generation of donors. When most people think of the United Way, their sole vision is that of the workplace campaign. That is still the core of what we do and the foundation of any success we might have. However, we feel the need to try to create long-lasting community change by addressing underlying causes of the most significant local issues. (more…)