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What
Would You Do?
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Close
your eyes and imagine this: You are 19-years-old and have a
one-year-old baby girl. You have no family in town and know almost no
one. You are entirely dependent on the support of the man you live
with. You take your baby to the doctor and come home to find your
clothes and the little else you own out on the sidewalk in front of the
house. He won't let you or his daughter back in the house. You
have very little gas in your car and only a few minutes left on your cell
phone. What do you do?
No,
this is not a test. It's a very real situation. Her name is
Abby.
Not
knowing what to do or where to go, Abby and her little girl drove to the
Wal-Mart parking lot, where they sat in the car for most of the day, trying
to figure out where to turn.
Abby
finally decided to use the few remaining minutes on her cell phone to call
United Way's FIRST Line, a Marion County information and referral source.
FIRST Line maintains a database on all the services in Marion
County and connects people with the services and programs they're eligible
for. They also provide follow-up to make sure callers have gotten the
help they need. They currently field about 1,300 calls each year ranging
from simple requests for telephone numbers to in-depth situations like
Abby's.
FIRST
Line took down all of Abby's information and immediately called the Marion
Area Shelter to find out how quickly they could get a room ready for Abby
and her daughter to stay. FIRST Line helped gather the rest of the
information needed by the shelter and within an hour Abby and her little
girl were warm and safe, knowing that they would have dinner and a bed for
the night. The next day, Abby made arrangements to move back home
with her mother and younger sister. She called from the Shelter to thank FIRST
Line for helping them find a place to stay.
Her
thanks go out also to you for making a program like FIRST Line possible.
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The
Story of a Hero
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If
you have ever met Officer Randy Cleveland, who runs Safety City, chances
are you won't forget him. He's a teddy bear of a guy that loves to
give you a hard time, but only because he likes you. That probably
has something to do with the reason six-year-old Ben's mom stopped him in
the grocery store not too long ago.
Crystal told Randy that Ben, a Safety City graduate, was in first grade and
doing well. But that might not have been the case if Ben hadn't been
to Safety City last year.
Safety City works with Marion's city and county schools to teach thousands
of kindergarteners each year the importance of safety. During the
course of a week, students learn and practice skills that will help keep
them safe and healthy - skills such as how to identify what an emergency
is, avoid dangerous circumstances, and respond to crisis situations.
A bit embarrassed, Crystal told the story of how she and Ben had just
gotten home from a shopping trip. When they walked in the door, they
found Crystal's father lying on the floor in the middle of the living room.
She tried to wake him with no success. She said that she had convinced
herself that he was dead and was sitting on the floor sobbing next to his
body. The next thing she heard was the front door opening and
paramedics rushing in.
While she was in a state of shock, Ben went straight to the phone and
called 9-1-1 for assistance. The paramedics found a pulse, started an IV
and got him to the hospital in very short order. Apparently her father had
had a stroke, but because of Ben's quick action, it looks like the he is
going to make a full recovery.
United Way partners with you and Safety City to teach children, and in this
case, save lives.
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A Note from Pam
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You should have gotten a survey from us
earlier this week. I know it's probably one more thing on your
already too big to-do list, but I'm asking for your help.
United Way exists because of you and your neighbors.
We are "your" United Way, and we believe that the minute we stop
improving our organization, we begin to become mediocre and possibly
irrelevant. Many of you trust us as stewards of the money you invest
in the community and we need your input. If you don't trust us, we
need to know why. What are we doing well and where do we need to
improve?
Please take a moment and answer 10 questions
about your experience and perception of us so we can plan our future -
alongside those who matter most to us - you.
Thanks,
Pam
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LIVE UNITED 2010 Survey
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How do you think we've been doing? Tell us what you
think.
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LIVE UNITED
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To give. To advocate. To volunteer. Because United, we
stand. United, we elevate. United, we persevere. United,
we move through, above and beyond. United, we can change what we see
in our community.
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