Mayor Houston issues proclamation declaring Tuesday, December 3, 2013 as a community-wide day of giving

On Monday, December 2, 2013, United Way of Central Illinois and education, business and community leaders gathered at the early learning centerto call upon community members in Sangamon County to support local charitable organizations, including those focused on early childhood education, on Giving Tuesday.  At the press conference, Mayor J. Michael Houston issued a mayoral proclamation designating Tuesday, December 3, 2013,as a community-wide day of giving on #GivingTuesday, the national day of giving.
Joining Mayor Houston in the call-to-action were members of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce, Springfield Public Schools, United Way of Central Illinois, and Community Child Care Connection.

#GivingTuesday is a first of its kind effort bringing together charities, families, businesses and individuals to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season. Coinciding with the Thanksgiving Holiday and the kickoff of the holiday shopping season, #GivingTuesday inspires people to take collaborative action to improve their local communities and give back to the local charities and causes they support.

At the press conference, United Way, in partnership with Community Child Care Connection and a host of local preschools, announced the kick off of their "Gift of Reading" campaign.  The campaign will run throughout the month of December and will raise funds to support Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is an early childhood literacy program providing one free, age-appropriate book, each month, to children under the age of 5 in Sangamon County.  This year alone, the program will provide more than 31,000 free, new age-appropriate books to more than 3,800 children who have enrolled in the program.

The program is designed to promote a love of reading among children at an early age, to better prepare children to enter kindergarten, and to bring families closer together.

Launched through a donation from Scheels and supported through a renewable grant from a national corporation, the program is facing an uncertain future after the national corporation changed the focus area of its foundation giving.  The program, which is not currently funded through United Way’s Annual Campaign, has three months of funding based upon current enrollment.  United Way and CCCC are exploring alternatives to extend the program beyond three months to identify long term funding options.

The “Gift of Reading” campaign offers supporters of the program the opportunity to provide a year’s worth of books to a child in our community with a $25 gift.  In addition, local businesses have the opportunity to sponsor the program through a variety of sponsorship options.  100% of each gift to the program goes directly to the cost of the literacy program.

The “Gift of Reading” campaign will run during the month of December with United Way, Community Child Care Connection and area preschools raising funds.

To give the Gift of Reading,  please call 726-7000 or visit www.springfieldunitedway.org.

View the press conference in its entirety below, courtesy of the City of Springfield.

Give the Gift of Reading on #GivingTuesday

A small investment in our children today will pay a lifetime of dividends!

United Way of Central Illinois’ goal this holiday season is to help children across Sangamon County share the joy of reading at home! A small investment will have a tremendous impact on families and futures, and with your gift, you will be helping parents and children begin a lifelong journey of learning together.

A charitable gift of $10, $25 or more will help United Way of Central Illinois:

• Improve community literacy, creating stronger families, a stronger economy, and providing a lifetime of opportunity for our children
• Ensure our community’s children are prepared to learn and succeed

How you can help:

We are raising money for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which sends free books to kids in Sangamon County. One $25 gift provides a full year of books (12 total) for one child. The program is open to all children, under the age of 5, who live in Sangamon County, and it is completely free to families -- they just have to sign up!

Your #GivingTuesday gift at work:

• A $10 charitable gift will provide 5 monthly books to child in Sangamon County.
• A $25 charitable gift will provide a full year’s worth of books to child in Sangamon County.
• A $125 charitable gift will provide a child born today with a free monthly, age-appropriate book until their 5th birthday.

This Holiday Season and #GivingTuesday, give the gift of reading to a child in our community.

Click to learn more and give the Gift of Reading on #GivingTuesday

Campaign for Good kicks off with a new volunteer initiative

United Way of Central Illinois kicked off its 2013 Annual Campaign at a breakfast at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Springfield last Wednesday. More than 360 donors, volunteers, business and community leaders joined United Way leadership in announcing this year's campaign goal and introduction a new volunteer initiative launched in partnership with U.S. Bank.

The Kickoff Breakfast marks the start of United Way’s annual fundraising effort and gives the organization an opportunity to thank local companies, donors and volunteers for their generosity and commitment to our community.  United Way’s Board of Directors were joined by more than 350 guests including donors, business and community leaders, volunteers, and nonprofit leadership.

“This year, our goal is to raise as much money for community services as possible,” said Dan Rayhill, Controller/Assistant Vice President at Hanson Professional Services, Inc. and United Way’s 2013 Campaign Chair. “We believe that all of us should strive for the day in which volunteers charged with making funding decisions are not challenged with requests that far exceed available funds.”

Last year, United Way funded 39 local programs providing food, shelter, healthcare, victim services, and educational initiatives.  Yet, strained agency budgets led to funding requests which exceeded available United Way funds by more $1 million. “A successful campaign should not be defined by whether we reach a monetary goal, but rather by our ability to meet every funding request that creates positive, measurable outcomes in our community,” said Rayhill.

United Way’s annual campaign is a vital part of the organization’s work because 100% of every dollar given to United Way goes to support local programs. At present, United Way’s Community Fund supports 39 programs with $1.7 million in funding. This funding is in addition to donor gifts designated for specific agencies and fundraising to support United Way programs such as Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, FamilyWize and 2-1-1.

“Thousands of families in our community depend on health and human service programs to maintain a reasonable quality of life,” said John Kelker, President of United Way. “Those individuals are depending on us to mobilize local resources to provide the vital services they depend on.”

This year’s campaign received a boost from United Way’s Pacesetter companies. These 11 businesses together with United Way leadership and member agencies set the pace by running early and aggressive workplace campaigns. Their enthusiasm and generosity resulted in a Pacesetter campaign total of $674,000.

This year’s Pacesetter companies include:

Bank of Springfield	Kerber, Eck and Braeckel
Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce	Memorial Medical Center
Hanson Professional Services	Scheels
Illini Bank	Sikich
Illinois National Bank	Springfield Electric
Town and Country Bank

United Way also introduced a new volunteer web application and community initiative sponsored by U.S. Bank.  The new web application, named Get Connected, provides an easy-to-use platform for nonprofits organizations to post volunteer opportunities, in-kind gift requests, employment opportunities and upcoming events.  Members of the community may view agency profiles, needs and upcoming events; sign up for volunteer opportunities online; follow their favorite organizations; receive notifications of newly posted needs; and track service hours.  

“U.S. Bank is proud to announce its sponsorship of United Way’s new volunteer platform,” said Michael Johnson, Central Illinois Region President at U.S. Bank. “Today we usher in a new era where people not only think of United Way as the organization that mobilizes local resources to meet community needs, but they think of United Way as the organization that mobilizes a community of volunteers into action.”

United Way announced three community incentives totaling $2,000 to support local charities as a part of the sponsorship.  

1. One individual who volunteers using Get Connected prior to March 7, 2014 will earn $500 to be donated to the Get Connected charity of their choice.
2. One group/company that volunteers as a group using Get Connected prior to March 7, 2014, will earn $500 to be donated to the Get Connected charity of their choice.
3. One nonprofit 501c(3) organization will receive a $1,000 donation based on the website activity and volunteer engagement. 

“The greatest impediment to volunteerism is often an individual or group’s ability to easily identify different opportunities around our community,” said Kelker. “Whether you are a high school student in need of service hours or a volunteer coordinator for a local employer, Get Connected provides an easy to use, central location where you can view the volunteer needs around our community.”

About Get Connected

The launch of Get Connected was scheduled to coincide with the campaign kick-off and United Way’s Fall Day of Action on October 4, 2013.  However, United Way made the decision to launch the website early to help mobilize in-kind donations following a fire at a group home operated by United Cerebral Palsy Land of Lincoln in early August. Get Connected can be found by clicking the “Volunteer” tab on United Way of Central Illinois’ website or at http://volunteer.springfieldunitedway.org.