JCCS LIVES UNITED!

One of our local accounting firms held their own Live United Day today–what a happy looking bunch! The smiling ladies in Live United shirts serve on our board of directors and allocations committee. Thanks for advocating on behalf of United Way!

JCCS Lives United!

New PSA

We are happy to announce that KFBB recently produced a fantastic, local “How I Live United” PSA for us…what a fantastic gift! A special thanks to Danette & Nik up at KFBB for their work and dedication to our community.

Let me know what you think!

Ribbons of Money

Our local First Interstate Bank  held a grand opening for their downtown location last night, and to celebrate the occasion, made a $500 contribution to United Way.  First Interstate has had a range of successes these past couple months, including a ranking as one of the Top 10 Banks in America in 2009 by US Banker Magazine, but after listening to some of their executives speak last night, it sounds like their greatest pride is the investment they make in the communities in which they live and work.  Sounds like a Live United story to me!

First Interstate's ribbon cutting for their downtown location. A ribbon made of money...pretty clever!

Live United Days

Our Live United Days are really catching on during this year’s Pacesetter Campaign, and we couldn’t be happier for the positive response and comments we’ve gotten from the community (and the great press doesn’t hurt either!).  Centene Corporation held their Live United Day yesterday, and from the sounds of it have a lot of exciting things planned for their employees.

Its never too early to teach them to Advocate! Thanks Centene for letting us decorate your sidewalk!

Pictures, Please!

We are aways behind on posting pictures from some of the fantastic campaign events happening in our pacesetter companies, so here goes!

What a sport! Stockman Bank real estate lender Jason takes a pie for UW!

Campaign Chair Lynn and UW President Gary taking bets on who throws the better pitch.

Lynn livin' united in the dunk tank!

Love those early morning chalk parties!

Thanks Great Falls Teachers Federal Credit Union!

Great Falls Teachers FCU & Stockman Bank Live United!

GF Teacher\’s & Stockman Bank LIVE UNITED

 

Great Falls credit union helps local United Way charity – Montana’s News Station – Fair. Accurate. To the Point. -

Shared via AddThis

Education Community Impact Update

Last week, the Education Community Impact Council met for the first time. The community impact councils are small groups of influential people in the field. So, for the education council, there were representatives from early education, the public schools, Indian education, higher education, and youth services. The group talked about many topics, but the main focus was looking at indicators in education and how to measure them. Currently, there is a lot of data out there. It is just a matter of putting it all together. The group was very enthusiastic and willing to meet in about a month to continue the discussion. The council members were asked to think about the current local efforts and how these efforts are working to achieve positive change in Education. This is just a first step by United Way to help facilitate change in Education to help improve the lives of everyone in Great Falls. Soon this conversation will continue, so watch for more updates.

Submitted by Heather Palermo, MSU Great Falls College of Technology and United Way board member

First Interstate Bank LIVES UNITED!

The local First Interstate Bank branches held our first LIVE UNITED Day on September 11. Their internal campaign coordinator did a fantastic job of planning fun events for the staff on Friday, including a lunchtime potluck and having everyone pitch in $5 to purchase a LIVE UNITED shirt to wear with their jeans on casual day. Look at all these happy, smiling faces…now that’s how you LIVE UNITED!

First Interstate Bank LIVES UNITED!

Watch for other local Pacesetter Companies’ LIVE UNITED Days in the upcoming weeks. Next up is the Great Falls Tribune and Great Falls Teacher’s Federal Credit Union. A special thanks to the United Way Communications Committee for all their effort and brilliant thoughts to make these days happen, and to committee and board member Kyle for getting his staff at the bank on board.

Suicide and Voices of Hope

Today’s Great Falls Tribune features a heartfelt story by Kristen Cates highlighting the loss felt by suicide.  The three family survivors’ stories are profoundly touching, as are the quotes from Voices of Hope’s  Angela Hansen.

Suicide rates continue to be exceptionally high in Montana, and this is one of the things our Allocations Committee toys with every year.  How do we know if United Way dollars are making a positive impact within this organization if Montana continues to have the 1st, 2nd or 3rd highest suicide rates in the nation?  Kristen’s article hints that, due to the ambiguity of mental illnesses, its hard to say.  What is easy to see is the breadth of people that Voices of Hope touches in their daily interactions.

Please weigh in on this topic–it always seems to spark some lively discussions with both our Board of Directors and Allocations Committee!

Making the Case for Social Media

Received this YouTube link from United Way of America’s branding team this morning–interesting data!