This year our agency will once again hold a United Way campaign. Why, you ask? We support the United Way because it serves families and students in our communities in ways that are complimentary to our own agency vision and mission. Our donations are directly applied to United Way community priorities in education, income and health.
The United Way supports programs that help high school students graduate on time and support programs that increase the learning growth and school readiness of early and middle grade students. That’s quite comparable to our agency’s educational goals! We hope you see the mission that our agency and United Way share and feel comfortable choosing to donate to this worthy cause!
Our agency goal this year is to increase employee participation through pledge card giving and special events.
New This Year: Raffle!
We’re shaking things up a little this year with a raffle instead of an auction, and we’re currently seeking donations. Maybe you have a cabin in Minnesota that a fellow staff member could use for a weekend. Perhaps a group of you would like to host a fancy dinner. Maybe you have a Groupon that you know you’re not going to be able to use in time. For each item you donate to the raffle, you will receive a casual day sticker – so help build our list of fun raffle items! If you would like to donate an item to the raffle, send a short description of your item to Claire Sowder, Communications Specialist, at csowder@heartlandaea.org. We’ll share information about purchasing tickets in an upcoming Connection, so stay tuned! We’ll hold a simulcast drawing for raffle prizes on November 1, 2013. Each regional office will hold a potluck during the lunch hour and each office will Skype or Polycom in to hear the results of the live drawing. More information will be coming about your region’s potluck location and time. Be thinking of a tasty dish to share!
Pledge Your Continued Support
Pledge cards are an easy, convenient way to give your support to United Way. Staff may choose a one time donation or payroll deduction. It is important that if you choose to do a pay deduction, your total contribution must be evenly divisible by 24 pay periods. Remember that pay deduction pledges from last year’s drive continue to be in effect until December 31, 2013. You are able to designate donations of $50 or more to other United Way offices or any of the organizations listed on the United Way’s website at www.unitedwaydm.org/designations. Just mark this designation on your pledge form. As an added incentive, if you submit a completed pledge card of any amount, you can leave one hour early on any date of your choosing. You will not have to submit vacation time and if you submit a timesheet, you may mark it as “United Way Leave.”
Pledge cards will be distributed this week. Send your completed form via van mail to Claire Sowder in the Johnston Administration Center by October 31 to be eligible for the early leave incentive.
Volunteer Opportunities
Something new this year will be the opportunity to volunteer in the community. Stay tuned for more information about regional and central support volunteer opportunities! If for any reason you do not wish to donate to United Way, the Community Health Charities of Iowa and Iowa Shares are two other charity organizations in which you can donate. We are unable to do payroll deductions for these organizations at this time. If you choose to donate to these organizations, you can contact the agencies at the following:
- Community Health Charities of Iowa: (877) 517-6266
- Iowa Shares: (319) 338-1446
Remember that your participation in the Agency’s United Way events is voluntary. It is not the Agency’s intention to pressure any staff member into donating. We always strive to make our campaign events fun and enjoyable for staff. We hope you find United Way as an easy way to reach out and help the communities we live in!
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