Student United Way Annual Report 2010 --2011

GIVE. ADVOCATE. VOLUNTEER.UnitedWay.org/student

Annual Report 2010 --2011

Student United Way

Young people across the country are helping to improve their

local communities by giving, advocating and volunteering

in the areas of education, income and health. This powerful

force called Student United Way is a network of student-

led organizations committed to advancing the common good.

Students who participate gain: valuable leadership

skills; knowledge about critical community issues; new

perspectives on what role they can play as individuals

to create positive community change; genuine, lasting

relationships with their United Way colleagues; and much

more. As these students become leaders for their peers

and on their campuses, they develop an appreciation and

become catalysts for the United Way movement. When they

graduate, student leaders join an alumni network to keep

them involved in long-term community change.

Student United Way has engaged thousands of students by creating opportunities

to give, advocate and volunteer in their communities. The size of the movement itself has grown to 62 clubs in institutions of higher education in 32 states across the United States which includes: four-year colleges and universities, junior and community colleges, technical and trade schools, and high schools. There are also 55 United Ways working with Student United Ways in communities of all sizes.

During the 2010–2011 academic year, the Student United Way movement, engaged 195 officers and 1,680 club members and received 41 sponsor and 6773 individual donations, the Student

United Way movement also:

R Raised more than $112,916

R Organized 248 service projects

R Participated in 239 service projects hosted by other agencies

R Volunteered for 32,257 hours, equaling 1,344 days of service and leveraging $689,000 in human capital

R Recruited 6,348 volunteers

R Reached over 62,855 individuals through advocacy efforts

Student United Way has mobilized community members to give, advocate and volunteer exponentially. For every individual who donated to Student United Way at least one volunteer engaged in more than four hours of active service. For every volunteer that engaged in service,

Student United Way reached ten more individuals through advocacy efforts.

RESULTS

As students become leaders for their peers and on their campuses, they develop an appreciation and become catalysts for the United Way movement. To support this individual engagement and the growing movement of Student United Way, student leaders, United Way representatives and campus advisors can take advantage of the following signature programs when exploring more ways to LIVE UNITED.

Student United Way Leadership RetreatEach year, the Student United Way Leadership Retreat offers student leaders, campus advisers, and United Way representatives from across the country a chance to connect with other schools, build skills and share promising practices.

Anyone interested in Student United Way is invited to attend, creating a great mix of new and seasoned student leaders, United Way staff and campus advisors every year. The retreat, held each September at the Mary M. Gates Learning Center in Alexandria, Virginia, dedicates more than half the agenda to direct interaction and club sharing. Students are able to ask questions and share their knowledge, ideas and experience with one another. Participants also:

� Build leadership skills

� Attend hands-on workshops from campus-organizing pros

� Develop relationships with student leaders, United Way professionals and campus advisors

� Get an inside look at United Way and start (or grow) their own Student United Way

� Learn how students can LIVE UNITED by giving, advocating and volunteering

Why should you consider attending?

� Inspiration, networking and idea sharing

� Training tips and techniques, ice-breaker ideas as well as materials for use

� Workshops on club management, member recruitment and retention, social media

� Learning about Student United Way goals, objectives and ways to get involved with signature programs

� Meeting new student leaders and learning new ideas, brainstorming, collaborating and connecting with other students sharing the same purpose

For current information on the upcoming Student United Way Leadership Retreat visit unitedway.org/student.

“ I feel so inspired to take back so many ideas from other campuses and make our own Student United Way grow.” – STUDENT UNITED WAY PRESIDENT

– UNITED WAY REPRESENTATIVE

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“ Thank you so much for the opportunity to participate in the Student United Way Leadership Retreat. We feel so fortunate – the event was amazing and we each gained so much from the experience. The connections we made are important and we truly came away with the understanding that United Way Worldwide staff are accessible and eager to be engaged in the local work. More importantly, we left with a greater understanding of the power of the movement as a whole and our interconnectedness.”

Join United Way to Recruit One Million Volunteer Readers, Tutors and MentorsToday, two-thirds of American fourth graders can’t read at grade level and more than 1.2 million students drop out of school before graduation each year, reflecting over $300 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity over their lifetime.

How can Student United Ways address this challenge? By getting involved. United Way launched an ambitious goal to recruit and mobilize one million volunteer readers, tutors and mentors because research shows that volunteers who engage children in reading have a direct impact on their academic success. Reading together creates a fun learning opportunity and Student United Ways are finding new and creative ways to contribute to this effort as individuals and as a school. To explore ways that your Student United Way can get involved visit unitedway.org/suwvolunteer, take the pledge to become a volunteer reader, tutor or mentor, find valuable stories, research and tools on how to engage, like the United Way resource: Tools and Tips for Reading with Children, and check out our online tool to search for volunteer opportunities near you.

United Way Alternative Spring BreakFor more than seven years, United Way has provided students with an opportunity to give back during their spring break. Through this unique collaboration between United Way and Deloitte, nearly 2,500 students have traded in their swim suits for tool belts and participated in Alternative Spring Break in dozens of communities across the country, contributing more than 77,000 hours of volunteer service. In 2011 alone, nearly 500 students provided 13,500 hours of service valued at more than $288,300.

Participating students indicate that the Alternative Spring Break experience has inspired them to improve their communities, as a leader and volunteer, when they return home. It has also been the catalyst for the development of numerous Student United Ways and continues to support student participation in this unique program. For information on upcoming United Way Alternative Spring Break opportunities visit unitedway.org/asb.

“ The most valuable part of this retreat was meeting other people who are interested in advancing the common good.”

– STUDENT

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Student United Way, on more than 60 campuses across the country, is working hard to advance the common good by giving, advocating and volunteering. All of this hard work has not gone unnoticed. Academic institutions have recognized Student United Way members as exceptional student leaders on campus and communities have recognized Student United Way for its active promotion of the movement to LIVE UNITED.

This is why in March 2011 United Way Worldwide launched its inaugural awards program to draw attention to the collective efforts of every Student United Way across the country and to highlight: outstanding individual leadership; exceptional Student United Way organizations; savvy social media skills; and successful program efforts that bring LIVE UNITED to life.

Brian Gallagher, president and CEO of United Way Worldwide, presented Student United Way Awards at the annual United Way Staff Leaders Conference on Friday, May 6, 2011 in Orlando, Florida. More than 1,800 local representatives from the United Way network were present to witness the inaugural awards presentation.

2011 STUDENT UNITED WAY AWARD WINNERS Student United Way Campus Organization of the Year ....Cornell University (NY)

Student United Way Leader of the Year ............................Alexandria Lee, Saint Louis University (MO)

Student United Way Campus Advisor of the Year .............Kathy Kotecki, Montana State University Billings (MT)

Innovation Award ..............................................................Kansas State University (KS)

LIVE UNITED People’s Choice Award .................................1st Place Binghamton University (NY)

...........................................................................................2nd Place Sault Area High School (MI)

LIVE UNITED in Action Awards.......... EDUCATION Montana State University Billings (MT)

INCOME University of Florida (FL)

HEALTH University of Florida (FL)

GIVE Florida State University (FL)

ADVOCATE University of Louisville (KY)

VOLUNTEER Northern Michigan University (MI)

RECOGNITION4

With the union of today’s young leaders’ energy, talent and innovation and United Way guidance, resources and support, Student United Ways have organized novel events that not only engage a diverse range of community groups in efforts to give, advocate and volunteer, but also make significant contributions to advance the common good in their communities. EDUCATION

In the focus area of education the Student United Way of Montana State University Billings (MT) cre-ated the innovative “Jacket Pals” program. Student United Way mem-bers forged relationships with a few local elementary schools and cor-responded via email throughout the semester with the school children – 3rd and 4th graders, and kids with special needs. In creating the Jacket Pals Program, the Student United Way of Montana State University Billings focused on encouraging higher education and better com-munication skills at a young age, in hopes of lowering the community’s high school drop-out rate in the future.

INCOME and HEALTH

The Student United Way of Univer-sity of Florida creatively focused on the areas of income and health, by leading production of low cost cradles made from affordable items proven to be safe sleep alternatives to traditional more pricey cribs. The cradles were then donated to expecting parents for the purpose of curbing the doubling of infant deaths in Alachua County in the last two years caused by unsafe sleep-ing conditions. University of Florida also helped feed elementary school children, whose parents otherwise have difficulty affording a sufficient nutritious diet over the weekends,

with a Weekend Hunger Backpack Program. Student United Way of Uni-versity of Florida volunteered to stuff backpacks on Wednesday mornings on a biweekly basis year-round, also helping to raise funds and collect 216 pounds of food.

GIVE

The exemplary fundraising efforts of the Student United Way of Florida State University contributed to the well-being of the community. As a result of their various GIVE pro-grams held throughout the year, the Student United Way of Florida State University has managed to raise their own campaign dollars from students on campus which it then disburses to campus and lo-cal agencies. One signature GIVE program, now in its second year, was the Krispy Kreme Challenge – a fun donut-eating challenge that en-gaged a few hundred volunteers and raised more than $5,000.

ADVOCATE

The Student United Way of Univer-sity of Louisville (KY) had a unique approach to spreading the word and gaining public awareness for their causes with the 4FTIN Challenge, which stands for 4 Free Tickets in November. This social media contest used Facebook to encourage students at the University of Louisville to ad-vocate and spread the LIVE UNITED

message on campus. The students who participated in the contest had the opportunity to earn points to win four free tickets to a University of Louisville Men’s Basketball game and limo ride to and from the game. As a result of the Challenge, more than 350 students became fans of the 4FTIN page on Facebook and over 70 students were involved in the contest. It grew membership in the Student United Way significantly and increased the awareness of LIVE UNITED and Student United Way on campus.

VOLUNTEER

The Student United Way of North-ern Michigan University has dem-onstrated its devotion to ongoing and consistent efforts to make a difference in the community through various activities throughout the year promoting volunteerism. Though there are several noteworthy examples, one of the first initiatives this Student United Way became involved in was at a veteran’s fa-cility. Northern Michigan University donated old laptop computers to the facility, and Student United Way volunteers would visit to help teach the veterans how to get online and receive and send email. To an elderly veteran, living alone and with little family contact, this was life chang-ing for many of them.

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United Way Day of ActionUnited Way Day of Action is a strategic volunteer program created to help advance the common

good on issues of education, income and health. It mobilizes volunteers on the same day every

year, June 21, in a highly visible way, to inspire people to channel their passion into lifelong action.

It is an opportunity for United Ways to build on their strategies to improve education, income and

health. Day of Action allows people to make the connection between their efforts – whether it’s

reading to children, improving financial literacy, or getting more kids in motion – and how it will

lead to a stronger community. The vision of one person, volunteering on one Day of Action, and

being inspired to take action on other days throughout the year, is powerful. The idea of thousands

of people in hundreds of communities being inspired to action is how we LIVE UNITED.

This past year marked the fourth annual United Way Day of Action with a specific focus on education

and the official launch of United Way’s goal to recruit one million volunteer readers, tutors and

mentors to help improve the academic success of young people across America. 258 United Ways

across 50 States participated in Day of Action, engaging more than 20,000 participants with more

than 1,235 community projects and activities in education, income and health. More than 240,000

individuals benefited from United Way Day of Action.

Mark your calendar for June 21 and register an event, or to learn more about how your Student

United Way can get involved visit online.unitedway.org/dayofaction. Be sure to register to get counted.

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Student United Way continues to inspire young people across the nation to LIVE UNITED. They not only learn about issues affecting their communities, but they make a difference in the lives of the people within the communities, while developing as leaders of tomorrow. United Ways that work with the Student United Way have formed genuine relationships with them in advancing the common good, and assisting them through guidance and volunteer engagement.

For more information or to access additional resources:

� Email student@unitedway.org

� Visit the public webpage at unitedway.org/student or online.unitedway.org/student

� Follow Student United Way on Facebook at facebook.com/studentuw

“ I feel so inspired to take back so many ideas from other campuses and make our own Student United Way grow.”

– STUDENT UNITED WAY PRESIDENT

Start a Student United Way The following are five easy steps to help you start a Student United Way club on a campus near you.

STEP

STEP

STEP

STEP

STEP

LEARN MORE Go to online.unitedway.org/student where a number of resources are available for download

to help you start and register your club. Resources include: Starting Your Student United Way Guidebook, Student United Way Recruitment Guide and the Student United Way Annual Report 2011 to name a few.

❑ At any point in the process feel free to reach out to United Way Worldwide for help with brain-storming, trouble-shooting and to answer questions at: student@unitedway.org.

❑ Access the public webpage unitedway.org/student.

❑ Follow Student United Way on Facebook at facebook.com/studentuw to stay informed.

START PLANNING ❑ PREPARATION - Consider how young people can become active contributors to advance

your community objectives. Student United Ways are most successful when they are integrated in the big picture and then engaged appropriately.

❑ BRAINSTORM - Conduct mini-focus groups with students to gauge their interest and perspective on how they can contribute through Student United Way.

❑ RESOURCES - Determine the types of resources needed to develop and sustain a Student United Way. Get creative – leverage volunteers, interns, Americorps and sponsorships to establish your program. Student interns and volunteers are a proven asset when it comes to providing insight, offsetting resource constraints while gaining valuable staffing resources.

IDENTIFY LEADERS ❑ Identify a lead staff person at your United Way, who is inspiring and energetic, to

support the student group.

❑ Identify a student leader(s) who are enthusiastic, organized and passionate to help lead the charge in establishing a Student United Way on their campus.

❑ Help the students identify a potential advisor on campuses by leveraging your local relationships.

REGISTER The students will need to conduct research at their school to determine how to establish an

official campus club. This can take more time than expected so anticipate two semesters before registration will be complete. Once this is accomplished, register the newly founded Student United Way with United Way

Worldwide. By doing so the Student United Way will be included in national records; networked with other Student United Ways across the country; get plugged in to ongoing communications and exclusive opportunities. Go to online.unitedway.org/student and click on “Register a Student United Way.”

ONGOING SUPPORT Provide ongoing support to your newly established Student United Way including: help with

marketing, promotion and student recruitment; as well as program and volunteer ideas that advance local community impact goals.

COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY CITY STATE UNITED WAYAthens State University Athens AL United Way of Athens- Limestone CountyThe University of Alabama Tuscaloosa AL United Way of West AlabamaUniversity of Arizona Tucson AZ United Way of Tucson and Southern ArizonaUniversity of California, Riverside Riverside CA United Way of the Inland ValleysAims Community College Greeley CO United Way of Weld CountyUniversity of Northern Colorado Greeley CO United Way of Weld CountyAlbertus Magnus College New Haven CT United Way of MilfordAmerican University Washington DC United Way of the National Capital AreaWesley College Dover DE United Way of Delaware Santa Fe College Gainesville FL United Way of North Central FloridaUniversity of Florida Gainesville FL United Way of North Central FloridaFlorida State University Tallahassee FL United Way of the Big BendSpelman College Atlanta GA United Way of Metropolitan AtlantaUniversity of Iowa Iowa City IA United Way of Johnson CountyCollege of Lake County Grayslake IL United Way of Lake CountyJoliet Junior College Joliet IL United Way of Will CountyAugustana College Rock Island IL United Way of the Quad Cities AreaLincoln Land Community College Springfield IL United Way of Central IllinoisAnderson University Anderson IN United Way of Madison CountyIndiana University Bloomington IN United Way of Monroe CountyBall State University Muncie IN United Way of Delaware CountyPurdue University West Lafayette IN United Way of Greater LafayetteKansas State University Manhatten KS United Way of Riley CountyUniversity of Kentucky Lexington KY United Way of the BluegrassUniversity of Louisville Louisville KY Metro United WayEastern Kentucky University Richmond KY United Way of the BluegrassUniversity of Michigan Ann Arbor MI United Way of Washtenaw CountyUniversity of Michigan Dearborn Dearborn MI United Way for Southeastern MINorthern Michigan University Marquette MI United Way of Marquette CountySault Area High School Sault Ste. Marie MI United Way of the Eastern Upper PeninsulaSt. Cloud State University St. Cloud MN United Way of Central MinnesotaUniversity of Missouri Columbia MO Heart of Missouri United WayHarris-Stowe State University St. Louis MO United Way of Greater St. LouisSaint Louis University St. Louis MO United Way of Greater St. LouisWashington University in St. Louis St. Louis MO United Way of Greater St. LouisThe University of Mississippi Oxford MS United Way of Oxford-Lafayette CountyVicksburg High School Vicksburg MS United Way of West Central MississippiMontana State University Billings Billings MT United Way of Yellowstone CountyUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill NC United Way of the Greater TriangleFayetteville State University Fayetteville NC United Way of Cumberland CountyEast Carolina University Greenville NC United Way of Pitt CountyNorth Carolina State University Raleigh NC United Way of the Greater TriangleUniversity of Nevada-Reno Reno NV United Way of Northern Nevada and the SierrasBinghamton University Binghamton NY United Way of Broome County, Inc.Tomkins Courtland Community College Dryden NY United Way of Tompkins CountyCornell University Ithaca NY United Way of Tompkins CountyIthaca College Ithaca NY United Way of Tompkins CountyThe University of Akron Akron OH United Way of Summit CountyUniversity of Cincinnati Cincinnati OH United Way of Greater CincinnatiThe Pennsylvania State University University Park PA Center County United WayUniversity of Rhode Island Kingston RI United Way of Rhode IslandCollege of Charleston Charleston SC Trident United WayMiddle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro TN United Way of Rutherford and Cannon CountiesUniversity of Mary Hardin-Baylor Belton TX The United Way of Central Texas, Inc.West Texas A&M University Canyon TX United Way of Amarillo & CanyonUniversity of Texas at El Paso El Paso TX United Way of El Paso CountyTexas Tech University Lubbock TX Lubbock Area United Way Stephen F. Austin State University Nacogdoches TX United Way of Nacogdoches CountyBrigham Young University Provo UT United Way of Utah CountyJames Madison University Harrisonburg VA United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham CountyRoanoke Valley High Schools Roanoke VA United Way of Roanoke ValleyUniversity of Wisconsin - Marinette Marinette WI Tri-city Area United WayMilwaukee School of Engineering Milwaukee WI United Way of Greater MilwaukeeUniversity of Wisconsin - River Falls River Falls WI United Way St. Croix ValleyConcord University Athens WV United Way of the Virginias

2010--2011 Student United Ways

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“ It is so refreshing and encouraging to see people involved and have drive for this cause. It really fuels and motivates me to go back to my school and get ready for action.”

– STUDENT UNITED WAY PARTICIPANT

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701 North Fairfax StreetAlexandria, Virginia 22314 U.S.A.UnitedWay.org/student

For more information contact:

MEI COBB Vice President Volunteer and Employee Engagement United Way Worldwide mei.cobb@unitedway.org

KIREN BANSAL Director Volunteer and Employee Engagement United Way Worldwide kiren.bansal@unitedway.org