More than 700 high school students do not graduate on time each year. Thirty-one percent of fourth graders read below proficiency levels. Approximately 65,000 people do not have health insurance, and 10,000 young children live in families below the federal poverty level, defined as $18,000 for a family of three.
While this might sound like some large, inner city miles away, it's not. These local figures represent the issues our community faces daily. These conditions need to change.
That's why United Way of the Bluegrass has called on the business community to join with other local leaders - government, school systems, nonprofits and more - to help find lasting solutions to these problems. And you, the business community, have stepped up to the challenge.
Beginning in 2007, United Way brought together a wide variety of community stakeholders. They told us that addressing the same problems with the same approach and expecting change is, well, wishful thinking.
It became clear that a new approach was in order. We realized that the nonprofit community needed to fix problems from the ground up. We not only had to address the immediate and most pressing issues, but also invest considerable time and energy into finding ways to address the root causes so these problems do not happen in the first place.
In the past year, we have adopted a plan to create changes of this magnitude. It begins with declaring bold goals - reduce the number of young people who drop out of high school, increase the number of youth and adults who are healthy and avoid risky behaviors and increase the number of lower-income families who are financially stable.
Last month, United Way unveiled this new strategic approach - advancing the common good by focusing on the basic things we all need for a good life: education, income and health. While these three aren't the only issues of concern in Central Kentucky, they are the ones volunteers, partners and community research told United Way were at the heart of the countless other issues that affect our most vulnerable neighbors. By helping children and youth achieve their potential, promoting financial stability that leads to independence and improving people's health, the myriad of other issues that our community faces will become less dire.
It's the idea that we all win when a child succeeds in school, when families are financially stable and when people are healthy. It will take the whole community working toward change in the systems that affect all of us, thus creating a brighter future for all of us. The results will have benefits that ripple out to the community as a whole.
Volunteers, service providers and interested citizens will oversee this focused approach, helping United Way identify proven strategies and ways to measure success that advances the common good for all in the Bluegrass. We have set up volunteer impact teams, led by local business leaders, that are currently working on defining these bold goals and how we can work toward lasting change.
Nina Eisner, CEO of The Ridge Behavioral System, chairs the team working on solutions for improving people's overall health. Greg Dixon, general manager of Baker Iron and Metal, leads the group working on financial stability and independence for our regional community's families. Sarah Mills, attorney with Stoll Keenon Ogden, PLLC, heads up the committee working on helping children and youth achieve their potential. Joining them are powerful leaders from throughout the Central Kentucky business community. From Saint Joseph Foundation to Bluegrass Community Hospital, the University of Kentucky to Kentucky Utilities, from Jessamine County Public Schools to Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, companies - and their employees - are working to bring change to the Bluegrass.
United Way is proud of the work we've done and we thank you for making it possible. But it's time to focus and create lasting change with you as our partner. United Way is challenging the business community not only to give, but also to volunteer and to advocate on behalf of these important issues.
When we think of others' lives as linked to our own, our compassion grows. When we reach out a hand to one, we influence the condition of all. Katrina James knows this. A mother and full-time employee at U.S. Bank, James realizes the importance of these three areas. She said, "Education is a must in order for our communities to continue to grow and flourish. Income is important in order for us to keep our communities growing. And health is very important because we can't help others out if we are not taking care of ourselves, as well as our families, first."
James and her family volunteer at various locations, including food banks and nursing homes. She believes in teaching her children to know that we should give to others because, as she puts it, "in a blink of an eye, it could be us in that situation, and I would hope that someone would be as compassionate to me as I feel about helping them."
United Way invites you to join Katrina James and countless others to be a part of this change. Together, united, we can inspire hope and create opportunities for a better tomorrow.