"United Way of the Bluegrass has begun a strategic journey toward changes that, when realized, address major issues and problems faced by our regional community. This local focus follows the lead of United Way of America, which kicked off the new millennium by enhancing the United Way role as the leader in lasting community change.
Basic services and developing resources for the community will always be a very important part of the mission of United Way of the Bluegrass, but we realize the need for long-lasting change that prevents problems from happening in the first place. As we continue down the path of strategic planning, we are taking a hard look at our region's most pressing needs. Many United Way initiatives are fast becoming critical support mechanisms to Central Kentucky's health and human service systems: United Way 2-1-1 connects individuals with health and human services by dialing three numbers on the telephone; Success by 6 prepares children for success in school from birth to age six; and Get on Board trains under-represented populations as board members so that their voice and issues are represented on area nonprofit boards. The journey has begun, but there is still much work to be done.
United Way, its partner agencies and other health and human services groups have joined with many other community representatives and are currently identifying the region's most critical issues. The goal is, as a regional community, to develop strategic solutions to those issues that will help focus the work of United Way of the Bluegrass in the coming years. For example, it is not just about how many homeless sleep in a bed tonight, but job training, health and mental illness issues and more — finding the root causes of homelessness and working to stop it from happening in the first place.
Just as you cannot steer an ocean liner too quickly for fear of turning it over, transformation of community issues will take time and energy. However, identifying the most critical issues facing our community and developing a well thought-out strategic plan will make a tremendous difference in the quality and livability of our community.
Over the last six months, the United Way of the Bluegrass Strategic Planning Committee, chaired by Laura Voss and Harvey Coggin, has convened more than 100 community volunteers to discuss serious health and human service issues that impact our regional community. Included are educators, social workers, health and human service providers, senior citizen housing and program representatives, child care workers, business leaders and community volunteers — the list goes on and on.
United Way is engaging the community. We started by listening to people's ideas about what matters. Issue groups have been formed with the goal of defining the most pressing priorities our community faces in the areas of health, children and families, education, aging and adults with disabilities, and safety. From these conversations United Way's strategic plan will emerge, identifying the goals for the organization and the community. The final plan will be rolled out at a regional summit sometime in early 2008.
In the meantime, if anyone is interested in serving on one of these issue groups, contact Jon Parker, senior director of community building, United Way of the Bluegrass, at (859) 233-4461, ext. 205.
This is a collective community effort, and all voices are welcome. Together, we can get results that no one can accomplish alone.
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