Posts Tagged ‘Behind The Scenes’
Behind The Scenes: Here’s Your Curtain Call
By Chris Sargent, President & CEO I love it when our local communities earn national recognition. Battle Creek has earned All-America City status, and Kalamazoo recently topped a list of coolest, most affordable cities. Among the strengths that gain such attention is our rich cultural life, notably live theater. If you’re like me, one thing…
Read MoreBehind The Scenes: Ready When Disaster Strikes
Tragic events don’t always happen somewhere else. Sometimes they happen right here in our community—be it natural disasters, violence, or a piece of a global pandemic. What we’ve learned is the value of approaching the next crisis in a more powerful, collective way. United Way BCKR and its community partners have a solid track record…
Read MoreBehind The Scenes: There’s No Place Like Home
People experience homelessness for many reasons. The issue is complicated, the solutions more so. But one thing is clear: It takes a community-wide effort to solve the challenge. “There’s no single solution,” said Sara Jacobs, Director of the Kalamazoo County Continuum of Care. “It’s incredibly complex. That’s why it takes all of us working together…
Read MoreBehind The Scenes: Getting The Full Picture of ALICE
When communities want to understand how local households are doing financially, they often check the poverty rate. But that doesn’t give the full picture of how many individuals and families struggle to make ends meet. “ALICE encompasses what was once described as ‘the working poor,’ but it stands for much more than that,” said Laurel…
Read MoreBehind The Scenes: Why I Work for United Way – Shreya Naseri
Editor’s note: We asked our United Way BCKR team to share why they’re excited to work for United Way. Here are some thoughts from Shreya Naseri, Customer Relationship Management Administrator. As Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Administrator, my role is to ensure efficient fundraising through our online portal. I handle multiple campaigns including individual giving. Every…
Read MoreBehind The Scenes: Leading With Our Values
It’s said that if you don’t hold fast to your values, whether in good times or bad, then your “values” are really just hobbies. At United Way, our values are fundamental. They drive every aspect of our work—who we are, what we do, how we interact with each other, and how we engage with our…
Read MoreBehind The Scenes: Committed to Equity
Over the past five years, United Way BCKR has been growing its efforts to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). The task ahead is to accelerate this evolution. “We firmly believe EDI is critical to our impact work and to our regional community,” said Chris Sargent, President & CEO. “That’s why every investment, every partnership,…
Read MoreBehind The Scenes: The Community Impact of Win-Win
A win for someone struggling to succeed—to get an education, access health care and achieve financial stability—does a lot more than benefit that person. It’s a win for the community, too. “Poverty imposes costs on the nation in terms of both programmatic outlays and productivity losses that can affect the economy as a whole,” states…
Read MoreBehind The Scenes: ‘Festoon’ for a Better Community
“At United Way, we know that we can’t accomplish our impact work alone,” said Natalie Saucedo, United Way BCKR’s Senior Director of Strategy & Innovation.
Read MoreBehind The Scenes: Our History of Dreaming & Doing
If anyone knew about dealing with tough times, it was Frances Wisebart Jacobs. By 1887, the 44-year-old Jacobs and her husband, Abraham, had lost a young son, suffered major fires at their two clothing stores, and saw one store go out of business. Yet Jacobs looked beyond her own difficulties to her fellow Denver residents…
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