Our Campaign Cabinet Needs You

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You are a leader in Central Alberta business. You care about local issues and successes.  You understand the critical importance of business and corporate responsibility to a community and you are comfortable inviting others to join you.  

The United Way of Central Alberta’s Campaign Cabinet needs your expertise.   

Our yearly campaigns have raised tens of millions of dollars for area not-for-profit agencies since 1965. Much of these generously donated funds are generated through workplace campaigns at area businesses and industries.  Without them, we would be unable to help to local programs that address the root causes of poverty, educational under-achievement, unemployment, mental illness and other barriers right here in Central Alberta.   

Our Campaign Cabinet is a group of volunteers engaged in setting campaign goals and strategies and commits to helping direct our efforts throughout the workplace and philanthropic community. Your leadership could help local business and industry help United Way assess and meet Central Alberta’s most urgent needs. Our Campaign Cabinet members have different areas of expertise, and your skills would only enhance our reach. 

We are dedicated to finding ways to assist even more people.  Your affinity to this community and your expertise might create a vital link to ensuring local needs are met.  Simply put, we are asking you to network with your business partners, colleagues, unions and encourage them to hold a workplace campaign for United Way. If you can make the ask, our staff will take on the legwork.   

You will be able to network with leaders from many areas of business as you collaborate to plan goals and strategies for this year’s fundraising campaign.  Together, you can ensure that no business sector is unaware of the opportunity to run a campaign in their workplace.  

United Way Central Alberta will provide training and support. Your meeting commitment is one meeting every month in person or via Zoom. 

Call or email Brett brett.speight@caunitedway.ca or Chelsea chelsea.odonoghue@caunitedway.ca  

Be Consciously Kind

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People are starting to hope again now that vaccines are being administered in the province.  Provincial campsites are booking up quickly as many people are optimistic enough to actually schedule vacations, at least within the province. Optimism springs from the glimmer of hope that COVID-19 will be under control and we will be able to gain a sense of normalcy in our lives.

For many people in Central Alberta, poverty will remain their normalcy long after COVID is gone.  Those living in poverty before the pandemic saw their financial situations worsen and many others fell into poverty as COVID caused job-losses, child-care expenses, and mental health issues.  These friends and neighbours are going to truly struggle to make ends meet and their return to “normalcy” will likely take much longer than others. 

It’s only the end of May, but for many people “back to school” in September will soon loom large.  Buying even the most basic school supplies will be weighed against the cost of basic food supplies.  So too, people will have difficulty choosing between expensive menstrual supplies for themselves and their children and paying for utilities or rent. 

That’s why for this year’s Conscious Kindness Day (Tuesday May 18th) we’re collecting supplies for both Tools for Schools and Period Promise.  It’s early to be thinking about buying calculators and math sets, but the earlier we start, the more hopeful we can be that this year’s Tools for School needs can be met.

It’s the same for Period Promise.  Period poverty is a very real issue, and we don’t want people missing days of work or schools because they can’t afford basic hygiene items. 

Please consider making a donation to Conscious Kindness Day May 18th.  We’re making it as easy as possible, just pull up to the front of our new office at 4828 48 Street, and there will be bins there for contactless drop-off.  It’s that easy, and your donations will help Central Albertans who are struggling the most to return to a sense of “normal”.  Thank you. 

Periods Don’t Stop for Pandemics; Period Promise Campaign Launching May 1

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The COVID-19 pandemic has made affording menstrual products more difficult. Job losses mean that more people than ever are struggling to purchase the menstrual products they need. United Way’s Period Promise campaign, presented locally with our partners Tampax©, Always©, Grand & Toy, and the Soroptimist International of Central Alberta offers a solution.  

Central Albertans like you can tackle period poverty May 1st to May 28th by giving financially, donating period products, or organizing your own Period Promise collection campaign. This year, United Way is calling on Central Alberta residents to collect menstrual products – or their equivalent in financial donations – so we can distribute more product to community organizations across the region. 

Take action: access the period promise campaign toolkit. 

Period Promise at the frontline 

Research has found that more than 95% of community organizations are asked by their clientele if they provide free menstrual products or know where they can be found. The United Way’s Period Promise campaign provides menstrual products to frontline organizations.  

Every donation of tampons, pads, cups, or underwear raises awareness, reduces stigma, and tackles the vulnerability and isolation caused by period poverty.   

You can get involved: help us collect menstrual products from May 1st to May 28th. 

United Way’s Period Promise aims to provide menstrual products to anyone who needs them, because no one should have to choose between food and period products.  

Take action today: access the period promise campaign toolkit. 

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The Big Wait

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Remember how it felt finally saying goodbye to 2020?  Everyone agreed that there had never been a worse year in living memory and how 2021 had to, by default, be better – ‘knock wood’.  Here we sit now, the first two months of 2021 have passed, and we’re at the one-year anniversary of the pandemic. So far, 2021 has been a period of waiting.  Are we any less anxious about politics, the economy, education, and surviving COVID than we were before we slammed the door shut on 2020? How’s YOUR mental health these days? 

Many Central Albertans have lost so much with the triple threat of low-priced oil, the general economy, and the pandemic.  They’ve lost jobs, businesses, their life’s savings, and some have lost friends or family members to COVID.  Others are now dealing with the debilitating effects of the ‘Long-Covid’ variant.  Local agencies have been pushed beyond their limits to assist an ever-growing number of people who need help meeting their basic needs.  

The brightest news is that a vaccine was developed in less than a year and the shots are already going into arms.  To have a vaccine implemented so quickly is unheard of.  Work continues to study the effects of the vaccine on the new variants, but this year, we already know a lot more than we did a year ago.   

Public Health restrictions are being eased slowly, with the hope that together with the vaccine, we’ll return to some sort of normalcy. 

Central Alberta agencies have had to provide exponentially more assistance to vulnerable populations, some have been able to keep up with the onslaught with some emergency funding or other types of assistance.  And a lot of front-line-workers in these agencies have taken much of the extra work upon themselves.  Their mental health is suffering as they experience burnout, depression, and more.   

Meanwhile, we wait.  And, waiting is hard.  

-Brett 

(If you are experiencing Mental Health issues, please call the Alberta Mental Health Emergency Line at 1-877-303-2642 or call 211 for information on a wide variety of services.) 

New Year, New Office.

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After the holiday season, people generally organize and put everything away.  You may notice that as soon as Boxing Day ads finish on TV, they are replaced with ads for weight loss, house cleaning and organization.  People are putting away their new gifts, throwing away things that are taking up too much space, and getting ready for a new year.

We are too. Except we’re emptying the entire office, not just the storage cupboards.  Our office is moving to 4828 53rd Street, not too far away, and we’ll be up and running in the new location just after Family Day. 

It’s been an interesting time sorting through boxes that haven’t seen the light of day for five years or more and what’s even more interesting is how the things we held onto have little relevance in a 2021 office setting.  Over the years, copies of old brochures, posters, marketing items like United Way paper clip holders managed to make their way into boxes, carefully itemized with a label, or shoved in a box with a Sharpie scrawl on the side to suggest what the box might contain. 

Before the pandemic, I was already planning to downsize our workspace or overall footprint.  Our staff members don’t need enormous desks to spread out papers, charts or posters.  Now all that’s basically needed is a comfortable space for a person to plug in a laptop.  When COVID-19 arrived, the plan started to gel.  It pushed us (a lot quicker than we expected) into using the new technology that makes our office work easier and efficient.  We learned that working from home is not only achievable but allows staff more flexibility for work-life balance. 

Our new digs will have only a few offices for staff to plug-in for desk work, but it will have a large boardroom so that once the pandemic is over, we can once again meet face to face with our partners and volunteers and visitors. The boardroom will also be available for other groups to use.  I’m really looking forward to seeing the new space working at its full potential and being able to welcome guests in-person, hopefully sooner rather than later.

-Brett

Our Community Can’t Recover Without You

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We’ve never had a year like this.   ‘Multi-tasking’ took on a whole new meaning for us this year, as we’re sure it did for many of you as well.  In March, we suddenly found ourselves creating space in our homes for ‘offices’, learning how not to bump colleagues off Zoom meetings, (not to mention ensuring your laptop camera is off before you come to a meeting on a bad hair day), look after kids and animals while we worked, and trying to make everyone stop touching their own face.   

     Those were the easy things, we were lucky.  Because, while we were having a relatively seamless transition, we knew our agencies were going to struggle, if they weren’t already.  Isolated seniors found themselves needing meals and connections, people were losing their jobs and requiring counselling and other supports, and basic needs became our core focus.  The pandemic magnified gaps that already existed and created new ones as well.   

     For the first time, we quickly partnered with the Red Deer and District Community Foundation to create a Community Response Fund (CRF).  Business, industry, and individuals jumped in to donate. Agencies needing money urgently to meet the crisis received funds from the CRF right away. The federal government asked us to allocate its Emergency Community Support Fund (ECSF), which we were glad to do, and another round of ECSF is materializing for this Fall.  There was also federal funding for the Seniors Horizons fund that needed to get into the hands of agencies ASAP.  The provincial government provided matching funding for our own Community Response Fund during the month of May, meaning more funding applications and allotments. Helping these initiatives was an honour; they were firsts for us, and we got it done.  

     Now, Campaign is here, and it is more urgent than ever.  All the money allocated earlier this year was emergency funding for COVID.  Our agencies need their normal annual funding so that the programs our community depends on can continue to exist.   

      So, remember the planning we used to do for our Campaign?  We did that too, and we created another first.  Our Kick-Off had to be socially distanced so we held it as a Drive-In, complete with massive screen and guests listening on their car radios.  That was an unusually gorgeous fall day and a lot of fun. We filled the parking lot and released our Campaign video, made locally (for the first time) by Cache Productions.  And, we live-streamed it (another first).  

     We expect this Fall and Winter to bring us many more firsts, including our new 365 Small Business Circle and Women United.  Watch for more info on those soon.  – Brett 

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12 Years of Pink

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12 Years of Pink.

February 27th, 2019 | #PinkShirtDay

It’s been 12 years since David Shepherd and Travis Price of Berwick, Nova Scotia, bought and distributed 50 pink shirts after a male ninth grade student was bullied for wearing a pink shirt during the first day of school. (Wikipedia) Since then, the idea of wearing a pink shirt to mark an anti-bullying day has spread across Canada and to other countries.  Pink Shirt Day this year in Alberta was held on Wednesday, February 27th, with the theme “Choose Kindness”.

Anti-Bullying

Christine Curtis, United Way Central Alberta

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Bullying is an “unignorable” issue, and we support agencies that foster better relationships between children, youth, and their peers.  One of those agencies is Youth HQ in Red Deer, which provides after-school programs and Camp Alexo. 

Hayden has struggled with social interactions and making friends. Club and camp have provided an environment where he feels safe to be himself and opened him up to finding new friendships not only with his peers but his (leaders) too. Being a part of this organization has given my son confidence that has transpired into better interactions at home and school as well. (Hayden’s Mom)

In addition to Boys and Girls Clubs across Central Alberta, the Association for Communities Against Abuse (ACAA) is creating an impact with its “You Choose” education.  It’s a Preventive Education program that empowers students and parents to take more control of online threatening behavior. 

A local K-9 school made a request for You Choose to be delivered in the grade three classroom, as there were ongoing problems amongst the female students in the class. The staff reported that students were exhibiting “mean girl” behaviour and that it was escalating, despite efforts by staff members. ACAA was able to respond quickly and present the You Choose curriculum to the entire class, over a four week period. After completion of the program, staff reported that there was a significant reduction in the conflict and mean behaviour between females in the classroom and on the playground, as well as observation of healthier interactions and friendships in that grade.  (ACAA 2018)

Bullying and cyber-bullying are considered to be major health issues and the side-effects are immediate and long-lasting. In the most tragic of cases, bullying has had fatal consequences with victims attempting or dying by suicide. Early identification and intervention of bullying prevents patterns of aggressive interactions from forming. 

For more information, call 211, visit PREVnet.ca or the KidsHelpPhone 1-800-668-6868

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Facing Unexpected Tragedy

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Facing Unexpected Tragedy.

February 7th, 2019 | Real People, Real Impact

On June 17, 2004, Carla Schneider was finishing up her workday, as a delivery driver for an automotive paint supplier. During her last delivery of the day, she was making a left-hand turn into her destination when her truck was broadsided by a speeding vehicle.

Carla Riley-Sloan

CNIB, CMHA, CABIS

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In early 2007, after facing the continued stress of trying to cope with her circumstances alone, Carla approached three United Way funded agencies: CNIB, the Canadian Mental Health Association, and the Central Alberta Brain Injury Society.  With their assistance, Carla has received ongoing support – both therapeutic and social – to help her face the reality that she is a different person than she was prior to her accident.  Perhaps her most valued assistant of all – both literally and figuratively – is her service dog, Benjamin.  Trained by Carla herself, Nicholas has a customized skill set that helps Carla to address her special needs on a daily basis.  Carla and Benji regularly give back to the agencies that have supported them by speaking at numerous engagements throughout Alberta.  Without Nicholas and the help of CNIB, CMHA and CABIS, Carla believes she would never have had the confidence to leave her own home and would have ended up housebound for the rest of her life. Carla now lives a full and enriched life and serves as an inspiring voice to others.

When it comes to the support of the United Way, Carla views it as a simple matter of buoyancy: when drowning in a sea of problems, United Way’s supported agencies are there to help you float again. 

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Bell Let’s Talk. Mental Health in the Workplace

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Bell Let’s Talk.

January 30th, 2019 | Mental Health Awareness

I wanted to look at mental health from a different perspective. There are many valuable stories shared about living with mental illness and the stigma associated with it, and I want to look at mental health and mental illness from the perspective of an employer. Specifically, I want to look at mental health policies and their importance in modern workplaces.

Brett Speight

CEO, United way central alberta

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As we understand the importance of people caring for their mental health evolve, so to must the approach of workplaces. Mental health issues and mental illness account for high absenteeism and presenteeism. Statistics show approximately 500,000 employees in Canada are absent per week due to mental health problems and illness. The cost of these absences to the Canadian economy is $50 billion annually, and cost employers $6 billion annually (Mental Health Commission). With these numbers as large as they are it is surprising to learn that only 39 percent of workplaces have any kind of mental health policy in place.

Having a mental health policy that is as part of an overall wellness policy is an important part of today’s workplace, and is beneficial not only to employees, but employers as well.

So how does a workplace implement a mental health policy? There are some fantastic resources available through the Mental Health Commission of Canada that include resources, case studies, a toolkit, and training tools. These resources are available at www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/english/what-we-do/workplace. There are also a number of resources available at www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com, and the Canadian Mental Health Association at cmha.ca/resources/mental-illness-in-the-workplace. These resources will help employers and workplaces of any size to get started with a mental health policy. I know I will be using these tools to review our policies and practices around mental health here at United Way Central Alberta.

If you are someone who wants to learn more about how you can improve your mental health or you suffer with a mental illness and don’t know where to turn call 211 within the City of Red Deer or visit ab.211.ca throughout Central Alberta.

Mental Health Commission. (n.d.). Workplace. Retrieved from Mental Health Commision: https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/what-we-do/workplace

 

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Unit 100, 4828 53 Street
Red Deer, Alberta T4N 2E8

phone: 1-403-343-3900
email: info@caunitedway.ca

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