July 19, 2007

8 days of activities are planned this fall by some area citizens, to celebrate family. Take an organized hike one day, dine-out together another day, enjoy volunteering in your community on another. It's a great partnership for United Way of Central Florida with our mission to build better lives and stronger communities focused on critical issues affecting kids, families and wellness. United Way is participating with the Polk National Family Week group that is motivated by a belief that strong families build strong communities.

A national group, American Family Foundation has been working to motivate communities to create such an event and you can find out more of their ideas at www.nationalfamilyweek.org ( http://www.nationalfamilyweek.org/ ). In Polk County, area citizens from Winter Haven and Lake Wales answered the call and are working to broaden involvement throughout the county.

All you have to do to participate is to save the date among your family for maybe one, two or all eight days of the celebration. Details of the event will develop as November approaches, but this is where it stands now:

Nov 10th: Saturday, plan on a family hike at the Polk County Environmental Lands - Lakeland Highlands Scrub, 9am-12. It will be an escape from your busy schedule and time to share a beautiful Florida moment with your family. Find out more about this activity at www.friendsoftheparks.net ( http://www.friendsoftheparks.net/ ).

Nov 11th: Sunday, plan a time to connect spiritually together with your family. Maybe you'll go to your regular house of worship; or maybe you'll spend an hour talking to one another over coffee reflecting on your values and the blessings of our central Florida community.

Nov 12: Monday is a time to share dinner together at home. Plan the menu together and let everyone take a part in setting the table, preparing the meal or gathering the chairs together at dinner time.

Nov 13: Tuesday is Movie Night. Take a night to go together to the movies.

Nov 14: Wednesday is a time to go out to dinner together. Hurry home though, to read and celebrate your elementary child's essay that you entered earlier in the Polk School Essay contest.

Nov 15: Thursday is the culmination of the Polk School Essay contest. More details to come.

Nov 16: Friday is a community celebration tailgate picnic. The location is being prepared but there will be family activities and a great time will be had by all!

Nov 17: Saturday is a return to your hometown where your volunteer labor is needed by participating non-profits who will have a project they accomplished to help them continue to serve your community. Your family will have a proud time working together and knowing you've become stronger and with you your community is stronger too. For more information visit uwcf.org. Click on the help link and choose volunteering: keyword "family week."

Plan on a few days or 8 days this Nov 10-17 and celebrate your family. For more information contact Scott Lonsberry at scottl@uwcf.org.

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Posted by Kandy Stanton

March 17, 2006

93% of children in United Way mentoring programs improve their grades! That's what matters.

A Mentoring Recruitment Day was held March 14th in partnership with the Lake Wales Charter School District, Big Brothers Big Sisters and a number of important community partners. Sixty-five children with school-based-mentor matches took part in a morning of activities on the Warner Southern Campus in Lake Wales. The Lake Wales Police Department, US Army Personnel, Big Brothers Big Sisters and students of Warner Southern College manned stations of games and displays where children with their mentors made kites, interacted with police K-9 and played volleyball.

The day was part of a year long effort initiated by School Superintendent Dr. Clint Wright to raise 125 school-based-mentors to support the education process. The Police Department pledged at least five mentors for the program and wanted to use a community day to link officers with the idea. Some 80 Mentors are matched now from Citizen Bank, Florida's Natural Growers, Lake Wales High School and Warner Southern College.

Dr. Wright said, "We wanted to make a change in our community so I called on United Way of Central Florida." United Way requires partners to submit to strict programming and financial standards so was able to identify an existing partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters, which has a 93% success rate in helping improve children's grades. With as little as an hour a week, mentors help to increase a child's ability to succeed in school by talking, reading, and encouraging.

United Way of Central Florida served 1,556 children in 2005 through four mentoring and tutoring partnerships throughout Polk, Hardee and Highlands Counties. With your help and because of the effectiveness of these programs we have a goal to increase the number of children served by 30%.

If you'd like to know more about United Way mentoring programs please call Scott Lonsberry, Community Projects Manager & Analyst at 863.648.1500 x241 or e-mail scottL@uwcf.org.

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Posted by Scott Lonsberry

November 11, 2005

United Way of Central Florida works with organizations to find valuable volunteer labor to support goals in our community for Kids, Families and Wellness. If you're interested in organizing a group to help with a project to build better lives and stronger communities, call today! 863.648.1500 x241 scottl@uwcf.org.

KIDS

To help Kids be successful in school we're using a strategy of helping develop parenting skills. Miss Jean's Playland, Little Bloodhounds Preschool, Lena Vista Elementary School, Lake Wales YMCA, Mrs. Pearson' Pre-school and Even Start Preschool worked with United Way and Success By 6 to hold parenting education classes designed with an eye on fun. Volunteers from the organizations helped with the children and serving meals so mom and dad could work with professional educators and identify every day learning moments that will help their children be successful in school.

Also for Kids: The Ledger and Bright House Network employees helped with a community-wide book drive to get books in to the hands of parents and encourage reading to young children for vocabulary development. Studies show a child's success in school is directly related to how much they are read to and their development of vocabulary. Coca-Cola North America had volunteers read to elementary children at 5 schools in Auburndale. Polk Board of County Commissioners' employees (Building Inspections, Development, Traffic Engineering and Leisure Services staffed a phone bank for a morning calling parents to help them know their options in the new Florida Pre-Kindergarten learning program. The Polk County Sheriff - Juvenile Boot Camp helped prepare the Crickette Girl Scout house in Bartow for painting so employees from the Polk County Property Appraisers could come in to paint later in the week, helped by a team from Polk County: Probation, Engineering and Sheriff. Gulf Stream Natural Gas helped with landscaping and cleaning at a United Way partner-program that identifies children 0-6 years old who have learning delays and helps them get caught-up.

FAMILIES

United Way of Central Florida is working too, to help families stay strong. One strategy is to help assist with services for food/clothing or shelter. FMC Food Tech helped with a day long project in Lake Wales for a woman needing hurricane repairs. She'd been living in a mold plagued home until volunteers from Rebuild Polk After Disaster and United Way helped. CF Industries helped with hurricane repairs for a family in Wauchula and is helping the husband acquire a transport for his motorized wheelchair. Mosaic Company volunteers helped in Hardee County and Fort Meade painting and cleaning community thrift stores. Bright House Networks helped an Auburndale family with hurricane clean-up that opened the door for the family to participate in a county program that will finally get them back into their home. Progress Energy helped paint a thrift store in Lake Wales and built ramps for hurricane displaced individuals in Lake Placid and Avon Park. Target Stores employees served in a United Way food line.

WELLNESS

Promoting Wellness is another goal of United way of Central Florida. Volunteers from Sear's Optical helped by providing free glasses adjustments for residents at Florida Presbyterian Homes. Carter Belcourt & Atkinson, Westminister Presbyterian Church, Faith in Action and United Way visited isolated elderly residents cleaning windows and helping with light household chores. Central Florida Gas volunteers escorted blind citizens and served hamburgers at a fall picnic in Winter Haven. Watson Clinic volunteers and Whispering Pines Mobile Home Community worked with United Way on a Spanish language health fair in Bartow.

Many projects have taken place throughout the three county area to help build stronger communities through Days of Impact. A special thank you to each and every volunteer!

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Posted by Scott Lonsberry

June 25, 2005

United Way of Central Florida works with organizations to find valuable volunteer labor to support goals in our community for Kids, Families and Wellness. If you're interested in organizaing a group to help with a project building better lives and stronger communities call today! 863.648.1500 x241 scottl@uwcf.org

Watson Clinic helped United Way deliver healthy meals for seniors. This is one way United Way work for Wellness and promotes independence to prevent decline.

Mosaic Company has teamed-up with United Way also for Wellness; helping promote independence among some of our neighbors with retardation. Mosaic has rebuilt a nursery that serves as a training and support program.

Oasis Community Church helped Families hurt by addiction restore their employability and work to regain their children. Oasis spent a day sprucing up the group residence for women.

Rinker Materials brought a team together to help with United Way's programs helping Kids. Rinker purchased and constructed a fence to develop a partner's facility that provides group mentoring services. When kids have constructive adult role models they more successfully meet the challenges of their teen years.

The Mulberry Chamber of Commerce, along with 20 business partners, worked with United Way to gather books for the community's elementary schools. United Way's goal for Kids is to help them be successful in school. The extra books for the schools are used as incentive prizes for children in the schools.

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Posted by Scott Lonsberry

June 23, 2005

Volunteer troops came out in full force on Wednesday, May 11, 2005, to make a difference in their community by participating in the United Way Day of Caring throughout Highlands County. There were 330 volunteers rolling up their sleeves and doing a variety of jobs for United Ways partner agencies. The Day of Caring is designed to provide area business and individuals an opportunity to do manual labor at a United Way partner agencys site.

Thank You to our sponsors for helping United Way make lasting changes in the community that improves peoples lives.

Sebring Ford Lincoln Mercury, Glades Electric Charitable Trust.

Associate Sponsors

Woodys Bar-B-Q, Buttonwood Bay, and Save the Moment.

Thank you to the 28 companies who allowed their employee to participate.
Alan Jay Automotive
Buttonwood Bay
Coca Cola Bottling Company
Florida Council on Crime & Delinquency Chapter 3
Florida Department of Revenue/Child Support
Florida Hospital Heartland Division
Girl Scouts Heart of Florida
Glades Electric Cooperative
Heacock Group
Heartland National Bank
Highlands County Board of County Commissioners
Highlands County Clerk of Court
Highlands County Health Department
Highlands County Sheriff
Highlands Independent Bank
Highlands Today
Lykes Bros. Inc.
News-Sun
Publix Avon Park
Publix Lake Placid
Reflections on Silver Lake
School Board of Highlands C ounty
Sebring Ford
Sebring International Raceway
South Florida Community College
SunTrust
Tampa General Aeromed
The Academy

Day of Caring Committee
Heidi Bates
Mary Birge
Wanda Daymon
Doris Gentry
Sharon Gunthorp
Dan McAuliff
Steve New
Gene Polk
Michele Roberts
Sandy Sanborn
the many Buttonwood Bay volunteers

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Posted by Cheryl Sharp