Orange County United Way & UPS UNITE Together in Support of SMEDA Fire

Between Tuesday, December 15, 2009 and Friday, December 18, 2009, Orange County United Way collected approximately 30 palettes full of food, clothing and toys in support of funded partner, SMEDA after a devastating fire. A large portion of the items lost in this fire were going to be used for an Adopt-A-Family event on Saturday, December 19, 2009 which served more than 1,000 Santa Ana residents. At 6 a.m., UPS arrived at Orange County United Way and packed in the thousands of items in a UPS truck and hand delivered them to SMEDA. With the help of United Way and UPS, as well as other standout community partners who selflessly gave, Santa Ana residents were still able to enjoy a very festive holiday event.

Donated Dollars Although dollars continue to come in, to date, Orange County United Way has received over $10,000 in pledges.

Donated Items

Corporate Partners:

• UPS provided UPS truck, truck driver, monetary donations and the help of UPS Executive George Gibbs
• El Pollo Loco donated food
• The Santa Ana Court System ran a clothing drive
• Kaiser Permanente donated money, used computers and furniture
• Share Our Selves donated 4 palettes of new toys
• Playmates Toys donated 800 children’s toys
• Home Depot donated structural pieces directly to SMEDA including fences and sandbags
• OC ARC donated clothes, food and toys
• Stussy clothing donated clothes, food and toys
• Vineyard Church donated clothes and food
• Transpacific Management donated food, clothes and toys
• Stater Brothers donated food
• Dorsey & Whitney Law Firm donated food
• Isaiah House donated clothes
• OC Sanitation District donated toys
• Garden Grove Unified School District donated toys
• Mr. Stox Restaurant donated canned goods
• Xerox Centre and PM Realty Group in Santa Ana donated canned food and toys
• Mercy House donated clothing and toys
• Southern California Edison donated money
• Target donated 3,500 gift baskets and $3,000 worth of products
• Hello Kitty donated toys and bicycle
• City Bank donated clothes and food

Community Partners:

About 20 palettes of toys, food, clothing and household items were donated from outside community partners who gave above and beyond. Thank you to these donors for your philanthropic spirit!  

Media Coverage (United Way and UPS)  
Orange County Register

• http://www.ocregister.com/articles/center-225007-people-food.html

LA Times

• http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/12/santa-ana-soup-kitchen-fire.html

ABC Channel 7

• http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=7179889

United Way Worldwide Responds to Haiti Disaster

On the evening of January 12, 2010, a major 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti. It is the most powerful quake to hit the impoverished country in more than 200 years. United Way Worldwide has set up a disaster fund for the Haiti earthquake. Donations to the fund support long-term recovery efforts to rebuild the lives and infrastructure devastated by disaster and to address educational, financial and health-related challenges.

United Way Worldwide members in the Caribbean region have mobilized their staff, volunteer leaders and resources in response.

The tremor struck 15km (10 miles) south-west of the capital Port-au-Prince, and was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude. Reports describe the destruction to affect as much as 70 percent of the buildings, with debris filling the roads and making emergency response difficult. The Prime Minister reported on January 13 that hundreds of thousands of lives may have been lost.

To donate, please visit United Way Worldwide website at https://volunteer.united-e-way.org/uwwwdisaster/donate/  or text Haiti to 864833 (UNITED) to make a $5 donation to United Way Worldwide disaster recovery fund.

For more information on United Way’s efforts for the Haiti earthquake, please contact Cara Lasala, Public Relations Manager at (949) 263-6160 or at caral@unitedwayoc.org.

CNN Hero of the Year 2009

To find out how you can give or volunteer in Orange County, visit www.ocuw.org (When donating, enter promo code: GIFT)

Women Helping Women Update

We just received the Fall 2009 updates from Women Helping Women, one of the programs that Orange County United Way supports.  They are doing such great things and we are so happy for their great success over the past year!  Keep up the good work guys!

Below is the update, along with some info about the program.     

                                                                                                                                     

Fall 2009 

 In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out.  It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being.  We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.

          ~  Albert Schweitzer

At this time of year, we would like to take a moment to express our sincere gratitude to all of our supporters – past, present, and future. 
 
Last year, thanks to your donations, Women Helping Women/Men2Work’s Employment Success Program helped over 2,600 disadvantaged men and women in their efforts to achieve self-sufficiency by attaining gainful employment.  This was a new record for us – in 17 years of operation!!  
 
During the past year, Orange County lost 55,800 jobs (September 2008 – 2009), and unemployment reached 9.4% (EDD).  During this time of economic distress, WHW experienced a 36% increase in demand for services.  Yet, we were able to meet this need, thanks to your continued support! 
 
WHW is the only agency in Orange County to provide business clothing, education, and direct job placement – without cost or obligation to our clients or their referring non-profit agency.  Clients are referred to WHW by more than 200 Orange County partner agencies, who rely on our workforce development services so they can focus on their core missions – be it housing, recovery, or hunger.  

www.whw.org

Last year, WHW’s Employment Success Program provided more than:

• 4,000 business suits (and associated accessories)
• 200 resumes, and
• 120 computer classes and educational workshops. 

Of the clients who used our Job Placement services, over 84% achieved sustained employment (over 90 days); a number we are proud to share.  
 Our clients come to WHW as a last resort of hope to escape their circumstances and achieve a better life for themselves, and for the future of their children.  Typical clients include:

• The single mom, working to afford a safe place for her children,
• The woman escaping the threat of death from an abusive spouse, dealing with the overwhelming challenges of supporting herself and her children,
• The veteran, returning from serving their country, only to face an overflowing,  competitive job market,
• The person overcoming addiction or incarceration, trying to regain everything they have lost and return to a normal life,
• The elderly woman who has lost her husband, now faced with supporting herself for the first time in decades, or perhaps, in her life.

We also saw an influx of the “newly unemployed” – people affected by layoffs who are now searching for a job after 10, 15, or more years at their former company.  Sadly, in some cases, both husbands and wives lost jobs. 
 
Our clients were so grateful for the support they received at WHW

• “I walked into my interview, and my interviewer literally said ‘WOW, you look great’!”
• “I wore one of the suits to my interview, where I am now employed.  I am very thankful for all the services and time your staff provided me.  I walked out of there feeling so special and cared for.”
• “My experience was so great…the best feeling is that now I can support my family.”
• “I couldn’t have done it on my own. I am so grateful for the support I received.”
• “I didn’t even know where to start job searching and was completely over-whelmed and paralyzed. That all changed the minute I stepped in the doors of WHW. They were so positive and energetic. I took advantage of everything; clothing, computer classes, job placement support.  I was a whole new person, and it wouldn’t have been possible without WHW!”

www.whw.org

Thanks to your support, WHW was able to assist those who needed it most.  We wanted to share the gratitude of the people you helped, and hope that you will again support our mission to empower others to achieve self-sufficiency through employment success.
 
We know that these are difficult times for many.  If you are in a position to assist others, please consider lending a hand up to someone else with your donation.  Not only will you help them regain their financial security, but you can also help to rekindle their inner spirit.  
 
With sincere gratitude,

Jeanne Flint
Executive Director

                                                                                                                              

Join us in supporting Women Helping Women!  For more information about how to donate or volunteer, visit www.ocuw.org

The Cohen Family Returns to OCUW!

Do you all remember Sam Cohen?  To refresh your memory, Sam previously donated ALL of his birthday money  to United Way when he turned 8-years-old.  With the encouragement of his mom Cristine, dad Rob and younger brother Jack, Sam collected donations from friends and families by asking them for money instead of gifts. By his big day, he had collected $280.00 for United Way’s Community Impact work. 

This year, Sam partnered with his little brother Jack and set their goals even higher!  Sam and his brother Jack came to United Way on Tuesday, Nov. 24th to donate over $1,000 that they made from a yard sale. That makes them Leadership Donors – Wow!!! The Orange County United Way team is so grateful to the Cohen family and it was such a special day for us to be a part of. 

High five to Sam and Jack for continuing to encourage and inspire our community, and to their parents Cristine and Rob for teaching your children about the spirit of giving!! !!  Thank you Cohen family for helping us build self-sufficient lives for those most in need in Orange County!