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After 25 years of marriage, my wife convinced me that we needed a vegetable garden. I really have no idea why we need more things to do around the house, but, as they say, “happy wife, happy life,” and, just like that, we have a fenced-in, raised garden in our back yard.
As the garden was being built and we were getting ready to plant, I received a number of tips on how to ensure our garden was productive and successful. These tips included cultivating good, rich, organic soil; locating the garden where it gets plenty of sun; keeping it watered (moist, not soaked); and giving the plants enough room to grow. I was also advised to keep the garden weeded and keep animals from getting to the plants.
Basically, I was told that Mother Nature will do her thing and the seeds will sprout, but if we want our plants to really thrive and do well, we need to ‘create the conditions’ for them to be successful. I am learning that good gardening doesn’t just happen. It takes time, a good environment and lots of nurturing.
As my wife and I spent time this summer trying to get our new garden planted, the similarities between our new back yard hobby and the work I am proud to be a part of at the United Way of Wyoming Valley became obvious. In the garden, we are trying to create the conditions for our plants to grow well. At the United Way, our work is all about creating the conditions for children, families and our entire community to really thrive.
It has been five years since the United Way of Wyoming Valley significantly transformed our model of service to the community. The traditional model of fundraising and then distributing those dollars to a very wide variety of member agencies served a lot of people over time and met a lot of needs. Yet, as we all know, despite all the money that was raised each year, the need for social and human services continues to grow. We came to the realization that we will never be able to raise enough money to meet an ever-increasing need for services. We needed to become more strategic about preventing need as opposed to reacting to it once it surfaced.
Based on a great deal of professional research, we changed our model to address a key root cause of increased social service need in our community … childhood poverty. By focusing on the education and health of at-risk children and the financial stability of families, we are promoting the most promising practices to create the conditions that can help break the cycle of poverty for future generations.
The United Way of Wyoming Valley’s 2019 annual campaign will begin in just a few short weeks. Once again, we will be asking the community to help support the critically important work of helping at-risk children and families. It is because of the kindness and generosity of the United Way donors and the determination of many volunteers and partners that are creating the conditions that are improving the odds of success for so many more children. Last year, the services and funding of the United Way of Wyoming Valley impacted the lives of more than 15,400 Wyoming Valley kids.
Growing tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini, obviously, is a lot easier than raising children or helping them thrive. Like in gardening, Mother Nature will do her thing and kids will grow and get older.
Helping them become productive and successful, however, takes time, a good environment, and lots of nurturing.
With support from our donors, volunteers, and partners, the United Way of Wyoming Valley is planting seeds for a better future and hope is growing. Many thanks to all those who support our work. You are cultivating possibilities and helping to make the lives of children and the future of our community better.