Friday, December 13, 2013

My Internship Experience


My name is Michael Lee, I am a Senior marketing major, Communication Minor at Stonehill College.  2013 has been an exciting year for me between studying abroad in Rome earlier this year, to living in New York City for an advertising agency internship, and now here at United Way of Greater Plymouth County as the marketing intern. 

I wanted to intern at UWGPC to bolster my resume with another marketing internship.  But I feel that I have gotten so much more out of my experience than that.  I really had no idea what to expect from working with a non-profit because I simply had no prior experience working in the non-profit sector.   

Without working at UWGPC or any other non-profits, you would have no idea the amount of challenges that they have to overcome.  I wrote a blog earlier this year about Dan Pallota’s TED talk about “how we think about non-profits all wrong.”  It’s true; non-profits have the most limited resources yet the most restrictions.  With all of the restrictions the need for volunteers has never been more important.  And that’s where I came in for UWGPC.

My intern duties included taking charge of the social media presence for UWGPC, designing and sending out our Constant Contact e-newsletters, conducting site visits with United Way’s partner agency interviews and writing articles.  I feel lucky that I was able to learn many different important skills that I’m going to be able to use in any area of the business world.  I especially loved the agency visits to other partners like the Family Life Center at the Y, the Brockton Area Workforce Investment Board, and Mayflower RSVP.  The visits are interesting as you get to see all of the challenges that the agencies have to deal with everyday as well as the positive impact that they have on the local community.  Some of the things that I saw at these local non-profits are things that I will remember for the rest of my life. 

I want to personally thank all of the dedicated UWGPC staff especially Kim Allen who was responsible for making sure I always had work to do and teaching me a lot of the valuable skills needed to complete all of the marketing intern tasks.  I couldn’t recommend this internship enough to anyone looking to learn important skills needed to succeed later in life. 

Friday, December 6, 2013

Senior Healthy Living with Mayflower RSVP

Darcy Lee has been Executive Director at Mayflower RSVP for just over a year.  With a small, but dedicated staff of only three people (two full-time and one part-time) she has certainly had her hands full since taking the lead.   She has already made major improvements, including raising the agency’s visibility in the community, creating new programs and devising a plan for the organization’s future!

All of Mayflower RSVP’s volunteers are over the age of 55 and many have active and busy lives.  Volunteering is sometimes one of many things they do.   With RSVP’s liability insurance the seniors are fully insured for any volunteer work that they do; a major selling point with most of these volunteers.   Volunteers make an impact when they help out in the community, and by doing so, also contribute to their own well-being.  According to Darcy, “We provide volunteers with a variety of different opportunities.  Seniors can choose between one day, short-term, or long term assignments.  For example, one volunteer may spend a few hours helping to stuff a mailing, while another spends an hour a week tutoring a child." Mayflower RSVP volunteers are all members of the Corporation for National and Community Service’s (CNCS) Senior Corps.  Along with other CNCS programs, like Americorps, Senior Corps volunteers are part of a national volunteer movement. 

“We provide volunteers with a variety of different opportunities.  Seniors can choose between one day, short-term, or long term assignments.” –Darcy Lee

(Michael Lee Marketing Intern at UWGPC and Darcy Lee Executive Director at Mayflower RSVP)
Volunteering has huge health benefits for seniors.  Research has shown that volunteers live longer because volunteering can provide seniors a sense of purpose.  It is also a great way to stay connected and active in the community in which they live.   As the population in America continues to age (1 in 5 Americans will be over 60 by 2030) it is becoming more important to find different ways to keep our seniors volunteering and healthy, and Mayflower RSVP allows them to    do just that! 

United Way of Greater Plymouth County funds two of Mayflower RSVP initiatives.   The first is called “Hunger Among Homeless” where senior citizens can volunteer in cooking, transporting and distributing food to local homeless individuals and families.  The second is the “Senior Healthy Independent Living” initiative.  Volunteers visit seniors who can’t physically leave their home check in on them, bring them Meals on Wheels, check on their safety and well-being.  Darcy says, “for some of these seniors the RSVP volunteers are the only people that they have regular conversations with. “


Darcy has also created an innovative program in which senior volunteers, who are also war veterans, can send letters to current soldiers overseas and thank them for their service.   As these letters come from someone who has served for our country in the past, it means a great deal to the soldiers defending our freedom! 

Friday, November 22, 2013

Gratitude: An Inexhaustible Resource That Keeps on Giving

By Dennis Carman, President & CEO
United Way of Greater Plymouth County

Many of us have lived through days, months and sometimes years where the money coming in didn’t cover even the basic costs for food, heat and housing.  And if we’ve been fortunate enough not to have had to worry about that, it’s hard to imagine that we do not know family, friends or neighbors who have struggled to get by or who have fallen under the wheel.  Times have been very hard for quite some time now.  In the midst of these hard times and the frustrations that accompany them, we often fail to see one of the more valuable and readily available resources:   gratitude.

The online Oxford Dictionary defines gratitude as “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness”  But being grateful, showing appreciation or counting our blessings is certainly hard, if not impossible, in the face of our many troubles.   So, why do it?  Why be thankful?

Well, research conducted by Dr. Robert A. Emmons, PhD, Professor of Psychology at the University of California, and his associates clearly demonstrates the many powerful benefits of gratitude.  In 2010 they studied more than one thousand people, from ages eight to 80, and found that people who practice gratitude consistently report a host of physical, psychological and social benefits:
• Stronger immune systems
• Less bothered by aches and pains
• Lower blood pressure
• Exercise more and take better care of their health
• Sleep longer and feel more refreshed upon waking
• Higher levels of positive emotions
• More alert, alive, and awake
• More joy and pleasure
• More optimism and happiness
• More helpful, generous, and compassionate
• More forgiving
• More outgoing
• Feel less lonely and isolated.

Beyond these benefits, practicing gratitude has a number of additional pragmatic advantages.  First, it doesn’t really cost anything to be grateful, certainly not monetarily.  Nor is there any significant physical effort required to be thankful.  There may be time expended in thoughtfully counting our blessings, and some minimal effort expended in expressing our thanks to those who have either given us something or helped us in some way.  Certainly, for those who have received a great deal, there would be commensurately greater time and energy expended than someone who has not received as much, but still no strenuous effort is involved.

Second, being grateful or giving thanks for one thing does not in any way reduce our ability to be appreciative of other things.  For example, we can be thankful for a beautiful day without taking away our capacity to be grateful for a neighbor who helped us lift a heavy piece of furniture or who cooked us a meal when we were sick.  There is no finite or upper limit to gratitude.  If we are willing and able to count our blessings, we can be ever and endlessly thankful for them.

Finally, we respond very positively to someone who expresses gratitude to us, whether for just being who they are or for doing something good or generous.  People just plain like being thanked.  And whether or not it is the intention of the one offering their appreciation, very often receiving thanks encourages the giver to continue giving or helping, either in service of the person who just offered thanks or to others.  So good deeds done, kindnesses shone and generosities extended that are appreciated will tend to lead to more good deeds, kindnesses and generosity that will be appreciated.  Thus, there is a perpetual chain-reaction of good things happening.

So in spite of our individual and collective troubles, as we approach Thanksgiving, our other holidays and every day for that matter, we should seriously consider practicing and encouraging “gratitude”.  And to put into practice what I am preaching, let me say thank you to all who have made financial donations to our United Way and other charitable organizations, and thank you to our community partners and to all of our hundreds of volunteers for generously giving their time and talents to support our mission of “uniting people, ideas and resources to improve lives”.  And on a very personal note, thank you to my Lord and Savior for the gift of Creation, the gift of Forgiveness and the gift of His Grace and Love, thank you to my wife for her years of support and devotion, and thank you to my family and friends for putting up with all of my eccentrities!

Our times may be tough, and very likely many of us may not have all of what we need to have a good life, so we must keep working together to care for our family, our friends and our neighbors.  And in the meantime, we can express gratitude for what we do have!



Thursday, November 7, 2013

“EngaGED”: Youth Works and Brockton Area Workforce Investment Board (BAWIB)


By: Mike Lee, UWGPC Marketing Intern

“EngaGED” is an innovative jobs initiative of Youth Works, a branch underneath Brockton Area Workforce Investment Board (BAWIB), one of the United Way’s partner agencies, located on School Street in Brockton.    Youth Works helps unemployed young adults between the ages of 16-21, who have not yet completed school, and who are looking to get a job. The initiative serves youth in the city of Brockton, and the towns of Abington, Avon, Bridgewater, Easton, East Bridgewater, Hanson, Stoughton, West Bridgewater and Whitman.

BAWIB Executive Director Sheila Sullivan-Jardim and Youth Works Associate Andy Martin provided a tour of the Youth Works center and talked passionately about how they’re getting youth off the streets and getting them into their center to provide them with vital educational services.  Due to the national economic downturn, the job market in the greater Brockton area is poor causing problems even for youth who have graduated from high school.  Because of this, the EngaGED initiative is helping young adults who have not graduated from high school to get their GED (general equivalency diploma) and to find a job.  Without Youth Works many of these kids would never have a chance at having a well-paying job or a stable life at home.

EngaGED participants take an entrance exam to assess their current skill levels.  This allows the participants to improve in the areas where they are deficient and they can skip areas where they are already proficient.   Youth Works staff use a webserver to grade and post assignments, and to monitor the progress of students in the program.   EngaGED students and teachers can access one of Youth Work’s computer resources “remotely” from home or other locations making the education process incredibly convenient.


(BAWIB computer lab where kids complete assignments and apply for jobs)

The “Hot Jobs” board shows the young adults of Youth Works how to apply, skills required, wages, location, and any other information important to the applying process of a job.  Youth Works is able to measure results by how many youth and young adults utilize their computers, how many graduate from their programs, and ultimately how many of their participants get a job.

In fact, Youth Works and BAWIB are always actively searching for more entry-level jobs from local employers, so if your company has available positions, please contact them.


(Young adults find out how to apply for brand new jobs in the area)


In speaking with one of the male students from EngaGED, it was inspiring to see how thankful he was for the amazing opportunities that Youth Works and BAWIB has given him, a GED, a new job and a new outlook on life!   His favorite part of the program was the personal guidance and teaching that he received from the youth service associates, like Andy.   His greatest satisfaction is that now he can help support his family.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Opinion: Dan Pallota's TED talk

By: UWGPC Marketing Intern Mike Lee

The way that our society thinks about the Non-profit sector is all wrong.  In a world where everything in the business world is measured in terms of return on investment (ROI) how can you monetize the gratefulness a single battered mother when she gets a roof over her head, how can you monetize the happiness a disabled child that gets to spend a day at the water-park, or how can you monetize the appreciation a family has for having a dinner provided on thanksgiving?  Dan Pollata an activist and fundraiser gave a TED talk earlier this year on exactly this topic.  He tried to help the average person understand how difficult it can be to work in a non-profit.

The Dan Pallotta TED talk already has over 2.5 million views and it really helped me understand the non-profit sector in a way that I had never before.  The part of TED talk that most resonated with me the most was his comparisons between the two sectors.  The difference between the profit and non-profit sector are unfathomable.  A Stanford Grad with a masters made $400,000 while the CEO of a hunger charity made $84,000.  While our society encourages to strive to move up through the ranks of a perspective company there is absolutely no incentive for these non-profit people.  If a CEO in the hunger charity made $400,000 he/she would be crucified by the media and our society because he/she was dipping to much into charitable funds.  Pallotta lays our the 4 main differences between profits and non-profits and I encourage you to check it out.  It really made me think twice about the type of challenges that a non-profit has to deal with.



Check it out yourself! Here's a link the link to Dan Pallotta's TED talk:
http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong.html

Thursday, September 26, 2013

92nd annual United Way of Plymouth County Kick Off & Day of Caring

By: Mike Lee, UWGPC Marketing Intern

Early in the morning of September 13th, 2013 over 130 excited and enthusiastic volunteers gathered for the 92nd annual United Way of Plymouth County Kick Off & Day of Caring.  It’s hard to imagine over so many friends, board members, and partner agencies with smiles on their faces at 8am on a Friday, but there they were, all of the volunteers with bright smiles dressed in their “Live United” t-shirts to show their support of United Way!

(Dennis Carman UWGPC President & CEO speaks to the volunteers)

Ocean Spray Cranberries once again graciously hosted the Kick Off event at their corporate headquarters on the Lakeville/Middleboro line.  All of the volunteers gathered in the atrium to hear Ocean Spray’s President and CEO Randy Papadellis and Signature Healthcare’s President and CEO, Kim Hollon thank the volunteers and give inspiring speeches encouraging the attendees to make a difference in the community throughout the day. 
Volunteers participating in the Day of Caring came from Enterprise Rent-a-Car, the Arc of Greater Plymouth, Hannaford Supermarkets, Traveler’s Insurance, HarborOne Bank, ITW-TACC, Signature Healthcare, Rockland Trust, Energy Pilgrim Station, and GE Oil & Gas.  The volunteers were divided in teams to help with 14 service projects ranging from painting walls to organizing supplies to planting flowers at nonprofit organizations in the greater Brockton and greater Plymouth communities.
From all accounts, our United Way’s 92nd Annual Kick Off was a great success!  Our volunteers made a real difference by helping to raise the awareness of the value of United Way of Grater Plymouth County to the communities in southeastern Massachussets.  We cannot thank our volunteers and supporters enough for helping us to achieve our mission of “uniting people, ideas and resources to improve lives.”  We hope that their “shining” examples of service will inspire others to give generously to this year’s United Way campaign!

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

United Way's 91st Annual Meeting & Awards Celebration

United Way of Greater Plymouth County’s 
Annual Luncheon ‘Uplifting’


When asked to describe the United Way of Greater Plymouth County’s recent annual meeting and awards luncheon, Dennis Carman, the organization’s president and CEO used the words “uplifting” and “enthusiastic”.  Judging by the boisterous response of the two hundred thirty attendees Carman’s assessment was spot-on, with one guest saying he felt “energized about the United Way” and was inspired to work toward growing the annual campaign at his workplace.

Hosted by Bridgewater State University, this was United Way of Greater Plymouth County’s ninety first annual awards luncheon.  The keynote speaker was BSU’s president, Dr. Dana Mola-Faria, who also sits on the UWGPC’s volunteer board of directors.  An internationally respected leader in the field of higher education, Mola-Faria spoke passionately about the need for each of us to work “for the common good” - a perfect theme for the occasion as several businesses, nonprofit organizations and volunteers were honored for their commitment to –and success in helping to improve the lives of citizens of greater Plymouth County who have struggled in this challenging economy.

Among those receiving individual recognition by the chairman of UWGPC’s board of directors (and HarborOne vice president), Leo MacNeil, were retiring UWGPC board member, Cheryl Showstack, and outgoing campaign chair, Chris Oddleifson, the president and CEO of Rockland trust Company.  It was also announced that Kim Hollon, CEO and president of Brockton based Signature Healthcare would be assuming the role of campaign chair being vacated by Oddleifson. 


To view our photo gallery from the event, please visit our website: http://www.uwgpc.org/album/uwgpc-91st-annual-meeting-awards-celebration-june-12-2013

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Ending Domestic Violence in Greater Plymouth County

The South Shore Women's Resource Center located in Plymouth, MA

One night, a woman with a baby arrived on Jim Hardeman’s doorstep. The woman had been a victim of domestic violence and she was seeking help. Jim sat and spoke with her, but he did not know of any services that he could refer her to. Unfortunately, the woman ended up returning to the domestic violence situation. Jim was distressed over this woman’s circumstances, so he gathered a group of volunteers and in 1978, The South Shore Women’s Resource Center was established.
 A few weeks ago, our United Way headed down to Plymouth, MA to visit The South Shore Women’s Resource Center and meet with Program Director, Kathy Spear. Kathy gave us a tour of the facility and described the many services available for both men and women in domestic violence situations.
The South Shore Women’s Resource Center offers an array of programs that provide support, advocacy and counseling to victims of domestic violence. Kathy noted that even though statistically, women are more likely to be victims of domestic violence, men can be victims as well and the center provides services for them too. The South Shore Women’s Resource Center works from an empowerment model, giving victims the power of decision making and developing their self-esteem.  Financial constraints, lack of child care and continued harassment from the batterer, however, can make it difficult for a victim to come in to the center, so support is also provided over the phone and through a 24-hour hotline.
The South Shore Women’s Resource Center has five advocates working in four different court systems. These advocates assist victims who are trying to obtain a restraining order by giving them emotional support and by helping them to complete paper work. Other services offered include a food pantry, outreach work in schools, and a counseling program for family members and friends who have lost someone to homicide.
Our United Way has been providing funding to the South Shore Women’s Resource Center for many years. The money is currently being used for domestic violence counseling, both within the agency and within the surrounding community. It is also used for outreach educational prevention services in schools. These outreach programs aim to educate students about teen dating violence, substance abuse and healthy relationships.
Kathy began working as the Program Director for the South Shore Women’s Resource Center in 2006 and has found it to be a very rewarding experience. “I am very impressed with the staff here” says Kathy, “I don’t think I’ve ever worked with a group of people that have worked so hard and who have volunteered so much of their own time.” Kathy also enjoys witnessing victims develop or reconnect with their own personal sense of empowerment.
The South Shore Women’s Resource Center has been aiding victims for over 35 years. They are extremely dedicated to providing safety and support, advocating for social change and ultimately bringing domestic abuse and violence to an end. Kathy feels it is very important for people to understand that domestic violence isn’t just a women’s issue or an individual issue. “Domestic violence impacts all of us,” she says “and we are all responsible for being part of the solution.”  

- Jess Zaniewski, Marketing Intern

Check out our Interview with Program Director, Kathy Spear!:

If you’d like to find out more about The South Shore Women’s Resource Center, please visit their website: http://www.thesswrc.org

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Internship Experience Reveals Passion for Service

Jess on site, visiting with our United Way’s partner agency,
Brockton Church and Community After School Program

          The word “work” often has a bit of a stigma attached to it. It is associated with responsibilities; not necessarily things we want to do, but rather things we must do out of obligation. As I draw closer and closer to my graduation from Stonehill College, I have been thinking a lot about how the word “work” will soon change its meaning in my life. I will be going from homework, class work, and group work…to REAL work. Seeking a full-time job and pursuing a career path. Things are going to be different for me from now on.

            My experience as a marketing intern at United Way of Greater Plymouth County has changed the way I view the word work. I discovered that it is possible to find a career path where your work will bring you enjoyment every day. It has been an absolute pleasure to work with everyone here in the Brockton office, surrounded people who love their job.

Since beginning my internship in January, my duties have included writing articles for the United Times newsletter, visiting and interviewing our partner agencies, creating video content for our YouTube channel and keeping our social media outlets up to date. I have most enjoyed being able to meet and form relationships with people in the surrounding communities through site visits with partner agencies and events such as the Credit for Life Fair. It has been fun to have such an interactive internship experience that has allowed me to meet so many different people.

Interning with our United Way has opened me up to a whole new world. I have really found my place in the non-profit sector. Working in the non-profit sector is something that I not only really enjoy, but it is something I now feel called to do. It is my hope that from this point on, any occupation I hold in the future will serve those in need and have meaning. As I move on from this internship, from college and into the real world, I am feeling extremely blessed. I am thankful for having had the opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful organization and for an experience that has opened up my eyes to a newly discovered passion for serving others.

- Jess Zaniewski, Marketing Intern