Now That's Entertainment . . . Volume 2, Issue # 13

It's About Changing Lives

The focus of my role as a sponsored representative during the four-month term (which corresponds with the campaign year - September to December) was the planning, running and wrapping up of employee workplace campaigns. The number of accounts an individual representative, of which there were fifty-five, manages varies according to relative size of the workplaces and other variables, ranging from managing a half dozen large, multi-location accounts to thirty single-location accounts with less than 100 employees each. Myself, I started with 26 accounts of different sizes, from my smallest with 20 employees to my largest with nearly 600 employees. Likewise, the amounts they raised ranged from less than $1 000 to over $100 000. As my work term progressed, I took on one additional account (a London Drugs store location) and discovered that two of my accounts decided not to run a United Way campaign in their workplace this year. One additional account decided that they would run their campaign in the New Year and one more was taken on by a different United Way representative. As is true with many workplaces, change was constant, and this experience of changing accounts was one of many.

One change in particular during my work term was going through three different direct supervisors. During the orientation week, I reported to Ken Hague, who was responsible for the sponsored representative team as a whole, and he dealt with issues such as how to get paid and how to file our expenses. He was also the one who would tell us which company was sponsoring each representative. At the end of orientation week, I was assigned to Division 15, Technology and Communications, which was headed up by Claudia Steeves. I reported directly to Claudia up until the first week of November, when she announced that she had accepted a position at the University of British Columbia as a manager for the UBC Fund. And so, her responsibilities as Resource Development Coordinator for Division 15 were handed off to Marlon Marcial, who coincidentally was the person who interviewed me initially.

I wrote about my change in my outlook on life in one of my online column articles and United Way has continued that for me. Prior to university, many people thought of me as relatively self-centered and not community minded. I only looked out for myself, and like the rest of my family, looked very carefully after my money. After taking two years of Psychology and looking into becoming a clinical psychologist, I'm beginning to see life differently. Not that I have stopped looking within, but I am beginning to look outside and realizing that there are many people who are not as well-off as I am. And now, I want to make a difference. I want to have a job that is more than just a paycheque. Interestingly, United Way fit the bill to a tee.

Prior to working at United Way, my charitable giving was restricted to giving loose change to some homeless person on East Hastings as I went about my business in Chinatown. After seeing the difference that United Way makes in our community, I'm not sure if I've been brainwashed or what, but I decided to make a major contribution to this year's campaign and help to make our community a better place to live. I decided to give at what United Way calls 'the leadership level,' which is $500 and above. I looked deep into my heart, and originally I was planning on giving $100, but the more that I thought about it, the more I realized that I could do more and so I did.

I believe I have grown leaps and bounds because of working with United Way. Not only have I grown on a personal level, but also in regards to the Arts Co-op Program and ultimately my future career, I have grown professionally. The skills that I have gained and/or have ameliorated during this four-month work term will prove to be invaluable to me in my future job searches and with the career I will ultimately choose to pursue.


	Volume 2 Issue # 13 December 23, 2002 "It's About People - Part One"
	The first of a multi-part series. I will take you on a journey through my 16-week experience as a sponsored representative for the United Way this past fall. I'm hoping it will give you a glimpse of what it's like to work for a charitable organization and a peek at the obstacles associated with the fundraising industry.
Site Promotion		It's About People People generally think of United Way as an umbrella organization. The United Way, through a volunteer Board of Directors and partnerships with the network of agencies (which include those that receive and those that do not receive funding from the United Way), identifies human care needs in our community. Combining the gifts received through direct mail, corporate donations and workplace campaigns, United Way distributes funds to its member agencies, funding a broad range of programs and services to address the interconnected needs throughout the Lower Mainland. With these gifts, United Way has helped Norlita and her family, Sheila, Nick and his three girls, and John who are showcased in the 2002 United Way Campaign Video and in a brief description here

	United Way of the Lower Mainland, which although affiliated with United Way / Centraide Canada, is completely autonomous, has used a variety of slogans in the past including, "With You We Can" and "Building Community Together." This year's campaign slogan was "It's About People." This statement sums up everything that United Way represents and everything United Way (and its employees) does. "It's About People" applies throughout the campaign cycle. First, from my end (the fundraising side), I met with volunteer employee campaign coordinators (i.e., ECCs) and their committees to plan their individual workplace campaigns. Second, they, in turn, asked their fellow employees to open their wallets, and give from the heart. Third, at the fund distribution end, these gifts are then collected and given to agencies in our community that reach out to help those in need.
	It's About Changing Lives The focus of my role as a sponsored representative during the four-month term (which corresponds with the campaign year - September to December) was the planning, running and wrapping up of employee workplace campaigns. The number of accounts an individual representative, of which there were fifty-five, manages varies according to relative size of the workplaces and other variables, ranging from managing a half dozen large, multi-location accounts to thirty single-location accounts with less than 100 employees each. Myself, I started with 26 accounts of different sizes, from my smallest with 20 employees to my largest with nearly 600 employees. Likewise, the amounts they raised ranged from less than $1 000 to over $100 000. As my work term progressed, I took on one additional account (a London Drugs store location) and discovered that two of my accounts decided not to run a United Way campaign in their workplace this year. One additional account decided that they would run their campaign in the New Year and one more was taken on by a different United Way representative. As is true with many workplaces, change was constant, and this experience of changing accounts was one of many. One change in particular during my work term was going through three different direct supervisors. During the orientation week, I reported to Ken Hague, who was responsible for the sponsored representative team as a whole, and he dealt with issues such as how to get paid and how to file our expenses. He was also the one who would tell us which company was sponsoring each representative. At the end of orientation week, I was assigned to Division 15, Technology and Communications, which was headed up by Claudia Steeves. I reported directly to Claudia up until the first week of November, when she announced that she had accepted a position at the University of British Columbia as a manager for the UBC Fund. And so, her responsibilities as Resource Development Coordinator for Division 15 were handed off to Marlon Marcial, who coincidentally was the person who interviewed me initially. I wrote about my change in my outlook on life in one of my online column articles and United Way has continued that for me. Prior to university, many people thought of me as relatively self-centered and not community minded. I only looked out for myself, and like the rest of my family, looked very carefully after my money. After taking two years of Psychology and looking into becoming a clinical psychologist, I'm beginning to see life differently. Not that I have stopped looking within, but I am beginning to look outside and realizing that there are many people who are not as well-off as I am. And now, I want to make a difference. I want to have a job that is more than just a paycheque. Interestingly, United Way fit the bill to a tee. Prior to working at United Way, my charitable giving was restricted to giving loose change to some homeless person on East Hastings as I went about my business in Chinatown. After seeing the difference that United Way makes in our community, I'm not sure if I've been brainwashed or what, but I decided to make a major contribution to this year's campaign and help to make our community a better place to live. I decided to give at what United Way calls 'the leadership level,' which is $500 and above. I looked deep into my heart, and originally I was planning on giving $100, but the more that I thought about it, the more I realized that I could do more and so I did. I believe I have grown leaps and bounds because of working with United Way. Not only have I grown on a personal level, but also in regards to the Arts Co-op Program and ultimately my future career, I have grown professionally. The skills that I have gained and/or have ameliorated during this four-month work term will prove to be invaluable to me in my future job searches and with the career I will ultimately choose to pursue.