Take it Outside with United Way This Summer!
BY CHRISTINE ROBERE, PRESIDENT AND CEO, UNITED WAY OF THE LAKESHORE
Get some fresh air and help your community! The Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce theme this year is “Take it Outside,” celebrating the wonderful place that we live.
Our fundraising events this summer help celebrate the beauty of our lakeshore communities. Please join us as we golf and ride to raise funds for United Way of the Lakeshore.
Ride United along the Lakeshore
United Way of the Lakeshore’s eighth annual Ride United bike event will take place June 15, 2019. Riders will bike six, 25, 50, and 100 mile routes that begin and end at the corner of Third and Clay in downtown Muskegon, also the site of the annual Taste of Muskegon event.
New this year: pick the United Way focus area that you want to raise funds to support! You can ride to raise funds for programs in Education, Income Stability, Health, or the new Bike Share program that United Way is establishing in partnership with the City of Muskegon, Muskegon County, and the Greater Muskegon Jaycees. Click here to learn more.
To learn more and get registered, visit RideMI.org. Base registration is $25, then you can choose to purchase a wicking shirt, a professional rider jersey, bike shorts, and a rider cap. Proceeds from the event, which is sponsored by DTE Energy Foundation , Nowak Machine Products and Meijer, along with ARCONIC, Mercy Health, Great Lakes Dental, and Smith, Haughey, Rice, & Roegge, will benefit programs that promote healthy, safe, and stable families in Muskegon, Newaygo, and Oceana Counties.
If you Ride United for Health, you can help someone like Tom find a healthier life.
During the United Way funding round for 2018, free community smoking cessation classes were offered to the community with referrals from the Johnson Cancer Center, the Mercy Heart Center, and local pulmonary doctors. Tom was a prime example of the success of the Lakeshore Lung program. He has tried every treatment that is available to the community with a desperate search for something that fit his needs. He attended the Freedom from Smoking class on two separate occasions. He has been successful in cutting his two pack a day habit down to two to four cigarettes per day. To most this would not be a success, but to Tom this means the world. We are confident that as he gains confidence in his success, he will continue to work on becoming a non-smoker. In the FFS class, Tom learned what his triggers where, we developed a plan that would work for him, and set him up with skills to deal with slips and relapses.
Golf United in Muskegon
Join us July 22, 2019 for our inaugural Golf United Muskegon fundraising event at the beautiful Muskegon Country Club, with proceeds benefitting United Way of the Lakeshore programs. Registration begins at 11:00 a.m., followed by lunch at 11:30 a.m., and a Shotgun Start at 1:00 p.m. Various sponsorship opportunities are available to get your team registered – check them out and get signed up online here.
Questions? Contact Stephanie Ladegast at (231) 332-4000 or stephanie@unitedwaylakeshore.org.
Here’s how your donation helps! The following story was shared with us by Read Muskegon’s Executive Director.
“Bennie first came to Read Muskegon at the age of 72 after he was referred to us by a local GED program. Bennie's reading level was too low to be able to participate and they felt he might never be able to learn to read. When we gave him the TABE test, he scored a zero. Despite that, he was determined to learn and was committed to meeting with his tutor twice a week. Over the last year, through freezing winter weather and health challenges, he rarely missed a session.
“This past August, Bennie stood in my office door while he was waiting for his tutoring session and we started reflecting on the past year. I was watching him think back on what he had accomplished and I couldn't help but think about the significance of the simple fact that he was standing in my doorway telling me how proud he was of himself. Think about what it takes as adults to tell another adult that you are proud of yourself – not to mention saying that to someone you would have been intimidated to speak to a year ago.
“When Bennie enters our center these days, he stops to talk to everyone in a way that lets you know he feels celebrated here – that he belongs. His pride is evident. While we were talking, Bennie shared with me how stressed he used to be every single day because he knew that people were taking advantage of him because he couldn't read. He said he used to be afraid he would be arrested for paying a bill late because someone had told him that was a fact and he couldn't read well enough to understand that it wasn't. He laughed and said he believed he had less grey hair today than when he started because he didn't worry as much. And then he said something I will never forget. He looked right at me and said "You know, I was 72 when I started at Read Muskegon and I'm 73 now. I learned more in my one year of working with Win than I have the whole rest of my life combined." What greater gift is there to give someone who has struggled for so long?
“When I share Bennie's story with local businesses or foundations, I sometimes wonder if they think Bennie is a worthy investment. While it feels good to help someone of Bennie's age to read, does it answer our quest to improve our economy, lower our crime rates, or improve our high school graduation rates in a community where only five percent of third graders read at grade level?
“My answer is yes. Because Bennie is a father, a grandfather, and a very proud great-grandfather. He is a role model for his family of determination, resilience, and hope. His great-grandson, who is four, is one of the beneficiaries of Bennie's hard work because they now read books together that Bennie chooses for him at our literacy center. Research tells us that this is how we break the generational cycle of illiteracy, which in turn impacts all of those other areas of societal concern.”
Annual Celebration and Meeting
United Way celebrated a great 2018 on April 24, announcing Campaign Results of $2.2 Million! 2018 Campaign Chair Gary Nelund introduced 2019 Campaign Chair D.J. Hilson, who will be building his campaign cabinet by looking for energetic Division Chairs! If you are interested in helping in this fun group, please call Kara at (231) 332-4003 or email her at kara@unitedwaylakeshore.org.
2019 Campaign Chair D.J. Hilson
New Board Members were welcomed that evening, including Ryan Bennett, Poppy Sias Hernandez, and Jodi Nichols for new three year terms; Lori Little and Sherri Anderson for new one year terms; and Kathy Herman Moore for a one year term to fill a vacated seat. We thanked retiring Board Members Dwight Vines and Kate Kesteloot Scarbrough for their dedicated service to the board.
We’re Still Filling the Truck through June 20!
Help us fill the truck with diapers and other baby products for our Littlest Community Members. Click here for drop off locations and a complete list of needs. Thank you to Two Men and a Truck for their continued support of this program!
Join us on June 21 at the Greater Muskegon Woman's Club to help sort, count and distribute baby products collected during this drive. Sign up to help anytime between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. We will also be hosting a Community Baby Shower that day for moms in need.
United Way of the Lakeshore is uniting to inspire change and build thriving communities. Our Bold Goal – 10,000 more working families meet their basic needs by 2025. For more information, contact United Way of the Lakeshore at (231) 722-3134. Learn more about United Way of the Lakeshore at UnitedWayLakeshore.org, like the organization on Facebook and receive up to date information from Twitter at twitter.com/uwlakeshore.
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