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Executive Director's Corner
The Perfect Size
"Big enough yet small enough" is how you will often hear me describing our Greater Kingsport community. My husband and I grew up in a small town in Alabama. When we first moved here many years ago, we thought Kingsport was BIG. After all, it had a McDonalds. (I hope you're chuckling here along with me.) After moving away for an international assignment and also to a large city in a nearby state, we thought Kingsport was small. With my varying perspectives of Kingsport over the years, I really think the size of Kingsport is "just right!"
From a United Way perspective, I love the perfect size of Kingsport. With the great collaboration of generous donors in our community, we are resourced to be "big enough" to try to make root cause changes, but small enough where it doesn't take forever to get the critical leaders in the same room to discuss an issue.
I think the perfect size of Kingsport also makes us uniquely suited to
collaboration. I think the words
community and
collaboration go hand in hand.
Collaboration can be defined as 1) to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor and 2) to cooperate with an agency or instrumentality with which one is not immediately connected.
The 2015 Week of Caring was a beautiful picture collage of collaboration with over 1000 volunteers working with "sweat equity" to improve lives in our community. From adventures with the horses at Small Miracles to preparing backpacks for Big Brothers Big Sisters work was accomplished, new friendships were formed, and results were accomplished.
So, what makes a community great? Great communities don't just happen. They begin when community leaders listen, collect facts, and set a positive vision. Great communities only happen when people listen and choose to get involved, to take action, to volunteer. Where people collaborate to make the community a better place than any one group could do on its own. I'm proud to be a part of the Greater Kingsport community where people give, advocate, and volunteer to make the community truly great!
Live United!
Executive Director
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United
WE READ
Summer Book Club Celebration
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The United WE READ Summer Book Club provides more than 600 children an age-appropriate book to read over the summer to help prevent summer learning loss. This year, Kindergarten through 3rd graders read a book and completed a learning activity as their ticket into the dinosaur-themed celebration. In addition to the learning activities, arts and crafts, and snack, United WE READ was privileged to welcome local paleontologist Steven Wallace and chemical engineers from Eastman.
Thank you to the following Greater Kingsport Afterschool Network partners for their support in building a literacy-rich community: Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Tri-Cities, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kingsport, Boy Scouts Sequoyah Council, Girls Inc. of Kingsport, Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians, Greater Kingsport Family YMCA, Kingsport Parks and Recreation, Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Small Miracles Therapeutic Equestrian Center, and the YMCA.
For more information on United WE READ or the Summer Book Club, please contact Megan Miller. Visit our Facebook page to view the 2015 Summer Book Club photo album!
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Girls Inc.
thank United
WE READ
for the Summer Book Club
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| UPCOMING EVENTS
Regional Campaign Kickoff hosted by
United Way of Washington County TN
Thursday, August 13
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
Holiday Inn Johnson City
Contact
Brenda Overbey to register
Save the Date: Community Kickoff
Wednesday, September 9
7:30 - 8:30 AM
Kingsport Chamber of Commerce
UWGK Module 1 Training:
Community Impact Initiatives
Join us to learn more about UWGK!
You are welcome to bring your lunch!
UWGK Conference Room
Upcoming Dates:
Wednesday, September 23 UWGK Module 2 Training: Community Impact Agencies Join us to learn more about UWGK! You are welcome to bring your lunch! Contact Stephanie Crandall to register 11:30am - 1:00pm UWGK Conference Room Upcoming Dates: Wednesday, August 26 Wednesday, October 28 |
Visit 2-1-1 Contact Concern of Northeast TN's
new website for free information about health and human services!
Visit
KATS website for information pm curb-to-curb transportation
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Small Miracles Therapeutic Equestrian Center
UWGK Member Agency
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Small Miracles was founded through love to enhance the physical, emotional, social, and cognitive growth of individuals with special needs through equine-assisted activities and therapies. Currently UWGK funds three of the Small Miracles programs: Equine-Assisted Activities & Therapies (for students with special needs), Equine-Assisted Positive Youth Development (for at risk children & youth) and Horses for Heroes (serving our nation's military).
Small Miracles Equine-Assisted Activities & Therapies program enhances the physical, emotional, social, and cognitive growth of individuals with special needs through both mounted and unmounted equine-assisted activities.
The Positive Youth Development program enhances the lives of children and youth at-risk by developing positive character and life skills through a strength-based program utilizing unmounted, experiential equine-assisted activities.
Small Miracles newest program, Horses for Heroes, mission is to empower the lives of military veterans by developing effective and productive character, life, and work skills through a strength-based program utilizing unmounted, experiential, equine-assisted activities. The clients served at Small Miracles come to a safe place where they aren't told that they can't do something, but instead are encouraged to try new activities.
Small Miracles is located at 1026 Rock Springs Drive Kingsport, TN 37664. Sherri Russell, Executive Director encourages everyone to come tour the facility and meet their 14 horses. You can reach Sherri at 423-349-1111 or
by visiting their website.
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Girl Scouts of Southern Appalachians Gold Award 2015
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We recently celebrated with 34 Girl Scouts as they received Girl Scouting's highest and most prestigious honor, the Gold Award. To earn this award, a girl must complete key components of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience to gain the skills she needs to plan and implement her Gold Award project. After she has fulfilled the initial requirement, each girl spends a minimum of 80 hours on her project: identifying a community need, investigating it thoroughly, building a team, creating a plan, presenting it, gathering feedback, taking the proposed actions, and educating and inspiring others. Girls collaborate with community organizations, build alliances with adults and mentors, and influence people to become part of the effort so the project is sustainable and continues after a girl graduates high school. Girl Scout Gold Award projects improve our communities by
creating lasting change
.
Ashley Hazlett, of Gray, TN brought together teens from her school with seniors at Preston Place to share their experiences with one another.
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The 2015 Week of Caring kicked off June 15 with the traditional Regional Project, which was co-sponsored this year by United Way of Washington Count
y TN and Regions Bank. Local United Ways and volunteers from companies and orga
nizations came together to improve the lives of program participants of the Boys & Girls Club of Johnson City. As a collective group, the volunteers assisted the Boys & Girls Club by painting a mural, assembling and staining benches, landscaping as well as other projects.
Thanks to the support from local companies and organizations that provided over 1,000 volunteers, (Eastman, Domtar, Trane, Appalachian Power, Jacobs, TEC Industrial, Brock, Eastman Credit Union, Bank of Tennessee, TriSummit Bank, Indian Path Medical, Dent K. Burke and Associates, Rodefer Moss, PEAK, Kingsport Chamber and SHOUT Leadership) 110 projects involving light construction and maintenance services and landscaping were completed.
Visit our Facebook page to view the 2015 Week of Caring photo album!
   
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