United Way of Southeast Alaska Welcomes New Board Member |
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United Way of Southeast Alaska is happy to welcome a new board member. Emil Mackey is currently a licensed Insurance Agent and owner of Country Financial, an insurance company affiliated with the Illinois Farm Bureau with other offices serving Alaska since 1980. Emil is a member of the Juneau School Board. Mr. Mackey was elected to fill a three-year term on the Board.
Emil Robert "Mackey" was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. He moved to Alaska in 2007 after finishing his Ph.D. in Public Policy, emphasizing Educational Policy & Leadership, from the University of Arkansas. Since moving to Alaska in 2007, he lived and worked in Fairbanks (2007-2009), Kotzebue (2009-2013) and Juneau (2013-Present). Some of his prior volunteer service and recognitions include serving as an AmeriCorps/VISTA volunteer (1995-1996), completing the 2007 University of Alaska Fairbanks Leadership Academy, and serving on the Juneau School Board (2015 – 2018 and 2019-Present). Emil recently served as the Co-Chair of the United Way Annual Giving Campaign.
Chair Jennifer Treadway welcomed Emil to the board, noting that since 1974, United Way of Southeast Alaska has been working to “advance the common good” by recruiting people and organizations throughout the region to identify community issues, focus a response and effect change. With its recent “Live United” movement—based on the idea that extending a hand to one improves society for all—the United Way outlines a simple strategy for those wishing to take part in Southeast Alaska’s philanthropic process: “Give, Advocate, Volunteer.” Chair Treadway noted that Mr. Mackey is a leader in the community and will be a valuable addition to the United Way board.
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This year donating has been made easy. Just click the link below.
Help Your Community Come Together in a UNITED WAY!
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Juneau C.A.R.E.S. Meal Program Update |
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The C.A.R.E.S. Meal Program is coming to an end on March 31st, 2021. Being able to continue on with original grant monies past 2020, receiving more funds from both the Juneau Community Foundation and The Glory Hall, I don’t think anyone would have foreseen almost 75,000 meals being made by 23 SE Alaska restaurants for community members in need during the span of 7 months over the 2020/21 winter in the midst of a global pandemic. Helping all walks of life, from natural disaster victims in Haines, women housed at the Aware Shelter, people suffering from homelessness, senior citizens, people quarantining, basically anyone suffering directly or indirectly from COVID-19. It has been a humbling experience to be part of such a community-wide effort to help our neighbors in need. In addition, The United Way as part of the grant was also able to assist with a short-term “Meals on Wheels" issue due to Covid along with The Salvation Army’s annual “Thanksgiving Dinner” in which the format needed to be changed due to COVID-19. The CARES Grant Program has not only helped those affected by the aforementioned issues but has also kept local restaurant doors opens and staff employed, who have suffered greatly due to Covid impacts on the local economy. I have talked to numerous restaurant owners that have stated the program has kept them in business and staff on the schedule.
The CARES grant allowed The United Way to work with numerous organizations such as The Salvation Army, The Haines School District, The Juneau School District, The Aware Shelter, City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska Seaplanes, The Alaska Marine Highway System, Juneau’s Catholic Community Services, and certainly not least of all, The Glory Hall, with Mike the driver delivering almost all of the meals, they continued to do a job they had been doing for years and then just rose to the occasion caused by a once in a lifetime pandemic.
By the numbers:
- 23 restaurants participated out of 43 contacted
- 74,612 meals will have been served by end of March 2021 with coordination from The United Way and delivered by The Glory Hall, feeding all sorts of people in need.
- Local SE Alaska businesses in Juneau and Haines will have received $895,844 for meal preparation, keeping doors open and employees working.
In closing, I think it is safe to say the COVID-19 Pandemic exacerbated existing community challenges along with creating new ones. I don’t think the numbers do justice to what the grant has meant for the community and the impact it has done. I do know that many people will be sad to see it end but will remember the power of community.
Be well and persevere.
-Kirk
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My name is Claire, and I am an AmeriCorps member serving with the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association. I serve as a health literacy specialist and am working to increase health communication resources for healthcare providers. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, I have created weekly vaccine updates for the healthcare workforce and have helped to lead a biweekly respiratory virus call with health professionals across the state. In addition, I have spent time researching and mitigating inequalities within maternal healthcare in Alaska. This has led to two main projects including helping to publish the State of Alaska Maternal Morbidity Review Toolkit 2020 and creating a Patient Advisory Council with the Alaska Perinatal Quality Collaborative to give Alaska Native women a voice in their maternal healthcare journey.
It has been an honor to work alongside healthcare professionals and to learn from the resiliency of Native Alaska women throughout this immensely challenging pandemic. I have also been lucky enough to volunteer at Juneau’s vaccine clinics since February and have included some photos!
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Save The Date!
The 2021 Annual Juneau Litter Free Community Cleanup is set for Saturday, May 1, 2021
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Rain or Shine Learning All The Time |
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It doesn't need to be complicated; getting on the floor and playing with your little one now can help form the foundation for learning later in life.
Encouraging kids to stick with a challenging puzzle or figure out how to rebuild the fort when it falls can teach kids how to persist, a valuable skill that can last a life-time.
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