United Way of the Big Bend is embarking on a major initiative to help drive a strategic vision for affordable housing in the Big Bend with the kickoff of the first in a series of four community forums. On Tuesday, October 17^th, we will host the ALICE Housing Forum which will be a two-part panel discussion with housing experts leading the conversation.

Panelists include:

Anne Ray, Manager of the Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse at the University of Florida’s Shimberg Center for Housing Studies;
Zachary Summerlin, Policy Director at the Florida Housing Finance Corporation;
Commissioner Curtis Richardson, City of Tallahassee City Commission;
Brenda Williams, Executive Director of Tallahassee Housing Authority;
Commissioner Nick Maddox, Leon County Commission and CEO of Family Promise of the Big Bend
Moderators: United Way of the Big Bend President and CEO, Berneice Cox, and Liza McFadden of Liza & Partners.
Additional panelists with expertise in banking & real estate will join the panel discussion.

ALICE is the acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed – simply put: the working poor. On average, 54% of households in the Big Bend region cannot afford the basic costs of living. The United Way of the Big Bend’s strategic plan has five outcome areas to assist families – and access to affordable housing is one of the key outcome areas. In collaboration with Family Promise of the Big Bend, they will begin a community conversation to create a 15-year strategic plan to work on affordable housing.

As a first step, United Way of the Big Bend believes in the power of convening to learn and to help plan a future strategy. To that end, please join the conversation on Tuesday, October 17^th at the Florida State Conference Center (Turnbull Center) from 8:00am - 10:00 am, breakfast is included.

Anne Ray,

Manager of the Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse at University of Florida's Shimberg Center for Housing Studies

Zachary Summerlin,

Policy Director at the Florida Housing Finance Corporation

Commissioner

Curtis Richardson,

City of Tallahassee City Commission

Commissioner

Nick Maddox, Leon County Commission & CEO of Family Promise of the Big Bend

Brenda Williams, Executive Director of Tallahassee Housing Authority

Berniece Cox,

President & CEO of

United Way of the Big Bend

Liza McFadden,

Liza & Partners

Moderator

Event sponsored by:

Virginia Glass

and

Chip Hartung,

Coldwell Banker Hartung

Join us for this event.

This event is free of charge, but registration is required.

Please visit bit.ly/3PACeLc or click on the QR code above.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED October 23rd-October 26th

Volunteers use provided storybooks to read to infants and toddlers. Various Kids Incorporated locations to choose from in Leon, Madison, and Jefferson County.

Please use the provided link to sign-up for your day and time. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0949ACAD2FA6FFC16-44869568-read

If slots are full, please contact Samantha Sager at samantha@uwbb.org or

850-414-0856 for additional placement options.

7^th Annual Women’s Leadership Breakfast

As announced at our recent Annual Community Meeting on September 13^th, our Women’s Leadership Breakfast keynote speaker this year is Tallahassee native and FSU law school graduate, Shannon Bream. Shannon is an attorney, author, journalist, podcaster, wife, daughter, and host of Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream. She began her legal career working on racial discrimination and sexual harassment cases and is well-versed in the struggles that many in our community face daily. From humble beginnings at a local ABC affiliate in Tampa, Florida, she practiced law during the day while interning at night making coffee and answering phones. In 2007, she landed a job with Fox News at the network’s Washington, D.C., bureau, and has distinguished herself as their chief legal correspondent in the years that have followed. Bream has written several books, including two New York Times No. 1 Best Sellers. In 2018, she wrote Finding the Bright Side: The Art of Chasing What Matters, which is based on her life experience and lessons learned.

We hope you will join us on Tuesday, November 14^th at 8:30 am at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center for this incredible event.

If you are interested in sponsoring the Women’s Leadership Breakfast, please contact Elyse Thompson at elyse@uwbb.org.

When our community faces disaster, United Way of the Big Bend plays a key role in helping our neighbors in the counties we serve: Leon, Taylor, Madison, Jefferson, Wakulla, Franklin, Gadsden and Liberty counties.

As the toll that Hurricane Idalia took on the Big Bend became clear, United Way of the Big Bend extended a helping hand to the recent victims of Hurricane Idalia through the United Way of the Big Bend Disaster Relief Fund which is assisting residents in our Big Bend footprint affected by the storm.

Donations are being accepted to assist residents recently affected by the disaster, and through this fund, they will be used to meet the short-term storm-related needs and support the long-term recovery efforts. Funds will be used for Hurricane Idalia and will be made available to help with any future disasters that may come to our area.

These donations to the United Way of the Big Bend Disaster Relief Fund will be used to serve our neighbors in the hardest hit areas of the counties we serve.

To donate to the United Way of the Big Bend Disaster Relief Fund, follow this link: igfn.us/form/OSfK-g or text RELIEF2023 to 41444.

Donate Today

In addition to supporting our neighbors affected by Hurricane Idalia through our Disaster Relief Fund, we are collecting items needed for recovery after the storm through our Disaster Relief Supply Drive. If you would like to donate, please drop-off items listed above at our office at 307 E. Seventh Avenue, Tallahassee, FL 32303.

Thank you for your support!

Thank you to everyone who attended our 2023 Annual Community Meeting on Wednesday, September 13^th at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center. While the event had to be rescheduled from its original date of August 29^th due to Hurricane Idalia, we were thrilled & appreciate having over 430 people in attendance at the event this year. A big thank you to all of our event sponsors, and to the members of the Florida State University Marching Chiefs who kicked off our event with a bang.

To view the full picture gallery of the event, please visit our website at: 2023 ACM Photo Gallery

THANK YOU!

WELCOME TO OUR TEAM

We are happy to welcome Elyse Thompson to our team as our

Special Events & Affinity Groups Manager.

Elyse Thompson was born and raised in Tallahassee and is thrilled to return to her hometown to work for the United Way of the Big Bend as the Special Events & Affinity Group Manager on the Resource Development team. Elyse attended Emory University College of Arts and Science. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Quantitative Science with a concentration in Population Biology and Ecology and is currently pursuing a part-time Master of Applied Science in Spatial Analysis for Public Health degree. Elyse is passionate about advancing health equity and joined the UWBB team from work in New York doing healthcare consulting for a health-tech start-up for two years. Elyse loves to walk her 3-year-old Labrador Retriever on Tallahassee's amazing trails and enjoys a competitive game of tennis! She is a restaurant lover and home cook who loves hosting dinner parties for her friends and family.

Welcome to our team Elyse!

UPCOMING EVENTS

October 23rd-26th

week-long event in local schools

Women’s Leadership Breakfast

November 14, 2023

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