Women United affinity group of United Way of Knox County, Ohio
Newsletter March & April 2021
If you have not renewed your membership, please take moment to do so by clicking the Women United Dues link below and selecting the membership level of your choice.
Stay up-to-date with Women United events and activities by visiting our website and Facebook.
A Brief Update from our United Way Office

Our Program Director, Elizabeth Doolittle, will be leaving her position at United Way of Knox County Ohio, Inc. on April 30, 2021. Elizabeth returned to her hometown of Mount Vernon and Knox County in 2018 when she joined the team at United Way.

Elizabeth asked for the opportunity to thank Women United and the United Way community for the experience. “I am grateful to have contributed to Knox County through my work at United Way. Thank you for welcoming me and allowing me to promote the programs and partnerships in our community. I hope that my organization skills and ability to create structured processes will leave a lasting impression.”

During this transition, please contact lindsay@uwayknox.org for administrative communications with United Way. She will be able to direct you to the most appropriate staff member. Our Executive Director, Kelly Brenneman, will reach out to you with updated contact information when the organization has trained the perfect candidate to manage program relationships.
Women United Volunteers
April 18 to April 24 is National Volunteer Week. As a community organization, United Way relies on volunteers to help us reach our mission to strategically connect partners and resources to community needs in order to measurably impact the quality of the lives of Knox County residents.
 
In 2019, we set up a process to document and measure the contributions off our community volunteers. With this process in place, we have exciting volunteer data to share. In 2020, despite a challenging year, United Way of Knox County Ohio, Inc. recorded of 1,002 volunteer hours!

Our affinity group, Women United, is composed of active, motivated ladies who generously give back to their community. Before the group's engagement shifted to a virtual format for the majority of 2020, Women United committed 32 hours of volunteer engagement. Women United’s passionate women offer their time, talent, and treasure to improve lives throughout Knox County. They have not been deterred from that mission. The group includes ladies who volunteer for other United Way initiatives including our After School Tutoring and Enrichment programs, Poverty Simulation, and our Community Investment Process. While we will not gather for a volunteer project as a group until we can safely do so, our Women United members continue to make an impact individually. We look forward to gathering as a group in person, but for now, we can register on VolunteerKnox.com and continue individual efforts. Women United members are also encouraged to join the Women United volunteer group on VolunteerKnox.com by visiting this link below.
 Future Women United opportunities will be shared through VolunteerKnox.com. By registering to the group, you can be the first to know about upcoming opportunities.
On March 22, Knox County ROX facilitators gathered virtually to share resources and support each other in supporting healthy relationship skills for girl’s in our community. Each facilitator implements the program in her own school and United Way’s Women United supports the participation fee for girls. United Way staff organized the meeting so that the facilitators from various school districts could share their experiences and hopes for the future of the program in Knox County.

The facilitators emphasized a desire to continue to meet as a group. The next meeting will be at the end of the school year and offer facilitators the setting to reflect on the 2020-2021 program and plan for the next school year as a group. Additionally, United Way provided a central contact list to list past and potential ROX Guest Speakers. This will enable facilitators to plan their program visitors, track past speakers, and coordinate with one another so that speakers are not contacted by multiple groups in the same year.

The facilitators also discussed the idea of offering summer programming in the future. ROX is an evidence-base program that promotes empowerment including verbal and physical self-defense. The program includes 20-lessons that could be promoted in a school setting or in a day-camp format. We have are excited support our facilitators in making this goal a possibility.

The end of the school year is swiftly approaching. ROX cocurricular program is also wrapping up. Over 75 girls participated in Ruling Our experiences this school year. Due to restrictions related to the pandemic, some of the local schools and facilitators did not implement a ROX program this school year. Many of them anticipate starting ROX back up next year. A summary of the program participants supported by United Way is provided below.

10 girls at Centerburg Elementary School
11 girls at Centerburg Middle School
8 girls at Fredericktown Elementary School
18 girls at Pleasant Street Elementary School in Mount Vernon
28 girls at the Knox County Career Center including Junior Cosmetology Lab and the Junior Early Childhood Education Lab
Additional students in the Senior Knox County Career Center Cosmetology Lab. These girls started the ROX program last spring but were unable to finish the program due to school closures.

1 Facilitator Certification Training fee
1 Facilitator Recertification Training fee
1 additional Facilitator Certification Training fee was supported by our United Way Partner Agency New Directions

Recently one of our facilitators shared feedback from her program participants. Girls were asked to share their ROX takeaways in short notes. The following were some of their responses:

I have learned to always try and be confident and be supportive and not mean.
It's ok to show feelings.
Have sympathy for others.
Using I statements to express yourself. Knowing your tone. (passive, aggressive, assertive)
Treat others the way you want to be treated.
Self love. Not to let people get to you with what they say.
How to appropriately behave in specific situations involving both men and women.
How to take care of myself as a person.
I like learning about my assertive rights.
To be assertive.
Knowing I'm not alone.
ROX can be a safe place.
Learning to be assertive and not be aggressive.
How to approach others. Who I can count on. Listen and support others.
Getting a break from the normal day is refreshing and helpful.
Who to talk to. How to be assertive.
Not everyone is your best friend.
Ways to be more assertive and that I have more people who support me than I thought.
Be genuine to everybody because you don't know what they're going through.
There is a difference between aggressive and assertive.
I have learned to be confident with myself and to not be aggressive.
Online reactions. Finding someone to support you and being there for someone.
Being assertive.
4 different ways of communicating.

Women United helps to make ROX a safe place for girls in our community to learn these take-aways and implement them in their daily lives.
Ladies!

We’ve missed you! I hope you are all staying safe and healthy during this pandemic.
I just wanted to let you know that the Power of the Purse will not be held in 2021 due to attendance restrictions. Can you imagine not having 240 ladies? I can’t! One of the best things about this event is the noise, music, and laughter that only a room full of ladies can create! Mark your calendar for May 6, 2022, at 5:30 P.M. at the Gallagher Centre. More information will be provided closer to the event.
Remember to save your old purses for Bag Lady Boulevard and we’ll see you in the Spring of 2022!
On April 1, our FamilyWize program merged with SingleCare to improve prescription savings for individuals and families.

FamilyWize, which has been helping United Way communities save on their prescription medications for over a decade, is officially combining with SingleCare, a national leader in prescription savings cards. FamilyWize is now known as SingleCare!

SingleCare will offer competitive discounts, can be used like a coupon and offers pricing transparency. There is also a loyalty program available for those who wish to use it. Local Pharmacies in Knox County accept this discount card.

United Way of Knox County has promoted FamilyWize 2006. Since its introduction 14 years ago, Knox County families have saved over $646,721 on prescriptions by using the FamilyWize discount. In 2020, Knox County residents used the discount to claim $7,646.65 in prescription savings. Our program director used the card to save $39 on her fall flu shot at a local pharmacy! 

The old cards that say FamilyWize will still work! New cards will also be available soon. They will be plastic and look like this. Even though they have the Walgreens logo on them, they will work at many local pharmacies including Kroger, Rite Aid, CVS, and Walmart. 

If you would like to sign up for SingleCare or download a card, visit our website! uwayknox.org/FamilyWize You can also access savings by downloading the SingleCare app to your smartphone. 

Single Care is available to everyone regardless of citizenship, insurance status, health conditions, or income level. Everyone qualifies to use it for free.
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Amy Smart with Riverside Recovery -