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The Pre-K for PA Campaign was present for the 2018 Christmas Tree Lighting in the Capitol Rotunda. Santa was kind enough to let us know the Pre-K for PA supporters are on the nice list this year.
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Pre-K for PA ornaments fill the Capitol Christmas tree
The Pre-K for PA campaign
organized the creation of thousands of original ornaments crafted by pre-k students from all corners of the commonwealth this month to help decorate the Pennsylvania Capitol Christmas tree.
Thursday, dozens of pre-k students joined Governor Wolf at the tree lighting ceremony to celebrate the start of the holiday season in the Capitol.
"Seeing young children enjoy the magic of the holidays is a reminder of their optimism and potential," said Governor Wolf. "Hand-crafted ornaments created by our youngest Pennsylvanians will adorn family Christmas trees across our commonwealth, demonstrating the importance of pre-k and lifelong learning."
Today only 39 percent of eligible children in Pennsylvania attend high-quality, publicly funded pre-k, leaving more than 106,000 children without the benefit of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, due to limited state funding.
A large body of research shows that children who attend high-quality preschool:
- Enter kindergarten with stronger literacy, language, math and social/emotional skills;
- Are less likely to need special education services, less likely to repeat grades, and more likely to graduate and enroll in college;
- will see stronger employment opportunities and increased earning potential over a lifetime; and,
- Are less likely to commit juvenile and adult crimes.
No child gets a do-over and every dollar invested provides access to a high-quality pre-k experience, which reaps significant cost savings in the future in the form of less public spending on special education, social welfare programs, and criminal justice.
UWP is proud to be a principal partner in the Pre-K for PA campaign, and we continue to advocate for 3- and 4-year olds to have access to high-quality early learning! If you are in Harrisburg in the next few weeks, stop by the Capitol and check out the beautiful Christmas tree!
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United Ways encouraged to submit comments to the FCC to consider 2-1-1 for national suicide prevention hotline
Currently, there are studies being conducted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations (SAMHSA), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) about assigning a three-digit number to a national suicide prevention hotline. UWW, along with United Ways across the country, are advocating to ensure 2-1-1 is considered as a partner for the suicide prevention hotline.
In late July, Congress passed the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act of 2018. As a result of this bill, the FCC, SAMHSA and VA will provide recommendations to Congress about increasing the effectiveness and accessibility of the national suicide hotline, including the feasibility of designating a three-digit dialing code for the hotline. The FCC has opened a public comment period related to this bill which closes on Monday, December 10th. UWW has submitted comments and is encouraging other United Ways who support 2-1-1 to submit comments as well.
The volume of comments is important and we hope all our members will decide to submit. UWP is submitting comments and has adapted a template letter which was sent to our members. If you are interested in submitting comments, but do not have the template, please reach out to
Maggie. We will continue to monitor the movement of these studies and the role 2-1-1 may have with the national suicide prevention hotline.
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PA 2-1-1 implements new secret shopper program for 2-1-1 calls
PA 2-1-1 hired Xzam Corp., a company used by 2-1-1s across the country for quality monitoring, to begin a "secret shopper" program for all 2-1-1s in Pennsylvania. For several years, Xzam Corp. has already been conducting a regional secret shopper program for PA 2-1-1 Southwest.
Beginning in December, the company will place calls to each regional 2-1-1 center, and score those calls on a consistent rubric. The scores and recordings of the calls scored will be provided to 2-1-1 center directors for review and use in coaching their teams. The recordings and scores will also be shared with the PA 2-1-1 Operations Director for training and calibration across all of PA 2-1-1's regional providers.
The rubric used by Xzam Corp. in Pennsylvania is consistent with the rubric used in other states for 2-1-1 calls. It will score the 2-1-1 resource navigator's performance in several areas, including the empathy of the resource navigator, the level of knowledge the navigator demonstrates to the individual calling 2-1-1 for help, and the appropriateness of the referral which the navigator provides to the caller.
The Secret Shopper program is being paid for from the state funding for 2-1-1 in order to help increase the quality and consistency of the 2-1-1 service across Pennsylvania.
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Resource development webinars: Salesforce Philanthropy Cloud and planned giving
United Way Worldwide has planned a webinar for United Way CEOs and Board Chairs to discuss the SalesForce Philanthropy Cloud on December 17th at 4:00PM. Engaging employees through individualized content and engagements through Digital Services and Salesforce Philanthropy Cloud is intended to help United Way thrive in this new environment. Learn more about Digital Services and Salesforce Philanthropy Cloud and ways you can be on the cutting edge of transformational philanthropy. Register Here
PANO is hosting a Planned Giving webinar on December 12th at 1:30pm.
This webinar will offer a review of the major planned giving instruments so that charitable organizations have a basic understanding of the principal forms of planned giving opportunities for their donors. It will provide the language and the concepts to discuss possible gifts with potential donors but will return to the ones that make the most sense to emphasize in starting a planned giving program.
The webinar is $40 for PANO members and $80 for non-members. You can Register Here. United Way Worldwide has planned a webinar for United Way CEOs and Board Chairs to discuss the SalesForce Philanthropy Cloud on December 17th at 4:00PM. Engaging employees through individualized content and engagements through Digital Services and Salesforce Philanthropy Cloud is intended to help United Way thrive in this new environment. Learn more about Digital Services and Salesforce Philanthropy Cloud and ways you can be on the cutting edge of transformational philanthropy. Register Here
PANO is hosting a Planned Giving webinar on December 12th at 1:30pm.
This webinar will offer a review of the major planned giving instruments so that charitable organizations have a basic understanding of the principal forms of planned giving opportunities for their donors. It will provide the language and the concepts to discuss possible gifts with potential donors but will return to the ones that make the most sense to emphasize in starting a planned giving program.
The webinar is $40 for PANO members and $80 for non-members. You can register here .
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UWP previews 2019 public policy priorities via webinar
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UWP has scheduled a webinar for Monday, December 17th, 2018 at 2:30pm to discuss UWP Policy Priorities and our agenda for the 2019-2020 legislative season. During this webinar, we will also be able to answer questions and take feedback from our members on what may be helpful in your communities. We would love it if you could plan to attend!
Please register in advance. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. The webinar will be recorded and posted for members to view.
If you missed our End of Year Giving Webinar, please feel free to watch our recording!
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Local United Ways make leadership transitions
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Centre County United Way, United Way of Chester County, United Way of Washington County, and United Way of the Bradford Area are all currently undergoing leadership transitions or anticipating to do so within 2019.
Centre County United Way Executive Director and current board chair of United Way of Pennsylvania,
Tammy Gentzel, will be retiring effective July 31, 2019. Tammy has been with Centre County United Way since 2010. During her tenure as Executive Director, Centre County United Way raised and distributed over 16.5 million dollars.
Barbara Murphy, President of United Way of Washington County, will be retiring at the end of January 2019. Barbara has been with United Way of Washington County since 2007 and has been President since 2009. Barbara has been an active and dedicated member of the Pennsylvania United Way network and has shared her passion and knowledge for many years.
United Way of Chester County President and CEO,
Claudia Hellebush will retire January 1st, 2019. Claudia has been with United Way of Chester County for 23 years and has served as president and CEO for 15 years. Claudia led the switch from a traditional fundraising model to a community impact model and is well known for her work in Chester County. The position of President and CEO will be taken over by
Christopher Saello who previously served as Senior Vice President since 2010. Christopher was chosen from a pool of nationwide applicants for his
business acumen, knowledge of the community, and conviction to the important work of United Way.
United Way of the Bradford Area has named
Paige Labrozzi as the new Director after the departure of Mandi Wilton-Davis in September.
Paige was chosen to bring leadership, energy and creativity to the organization. She worked at Journey Health Systems prior to joining the United Way Network.
Welcome to our new leadership and a fond farewell to those that have been a positive guiding force for United Ways in Pennsylvania. Enjoy your new opportunities and retirements!
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Celebrating 30 years of United Way career service?
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United Way Worldwide will be hosting two ceremonies to honor those who have served 30 years with United Way. The first will be at the Great Rivers Conference and the second will be at the Finance, Talent, and Technology Forum.
Employees who will have completed a cumulative total of 30 years or more with United Way by January 31, 2019 and had not previously been recognized by the "30 Years of United Way Career Service Awards" are eligible to apply for recognition of their service. If you are unable to attend the ceremony, UWW will ship your award to the address indicated on your application.
Applications must be received by January 9, 2019 to be eligible for the 2019 awards. Please fill out
this form and submit it to UWW.
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