The needs of Colorado
Springs community outpace charity earnings The Pikes Peak United
Way has launched its 2006-07 fundraising campaign, and apparently the needs of
the community are continuing to outpace the generosity of the community. Last
year the organization raised more than $5.5 million. The money helped more than
95,000 residents of El Paso and Teller counties through 60 programs and 42 partner
agencies. But despite the remarkable support, there were requests that the United
Way couldn't fulfill. "This spring, partner agencies submitted grant requests
to United Way totaling twice the amount of monies available," said Jerry
Smith, the organization's president and CEO. "In order to adequately meet
the growing needs of the community, residents need to ‘step up' and assist
those unable to help themselves." And if you need just a little extra encouragement
to dig a little deeper into your pocket, you should know that 100 percent of all
donations made to Pikes Peak United Way go directly to underwrite programs and
services. You did read that right — 100 percent of donations are used for
programs and services. That's because of the Cornerstone Program, which underwrites
all administrative costs and the cost of fundraising for the organization. Who
ponies up the money for the Cornerstone Program? Thirty local corporations and
the El Pomar Foundation. You won't find a better ratio of donations to programs
and services than the PPUW. So, the organization is going to try to raise a whole
lot more money this time around — because the needs are greater than ever,
and traditional sources of funding are drying up. "Nonprofit agencies thought
our community — of which 67 percent are health and human service agencies
— continue to receive significant cutbacks in state and federal funding,"
Smith said. You'll likely see some volunteers from United Way giving a presentation
at your workplace or office during the coming months. They'll do a much better
job of explaining exactly what the organization does and exactly what it means
to those who receive the help. "From the very young to the very old, from
the ill to the abused and disabled, residents throughout our community are depending
on the Pikes Peak United Way to make a positive impact — to not only save
lives, but to change them as well," said Sallie Clark, chairwoman of the
El Paso County Commissioners and this year's fundraising campaign chairwoman.
If you'd like to be part of that change, call 632-1543, ext. 740 or visit www.ppunitedway.org.
Terror Threats and Business Last week, the folks at Challenger, Gray & Christmas
sent out an e-mail with just that headline as the subject. The e-mail contained
comments from the company's CEO, John A. Challenger about changes businesses might
expect as a result of added security at the nation's airports. One of the comments
that Challenger made was this: "Business has to be prepared for … a
banned items list that extends well beyond toothpaste and hair gel. The next logical
step is to ban laptops, cell phones, pagers, or any other electronic device that
potentially could be used as a detonator. "The impact of such a ban on business
productivity would be significant." After reading the e-mail I couldn't help
but wonder if maybe Challenger was selling short the adaptability of American
business ingenuity. So, I e-mailed James K. Pedderson, the company's director
of public relations, a list of questions that I hoped Challenger would have time
to answer (something I rarely do, because I prefer talking to people in person).
Pedderson is one of those P.R. professionals who actually gets it. Normally I
don't share e-mail correspondence, but in the interests of helping those poor
souls who constantly do their companies and clients a disservice, I'm going to
this time. Here is Pedderson's response: "I would like to have you talk to
John about these questions — they are good ones. John is gone for the day.
Can you hold off until Monday to talk to him? If not, I can try to get him on
his cell and have him call you. Let me know." Now that's public relations
at its professional best — and late on a Friday afternoon, mind you. I don't
think anyone should be bothered after leaving the office on Friday, and I was
playing in the American Family Insurance/Pikes Peak United Way golf tournament
Monday (you can see the winners' pictures on Page 18), so Challenger and I had
a brief telephone conversation Tuesday morning. He pointed out that we do seem
to have become dependent on our electronic/time-saving gadgets, but did say that
if they were all taken away, businesses would likely be able to adapt. He also
said it would be interesting to see what would happen if we all had to spend a
day without technology. Of course, he said, we would have to define "technology,"
since that might include the early 20th century invention called the telephone
— which we were talking on. We eventually agreed that anything post-1980
might be a good test. And he did agree with me wholeheartedly one on point: that
having a bit of mental down-time by not being "connected" 24/7 might
do more good than harm, and actually increase productivity. Of course, I still
really don't have to worry about any new travel restrictions — don't have
a laptop and am still holding out on getting a cell phone. Although the pressure
is increasing to get Mike a bit more "connected."
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