United Way Director: Trials and Triumphs: Wild Turkey Festival

Sunday, May 13, 2012

United Way of Vinton County Investments

PRESS RELEASE

May 13, 2012

United Way of Vinton County Invests $18,000 in Local Organizations

The United Way of Vinton County distributed $18,000 in investments to local non-profit partners in April, 2012—an increase of $6,000 over 2011. Applications were received from eight groups; seven received investments, according to UWVC Director Joy Dickerson. “Our United Way Board had to make some hard decisions, not just about which groups to invest in, but also how much each partner would receive out of our limited funds.” A subcommittee of the board reviewed all of the applications and then made recommendations to the full board. The recommendations were ratified after much discussion at a meeting of the entire board. “Every board member showed up for the investment meeting—it’s that important.”

The following groups received funding this year: Care United Methodist Outreach, Truth Food Pantry, Shepherd’s House, Vinton County Senior Citizens, R.S.V.P., the American Red Cross of Southeast Ohio, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Southeast Ohio. “The Red Cross and Big Brothers/Big Sisters are located in Athens, but they provide direct service to Vinton Countians.” Dickerson noted that the American Red Cross of Southeast Ohio provided assistance to many county residents following the heavy rains that fell in the area in the last two weeks, a reflection of United Way of Vinton County’s funding at work right here. The investment in Big Brothers/Big Sisters supports a student mentoring program that has been operating without funding for the past year. “We’re so happy to assist that program. Mentoring helps the mentor as well as the person being mentored—everybody wins with mentoring.”

Board members Jeff Griffiths and Emmett Joy work the United Way booth at the recent Wild Turkey Festival--in all,
six of eight board members worked the festival; a board member was present for almost every hour of the event.
This is a Commoner Journal photo--see more pix at thecommonerjournal.com.

The United Way of Vinton County continues to focus investment on the most basic needs of our community—food, clothing, shelter, and safety. “Our investments in the community were higher this year than in the past, but not as high as I wanted,” board member Linda Donahoe said. “I hope that as people learn more about the United Way of Vinton County, donations will increase and we can fund a wider range of activities,” she added. The recent Split-the-Pot fundraiser at the Wild Turkey Festival was an effort to increase people’s awareness of the United Way. “We made a small sum from the split-the-pot, and the winner went home happy, but the most important thing was that we met and spoke with so many people about the role of the United Way of Vinton County in the community, Donahoe said.

Dickerson is happy with this year’s investment decisions, but hopes to increase community involvement next year. “Next year, I hope we can invite some people from the community to participate in making investment decisions.” Dickerson would be glad to speak with anyone who has questions about the United Way of Vinton County and how it works. She can be reached at 740-596-9811 (leave a message) or by email at united_way_of_vinton_county@yahoo.com.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Live from the Wild Turkey Festival 1

The significance of this photo will become clear by the end of this post.

Ridin' the rides at McArthur, Ohio's
Wild Turkey Festival, May, 2012;
more photos at end of post

Hot and muggy...banks of clouds rolling in with rumblings...but passing over our little street festival here in the metropolis (population 1300) of McArthur, Ohio. The United Way of Vinton County is having its first event in more than a decade as we wake the sleeping beauty organization and get her up and walking. In short, we have a booth at McArthur's annual Wild Turkey Festival (and yes, the initials are WTF), which coincides not with breaking out bottles of Wild Turkey liquor, but with wild turkey hunting season. There's not much meat on them, but they're apparently fun to hunt.

Our booth is in the "craft tent," although no crafts are being sold there this year. The booth next to us is selling fanatically pro-gun t-shirts, catty-cornered to us is the rifle raffle booth, and just down the way is hunter's paradise bed'n'breakfast and the mildly vigilante Community Crime Watch. United Way and the local community college are strange bedfellows with these neighbors, but true to the spirit of this place, we all just get along anyway.

Good-heartedness is part of the nature of this underpopulated rural county. The local pro-gun secret-KKK-member redneck will still stop and change your tire for you, or pull over to the side of the road to help you carry a piece of furniture up the porch steps, or chip in a quarter for your cup of coffee at the Quick Stop if your're short on change. That's the side I focus on. That's the side I'm depending on for United Way of Vinton County.
  Everyone's been a client at some point in their lives...gotten food from a pantry, spent a night or two with the domestic violence shelter, had a ride from the RSVP volunteers, or had kids in the mentoring program at school, or had a mom or dad get Meals on Wheels from the Senior Center. This is the United Way. These are the non-profits we fund, serving the young, the old, the sick, the hungry, the scared, the needy in our community. I am counting on local good-heartedness to establish a tradition of local funding for the United Way.
  The Wild Turkey Festival is hot, loud, countrified, well-gunned, cammo-clad, confederate flagged, stroller pushing, corn-dog eating, country music listening, karaoke singing, pick the dropped sucker up off the ground and give it back to your kid doing, rides whirling, political glad-handing, neighbor greeting, good old fashioned fun. The media is different from 100 years ago, when people came in by rail from neighboring towns and the parades featured horses instead of SUVs, and we have the illusion of Little-House-on-the-Prairie wholesomeness, but I bet the feeling and mood are more similar than different.
I suggested a booth at the festival two months ago at a board meeting, wondering which way they would go. The UWVC board is pretty genteel, but also pragmatic. The support for the booth was enthusiastic (if not unanimous) and every single board member who committed to something for the booth carried through with it. As I write, the booth is being staffed by board members--there will be a board member there for every hour of the festival (working either in pairs or with me). And they are selling split-the-pot tickets and chatting with old friends and new and chucking little babies under the chin, and ignoring tattoos, and actually having a good time.
  The support of the board has been wonderful. I am struck again and again by how badly they really do want to wake Sleeping Beauty with a big old smack on the lips and get our little local United Way on everyone's agenda. Their support makes it fun for me, too, and completely removes the sense of martyrdom with which I anticipated the project.
  We may make some money from our split-the-pot raffle, but the real goal is to talk to people about what we do. To switch children's literature references for the third time, we are the littlest Who from Horton Hears a Who. We're shouting strong and together: "We are HERE! United Way of Vinton County is HERE!"