COVER STORY

Live United: Sioux Empire United Way kicks off 2010 campaign
Sioux Empire United Way Board of Directors
Quick Facts about the Sioux Empire United Way
2010 Sioux Empire United Way funded organizations
Donation breakdown

Live United: Sioux Empire United Way kicks off 2010 campaign

by Amy Smolik
Marketing & Communications Manager

Sioux Empire United Way hopes to inspire people to make changes and help themselves with a new program called Genesis, the initiative for the 2010 campaign, which kicks-off Sept. 11.

Genesis is a long-term solution to poverty, SEUW Executive Director Jay Powell said. It is targeted at families that are homeless or move often with no stable home in which to live.

Genesis is being administered through The Community Outreach, an ecumenical non-profit organization that fills in the gaps left by the public welfare systems. Genesis matches trained volunteer mentors with an at-risk family. Over an 18-week period, mentors and the participating family meet to set housing, financial, parenting and other long-term goals. Families also receive six months of follow-up after they complete the program.

LIVE UNITED: We are all people. Connected. United. And when we reach out a hand to one, we can influence the condition of all. That's what it means to LIVE UNITED.

Since November 2008, more than 12 families have taken part in Genesis in a pilot format. "The results so far have been amazing," said Angela Hyde, Community Outreach Executive Director. "It's really validated what we've always known: that change doesn't happen without relationships."

Hyde said the program is not another case management program, but rather a way to empower people to do things themselves and to utilize the services that are already in existence. For many of these families, an unexpected bill could challenge their budget and cause them to move, which often means staying with friends or family, in a shelter or in a motel. Hyde said the program has three goals: get families into permanent housing and keep them there; have them participate in financial literacy and parenting education; and let them know of resources that are available to help them.

Statistics show homelessness is a growing challenge in Sioux Falls. During the 2008-09 school year, 1,024 kids in the Sioux Falls School District were homeless. The Sioux Falls School District identifies a homeless child as doubled-up, living in emergency shelters, domestic violence shelters, transitional housing, motels, campgrounds, cars, parks, abandoned buildings, public spaces, awaiting foster care, substandard housing, abandoned in hospitals, and migrant families that meet the above definition.

According to the HELP!Line Center, in 2008, 5,257 people in the Sioux Falls area sought resources for financial assistance and support, a 25 percent increase from the year before. More than 2,000 households currently receive housing assistance through the Sioux Falls Housing & Redevelopment Commission; an additional 3,027 households are on a waiting list and it can take as much as two years to reach the top of this list.
The Genesis program is modeled after a project in Denver, which was successful in keeping 85 percent of its participants in the same location for at least one year.

"Genesis is a fantastic program, it will help homeless children and rehabilitate families," said 2010 Campaign Chair Scott Lawrence, Lawrence & Schiller. "It's teaching them to fish instead of giving them a fish."

Genesis is just one of 98 programs that Sioux Empire United Way will fund in 2010 if the organization is able to meet its fundraising goal.

"Nearly 100 local volunteers reviewed the needs of our partner agencies this past spring," Lawrence said. "When setting this year's goal, we wanted to be sure that the dollars would be available to meet the needs of the Sioux Empire."

The 2010 campaign is a different campaign than in past years, organizers say, because of the economy and the economic pressures it puts on people. The SEUW was one of very few United Ways throughout the country that made their goals for 2009, largely due to the economy. Last year the community raised more than $9.3 million.

Powell attributes the SEUW's continued success to three major reasons: first, Sioux Falls' generous community, which includes 31,000 givers – 6,000 more than many communities of this size; the enthusiasm of the more than 1,000 volunteers, again more than many communities; and lastly, the hardworking SEUW staff.

"People like to help" Powell said. "There is a tradition of giving in Sioux Falls and the volunteers know the dollars are well-spent."

The 2010 Campaign will kick-off Sept. 11 at 8 a.m. at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. This year's campaign goal will be announced at this event.

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Sioux Empire United Way Board Of Directors

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Quick Facts about the Sioux Empire United Way

• Is a community impact organization with a mission to improve lives.

• More than 90 cents of every dollar raised goes directly toward programs and services, one of the lowest administrative costs among all United Ways raising more than $1 million.
  
  
• Serves an estimated 1 out of every 3 individuals each year in our community through more than 90 different programs.
  
  
• Gifts to Sioux Empire United Way stay local, benefiting 25 communities in the four-county area of Lincoln, McCook, Minnehaha and Turner.

• Ranks second in the nation in per capita giving, thanks to contributions from 31,000 individuals and 700 businesses.

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2010 Sioux Empire United Way funded organizations

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Donation breakdown

More than 100 local volunteers review programs annually and hold Sioux Empire United Way partner agencies to strict accountability standards. This year, like every year, SEUW researched the needs of the community to ensure our partner programs are meeting the needs of the Sioux Empire.

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