I learned a long time ago people donate resources to three, five at the most, organizations. In my case, those three are the Greek Orthodox church, Kent State University, and United Way of Summit/Medina (UWSM) — not in that order.

Helping the United Way can be a great way to make a positive impact on your community. United Way works on various issues such as education, financial stability, and health, and they collaborate with local organizations to create long-term solutions.

Many companies partner with United Way to organize workplace giving campaigns. We have a great workplace giving program. If your workplace hosts one, you can get involved by contributing financially or helping to promote the campaign to your colleagues. I currently serve on the UWSM Executive Committee and in 2023/2024, I was the campaign chair helping to bring in new workplace campaigns.

Let me say State and Federal Communications’ work with United Way started decades ago. We had just hired Nola Werren to the staff and she asked why we didn’t donate to United Way. Her father, Chuck Hogan, had led the United Way in Trumbull County. I called Bob Kulinski, then president of United Way in Summit County and our program started.

We built our workplace campaign after speaking with other leaders in Akron. We learned from a past campaign chair about the Fair Share + Program. This took the UW Fair Share amount — average 1.5% of someone’s salary — and added $1 per paycheck. In our case, which would be $24 more a year.

The local United Way provided a free PTO day at Christmas if they brought in 100% participation. We adjusted it a bit and now provide the day before Thanksgiving off for 100% participation. We reached it most years, but we did not in 2024. It really is okay; our campaign exceeded all other goals.

There are a lot of ways to help United Way. Some include:

• Volunteering your time — United Way offers a variety of volunteer opportunities. You can help by participating in community service projects, mentoring, tutoring, or assisting with special events. My staff particularly likes Stuff the Bus and Read-to-Me day.
• Advocate — This is easily done by spreading awareness about United Way’s mission by sharing their work on social media, writing to local leaders, or organizing events promoting their initiatives.
• Join a committee — If you are interested in a leadership role, consider joining one of United Way’s committees or their board. This is a way to contribute your professional expertise to help the organization succeed.

State and Federal just finished its 14th Annual Donuts and Cider campaign. We started this to add to what we were pledging to UWSM. We take orders from the community and Joe May and Nicolette Koozer lead the team to set up our table on Halloween Day. We donate all sales to UW. It does not bring in a lot, but we usually donate $1,000 to UWSM and a lot of people enjoy delicious donuts and apple cider.

What can I tell you about our company’s campaign, which just ended:

• 43 people pledged $65,022
• 22 people pledged Fair Share +
• 30 people pledged at leader levels starting at $500

People have their thoughts about the United Way. All that is known is in Summit/Medina County we are making changes with our Bold Goals, which are:

1. Ready for Success — 65% of Akron Public School third graders read at or above grade level.
2. Youth Success — College and Career Readiness where 90% of APS high schoolers graduate in 4 years, with 60% college/career ready and Youth Opportunities and Success where 60% of Akron youth employed or active in extracurriculars.
3. Financial Empowerment — 11,000 people in Summit County and 2,500 people in Medina County.
4. Health Equity — Reduce the Black infant mortality rate in Summit County to 6 per 1,000 live births.

There are 11,000 United Ways in this country. Find yours and make a difference.

Thank you.
Elizabeth Z. Bartz
@elizabethbartz