Zombies Live United Too!

Ghosts, zombies, witches, and volunteers made the last few days of October very memorable.

On Thursday, October 29th we were fortunate enough to have volunteers from Wal-Mart’s unclaimed property department sacrificed a few hours of their day to stuff over 2,000 P&G Beauty goodie bags for the annual Ladies Night Out.

The Democrat Gazette and Proctor and Gamble sponsored Ladies Night Out. Amy Linimon, Vice President of Resource Development, received a $1,000 check on behalf of United Way from Jim Blankenship from the Democrat Gazette and Tim Marrin from Proctor and Gamble.







Friday, October 30th I was back on the campaign trail headed to Fayetteville.
The City of Fayetteville took their United Way campaign kickoff to a new spooky level this year. I was one of the first people to arrive to the kickoff and sat next to the front where I would be speaking.

The City of Fayetteville has a very active approach to meeting the needs of the community. Last year they raised more than any other city in Northwest Arkansas! Mayor Jordan has even implemented a continuous food drive for the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.

Bonnie Pay, the in-house campaign coordinator, had arranged the kickoff to include a Halloween costume contest.

“The city employees are very competitive,” she warned, “be ready for some interesting costumes.”

After turning off my phone and getting my notes in order, I looked up and jumped at the sight of about 15 zombies entering the room. Their white faces were bleeding and their walks were rigid.

I heard someone say, “That’s the IT Department. They always go all out.”


A biker, an umpa lumpa, a headless horseman, witches, and 1950’s girls in poodle skirts made their way to the meeting.

After all of our remarks, the man I was sitting next to opened his computer. A little confused I watched the screen to see what he was doing. A music screen popped up and he hit play.

I heard the beat- da na na na na na, da na na na na na. The zombies stood up and limped towards the front of the room.

In my head I could hear the words, “It’s close to midnight and something evil’s lurking in the dark.”

If you haven’t figured it out yet. The IT department performed the dance to Michael Jackson’s song Thriller.

What a show! They won first place in the costume contest of course.

If costumes aren’t your thing, that’s ok. There are plenty of ways to make your United Way campaign unique. The beauty of joining the Live United movement is using your own talents and interests to advance the common good of all.


Special thanks to:
* Wal-Mart unclaimed property department volunteers
* Jim Blankenship from the Democrat Gazette
* Tim Marrin from P&G
* City of Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan
* Bonnie Pay, City of Fayetteville United Way in-house campaign coordinator
* All City of Fayetteville employees
* Lana Harris from the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank

P&G's Oktoberfest Kickoff

Wow! What a kickoff. Last Thursday I attended Proctor and Gamble’s kickoff at their office in Fayetteville.

Amy Linimon, VP of Resource Development, invited Meredith G. and me to tag along. She assured us that it would an incredible event, she was right.

P&G’s campaign theme this year is Oktoberfest. We arrived at the office a little early and I saw a few people walking around in t-shirts they had created just for the campaign.

“Neat,” I thought, “What a great idea to make up a campaign shirt. Amy was right, I had never seen a company make their own campaign shirt.”

As I made my way out to the tent, traditional German music was getting loader and I realized that the shirt was just the tip of the iceberg.

The P&G United Way campaign team and volunteers decorated the tent with hay, pumpkins, barrels, and a lovely spread of breakfast food. Each volunteer was wearing the shirt and a green alpine hat.

They had even arranged to have a special guest from Germany attend. Well, to be honest, it was Werner Geissler, Vice Charman of Global Operations for P&G who was in town from Cincinnati. Geissler was born in Hachenburg, Germany.

But it wouldn’t be Oktoberfest without lederhosen, right? Right. Three of P&G’s management team members couldn’t agree more.

Being escorted in to the tent by volunteers dressed in dirndle, traditional German dresses, was Geissler, Bob Fregolle, Global Customer Business Development Officer, and Jeff Schomburger, President of P&G’s Global Wal*Mart Team, all wearing lederhosen.

Surrounded by laughter, German music blaring, the three marched to the stage and welcomed the crowd.

“Guten morgen” they said.

After the cheers and yodeling settled Werner, Fregolle, and Schomburger encouraged their employees to be leaders and continue to give, advocate and volunteer for United Way.

Proctor and Gamble related United Way’s mission to P&G’s President and CEO’s, Bob McDonald, recently developed strategy- touching lives, improving life for generations to come and inspiring purpose-driven leadership.
P&G has already proven itself to be leader in the community. Last year they raised $157,555 for United Way of Northwest Arkansas. They also conducted an employee survey and found that of the respondents, 22 percent volunteer for a United Way agency, 39 percent volunteer in the community and 21 percent serve on a board.

Even after recognizing such wonderful accomplishments, there is encouragement to do more. P&G set two goals, a 100% response rate to their annual opportunity to give and $155,000 pledged by members of the team.

It was such an honor to experience, first hand, an entire company living united. P&G’s campaign team did an outstanding job planning this unique kickoff event!

Living United at Tour de Cure

Sweat, spit, and smiles. Not my typical Saturday. Well, except for the smiles. This Saturday I volunteered at the Live United rest stop on the half marathon course for Tour de Cure.

This was the sixth year the American Diabetes Association held the event. There were two athletic options. There was a bike race that went up to 100 miles and the half marathon run.

I had never been a water distributor on a half marathon. But I know if I was running 13.1 miles the water person would be the second most important person, right behind the medical team resuscitating me from exhaustion.

The enthusiasm from the runners was contagious.

We saw the first two runners turn the corner, then a pack right behind them. My heart started pounding and I scurried to grab a water cup.

“Hold the cup at the top,” the coordinator had told me.

I stood at the edge of the road and held my arm out like a diving board. The runner approached, turned his head, spit, and snatched the cup. Zoom. He was gone.

After I got over the shock of a moving person spitting in my direction, I was ready again.

Students and faculty from Bentonville Public Schools were there to help hydrate and cheer on hundreds of runners.

“Keep it up!” they shouted, “Lookin’ good!”

Before we knew it, another wave was coming.

“Here they come!” a student warned.

I moved to my spot again. Eight arms stuck out over the road and waited. Zoom. Gone in a blink.

“Thanks for picking up our trash!” A runner gasped.

Cheering on a runner, providing water and picking up trash are a few of my favorite ways to Live United. I feel good when I lend my hand. Try it this week. I bet it will make your day.

I would like to give a special thanks to Jonathon Guthrie and the other volunteers from the Bentonville Public Schools for volunteering at Tour de Cure. We couldn’t have done it without you!

How a Box Lunch Can Feed a Community

A box lunch by definition usually only feeds one person. But what if it could do more?

This month a box lunch from Honey Baked Ham can do more. And here's how. . .

During the entire month of October Honey Baked Ham is donating a $1 of every box lunch sold in support of United Way to help advance the good of all in Northwest Arkansas. Just go to the United Way website and download an order form, or call their store at 479.271.7838 and let them know that you want to order a box lunch to support United Way.

That box lunch can help to feed more than just you, a $1* can help put 5.5 lbs. of food into local food banks and pantries to help feed hungry families. If you have a group of 50 people to feed that means more than 275 lbs. of food back in to Northwest Arkansas. Not only are you feeding yourself, you are helping to feed a community and support an important health-related program.

During the month of October, follow us on Twitter to learn about more ways that a box lunch can help strengthen our community and help you LIVE UNITED.

*All figures come from our giving equivalent chart, and all figures are based on the power of a dollar for one week.

Non-Profit Informational Fair for Western Benton County

United Way is an organization that believes in advancing the good of all through building up communities. What better way to do this than bring individuals, agencies, and companies together? By simply getting to know one another, communities can unite around common issues and initiatives.

To this end, United Way of Northwest Arkansas held the first annual Siloam Springs Non-Profit Informational Fair on Friday, September fourth at the Community Building. The event was a great success, thanks to sponsor Mr. Ron Mooney, the Siloam Springs Chamber of Commerce, and all twenty-three Western Benton County non-profit agencies that attended.

The beginning of the event was held in tandem with the Chamber First Friday coffee, and extended on through the morning for the general public.

The event was valuable to the western Benton County community in several ways:

• Businesses connected with local non-profits to create a better mutual awareness.

• Residents gained a better understanding of services available to them.

• Residents found opportunities to give back to their community through donations
and volunteerism.

• Agencies educated the community about local needs and the services they provide to
meet those needs.

• Agencies were reminded of each others’ existence, enabling them to cooperate on
community issues through referrals, etc.

If any one thing stood out from the fair, it was the wonderful work of non-profit organizations in this area. St. Francis clinic was present to take blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and the Benton County Health Unit was able to publicize their free flu vaccination day on October 30 at the Siloam Springs Church of Christ. From the Manna Center, a food emergency center; to Credit Counseling of Arkansas (CCOA); to the recently returned Big Brothers Big Sisters office in Siloam Springs, these agencies truly serve diverse areas of need.

Reading and Hugs

My Friday started in its usual hectic way – phone calls, emails, meetings, planning for new opportunities, etc.

It ended with a bunch of hugs.

As a staff, we decided to participate in the “United We Serve, Together We Read” initiative supported by Arkansas First Lady Ginger Beebe, encouraging people to go to local schools and read to children.

As it got closer, I started to really stress out over which book I was going to read. Being an avid reader myself, I felt a need to pick something that might inspire the kids to become readers.

Maybe I was stressed because I still remembered having volunteers come to our classroom in elementary and middle schools reading to us. They read us everything from Miss Nelson to The Hobbit, and having those volunteers read to us opened up a world of literature and reading that I still cherish today.

My stress leads me on a search. I Googled “best books for children”, I went to Amazon and Barnes & Noble to see what the top children books were on the best seller lists, and I even went to the bookstore to see what small children were picking up in their section.

I was basically stalking the perfect book.

Finally, my searches lead me to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, a book that I remembered from childhood – and never failed to make me hungry.

I brought it home and practiced, wanting to make sure that I was flawless in my delivery. Considered doing voices, and then abandoned that when I knew I would never pull it off.

In my job, I sometimes have the chance to do live interviews where hundreds of people are watching me through their TVs, or I give presentations to large groups of people in person. Nothing really rattles me any more, but reading to these kids gave me jumping beans in my stomach.

We got to the school and were led to the classrooms we were assigned. All the little kindergartners gathered around on a little carpet, and I sat in a wooden rocking chair.

I read. And when I was finished, they grabbed another book and gave it to me to read.

It wasn’t until that moment that I finally realized, it wasn’t about what I read, it was that I was there in the first place.

The thing that I will remember most about that day, is not all the nerves leading up to it, or my search for the perfect book, but this. As I was leaving, a little boy in the class came and tugged on my purse. I turned around, and he grabbed me for a hug. Then after that, all of the kids came to hug me.

I walked out with a huge smile on my face, and was reminded once again that we as volunteers always get more out of volunteering than those that we serve.

While I hope at least one child looks back and remembers the lady in the white LIVE UNITED shirt helped them discover a love of reading, I will be the one that never forgets the hugs.

Meet Meredith Ghrist

Hi! My name is Meredith Ghrist, and my “Live United” story has just begun. I started working with United Way of Northwest Arkansas in late July as the Manager of Special Projects. I work with both the development and community impact sides of our organization, seeking to further the vision and purpose of United Way.

I feel well prepared for the task. While living in Kenya, East Africa during my four years of high school, I saw a great deal of need for organizations that provide help in the areas of education, income, health, and basic infrastructure. I became passionate about transformational development – a movement focused on creating organizations that not only provide for those in need, but also empower them to come together as communities and be a part of that process. In college I became active in a leading a campus advocacy group called Acting on AIDS, as well as in the Honors Program. I spent my summers gaining experience in human relations and non-profit work- as a counselor at a family camp, as an intern at an excellent Kenyan HIV/AIDS help center and clinic, and as a teacher at a daycare that accommodated children with disabilities.

I received my diploma – a bachelors of science in Family and Human Services - in December 2008. A typical college graduate, I walked across the platform with many high ideals and few actual job leads.

So I began working at a local café – a place I loved for its smallness and authenticity – but bit my nails in the evening while clicking through internet job databases and online applications.

I wanted to find a place where could I apply both my experience in human services and deep desire to implement creative, practical, and empowering solutions to social issues like hunger and poverty.

I’ve been so pleased to find that United Way is that kind of place - a beautiful marriage of compassionate idealism and practical solutions. It is smart - the organization evaluates itself at each step, asking and answering important questions about how we do what we do, if it is most effective to solving the problem at hand, and if it is the most empowering to the people involved.

It is kind – not only we do we strive to advance the good of all, but my coworkers also understand the significance of their work and care deeply about it. For example, one of my coworkers received a call from a woman looking for shoes for her 13-year-old son. She easily could have been directed to another service provider – “Why don’t you try calling the Salvation Army?” – click. Instead, my coworker let the mother know that while we don’t provide direct services, she would do what she could. She got the boy’s shoe size, called Salvation Army and a church, looked into support available for the mother’s position, and called her back with names and places to get vouchers for shoes and other support.

It is local – the United Way understands the best way to help a community is by building it up as such. It seeks to provide non-profit agencies with local volunteers, connecting people from businesses and non-profits together for the common good. All money donated within a focus area, unless specifically designated, stays within the local community.

That is why I’m happy to be working with the United Way, and excited to bring my own experience and passion to work every day. One of my goals is to encourage young generations to use United Way as a uniting force behind many of the causes in which they are already involved. I aim to perform each task I am given excellently; to pursue new relationships and strengthen old ones with local agencies, companies, and individuals; to affirm a positive work environment in daily interactions with other staff; and to model being an active and compassionate community member. And that’s just the beginning of my “Live United” story.