Goodbyes and Thank Yous

This week is a special week for two of our United Way VISTAs. After a year of service, Raquel and Mellie will be leaving us on Friday, February 27. We will miss them and we are grateful for all that they have done here at United Way! I asked Raquel and Mellie to share some reflections of their time as a VISTA.

I'll share what Mellie wrote and later this week, I'll add Raquel's reflection.

Mellie's thoughts...

Working at United Way has been great. I have always been one to get involved with the community through the school system, 4H, Scouts, Red Cross, or random acts of kindness as I was aware of another’s needs but working here opened my eyes to an entire system of organized volunteerism.

I am totally amazed at the people who are willing to give time, money, and service for total strangers when they themselves have needs. In fact, sometimes it seemed that the greater the personal needs of the volunteer the greater their desire to serve. On my second day here, my eyes shining in anticipation, I told my supervisor I wanted to know all about each of the different agencies. I have not reached that goal but I have learned more about quite a few of them.

Perhaps the thing that has impressed me the most is the dedication of the people involved with the United Way. Not just the old timers, (none of whom are as old as I am), but the young people who are here for short periods are remarkable. It has been a beautiful thing to hear supervisors say, here is what need to happen. I leave it to you to develop a plan to accomplish that. What a great working environment.

Highlights for me were finding out that I was one of only a few oranges who work here. I was married for 43 years to a green and I know I was a blue back then, but single I am apparently an orange. Who would have thought? The training for Volunteer Solutions was the second most exciting part of my year. I loved my moment in the spotlight. O I am so orange.

The greater question is did I make a difference?

Thanks for sharing, Mellie! And we all know that you made a difference. Reading this made me reflect on my VISTA experience here at United Way. I hope that we all feel that we are making a difference and are having the experiences that Mellie has had.

Start Planning Ahead for Upcoming Service Opportunities

United Way VISTAs are planning many upcoming service activities. The year is packed with great volunteer opportunities that will allow you and your family to serve the community, while still having fun.

Some of the upcoming events include:

Cesar Chavez Day March 27
Contact Sully Bryan at 801-374-2588 or sullyb@unitedwayuc.org

Global Youth Service Day April 23-24
Contact Brian Wayment at 801-374-8108 or brianw@unitedwayuc.org

Poetry Slam February 19-20, April 23-24
Contact Rhonda Bailey at 801-691-5259 or rbailey@communityactionuc.org


Check out this great video that some of the VISTAs put together about these upcoming service opportunities!

Some Marketing Tips

So I was thinking about what to post today and I thought that it would be nice to have some helpful posts with advice or tips. I am no expert on, well any topic, but I do have the ability to research.

Today, I thought it might be helpful to include some ideas on how to make flyers. Many of us have to advertise for events, and making flyers is just one of the ways that you we may chose to get the word out there. Here are 6 easy tips to make flyers more eye catching and effective:

1.Use an attention-getting headline. This is a flyer's most important element. If you do not catch someone's eye right away, your message will be lost. Use a question, an interesting quote or a play on words. Words such as "How to," "Learn how," and "The secret to" are best.

2. Add photos or illustrations that draw people's eyes to the flyer. This picture needs to back up your message and create an emotion or mood. You can find many royalty free photos and illustrations online.

3. Remember that people will always ask, "What's in it for me?" Let the readers know how they can benefit and what advantages they will have from your offer. Write the flyer from their perspective by using the words "you" and "your." Keep the paragraphs very short and do not use long sentences or difficult words.

4. Make it easy to see the important parts of the message. Use bullets or arrows for emphasis, or box in the main point. Make it easy to read.

5. Use a typeface or font that stands out. Do not use more than two different typefaces or put anything in all caps. Sans serif type will be best, because it is more informal. Make the most important words bold or put them in color.

6. Print the flyer on bright or neon paper. (if you have access to colored paper) Do not go overboard with too many colors. Keep it simple.



I hope some of these ideas (that came from here) will help you next time you have to make a flyer for an event or project!

Here is a sample flyer!

Let the Meetings Begin...

This week we had our very first VISTA team meeting. We were all bright eyed and bushy tailed at 8 a.m. ready to meet with our fellow VISTAs. We ate yummy scones and sipped on water and shared updates on what we were working on. It was helpful to hear all the VISTA announcements so we can all feel a sense of unity and give our support for their activities.

Some up and coming activities that are VISTAs are working on:

Valentine's Day Party at South Franklin Community Center Feb. 13th 10 a.m-12 p.m. They need volunteers to help with this activity!

Cesar Chavez Day March 27. It will be a community service day and more details will come. Sully is in charge of this activity.

Help Me Grow Kick Off 3K. They will also need volunteers for that event, but more details are still being ironed out.


Also, we will be off this weekend for President's Day. Honor your favorite president and enjoy your day off!

It's Tax Season

Not long ago the phones started ringing in the volunteer center with caller after caller asking for free tax preparation. VITA (volunteer income tax assistance) is a program that is offered here at United Way of Utah County, that provides community member free tax preparation to those who qualify. VITA is run almost entirely by IRS certified volunteers. These volunteers have been trained specifically to work to get the biggest tax return to those who need it most.

Marcee, preparing taxes

Last year, Marcee Young, then a VISTA, worked with VITA. This year Marcee is an United Way employee running VITA and now Jillian, a VISTA from Community Action Services, is helping out. A couple of weeks ago I attended VITA's first event, the Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness day.

Jillian, hard at work

The Mayor of Provo, John Curtis, even came to help raise awarenes of VITA. He spoke to some of the VITA volunteers and some community members who were getting their taxes done. Overall it was a fun event to kick of tax/VITA season.

Mayor talking with volunteers and community members

You can visit United Way's website or their blog to find out more about VITA. Or you can always call 2-1-1!

Props to our VISTAs

Recently, one of our former VISTAs Jes Rigo was spotlighted by a local blogger. This was huge and brought much needed attention to the South Franklin Community Center.

You can read her article here!

The community center (ran by our own Rachel and Amy) has been improving their blog. You should check out what they are doing to improve the Boulder's neighborhood in Provo!

Do you have a blog or a Facebook page for your project? I love love to know and you shouldn't be shy. Share it with everyone. We all love to see what other VISTAs are working on!

Tools for Sustainability

This past week VISTAs from all over Utah joined to together to participate in our IST conference. After months of planning and tons of hard work by Carrie and Brian and many of the United Way UC staff. Our training event was at the Provo Marriott and lasted for 2 and a half days. It was a fun event packed with lots of good speakers, entertainment, useful classes and trainings and of course a chance to spend time with fellow VISTAs.

VISTAs have fun socializing before the beginning of the conference

We the opportunity to hear from many knowledgeable and successful speakers. We attended workshops on everything from media relations to sustainability. The workshops were taught by the CEO of United Way of Utah County, Bill Hulterstrom, Laurie Wilson, a BYU professor, a few professors in the Masters of Public Administration program at BYU and other knowledgeable community members.

Materials passed out workshops

At night we were able to hear from a key note speaker, Ruby Chacon, and watch a performance by BYU's Living Legends. One of our own, Raquel Quintana (a VISTA in the United Way office) wowed us all with her beautiful signing during this performance.

Ruby Chacon speaking to us about her cause
Raquel (in the black dress) after the Living Legends performance

At the end of the conference we were able to participate in service projects. Some made Valentines and Valentine's Day decorations for local non profits while others help sort food at the food bank. Some volunteered at Habitat for Humanity. It was a great way to end our conference and allowed us to get back to work doing what we love best, volunteering :) Raquel was kind enough to take pictures at her service project at Recreation and Habilitation (RAH). They made Valentine's Day decorations and brought some holiday spirit to their facility and to the those who participate in functions offered there!

VISTAs hard at work

Overall, it was a great experience. We all got to learn many things that we could take back with us and improve our VISTA project. My personal favorite thing about the conference was the final speaker, Aaron Miller. He spoke about sustainability and stakeholders. He talked about being a social entrepenuer. It was quite motivating. I hope that someday I will be a social enterpeneur and do great things (not that I'm not already working as a VISTA) but I learned a lot that I hope to use in the future.

Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make the conference a success! It was a rewarding experience for us all (im sure!)