Debra, Alissa and Josh will soon have their dream home.

In 2007 Debra and her two grandchildren (Alissa, 7, and Joshua, 11) found themselves homeless at Thanksgiving.  They had moved to Denver from South Carolina just nine months prior for a good job opportunity, which unfortunately had disappeared.  Without a support system in Colorado, Debra turned to a school liaison for some guidance. She suggested the Almost Home shelter in Brighton, Colorado.

Debra took her grandchildren to Almost Home and got set up in their shelter where she stayed for about 2 months before being moved into a subsidized apartment.  Almost Home also allowed Debra to enroll in a two semester class to update her work skills and get work experience through an internship. The internship led Debra to Mile High United Way’s finance department, and ultimately a full-time position in 2009 as a call center specialist in United Way’s 2-1-1.  She now connects other families and individuals to health and human services when they are in need. 

Because of Debra’s steady pay check from Mile High United Way she was able to qualify for a Habitat for Humanity house in the fall of 2010.  She was encouraged to also open an Individual Development Account or IDA to use as additional down payment, which she did just a few months later.  (IDAs are matched savings accounts that allow qualified participants to save for their first home, higher education or to start or build their own business)

Debra, Alissa and Josh’s house will begin construction this summer.  And, Debra says she’s eager to pitch in for what she knows is their dream come true.

 “This will be a place to stay forever and never have to move again. We will finally have a yard, somewhere safe my grandchildren can play.”

Last year, instead of enjoying the spring sun I was stuck in the library for two full days attempting to file my own taxes. A year later, I received my W2 forms and kept them in a file hidden from my view. The thought of spending an entire weekend this year in a dimly lit library was less than appealing. As March approached, I knew I could no longer put off the inevitable. It was tax time, and it was time for me to get on board.  

Working for Mile High United Way, I have seen firsthand the positive and lasting impact we have made in our community. Mile High United Way advances the common good by creating a collaborative partnership with other organizations forming a network of services to help promote self sufficiency. One of Mile High United Way’s collaborative partners is the King Trimble Economic Property Center, a saving grace that helped me and 3,000 households file for their 2010 income taxes.  

The Economic Prosperity Center is a community resource center striving to improve the economic status of Denver and funded in part by Mile High United Way. It was designed to address the shortfall in financial education, wealth building and employment and career advancement services. Between the months of January and April the Economic Prosperity Center collaborates with Denver Asset Building Coalition to educate lower-income working families and individuals about the tax benefits and credits for which they may be eligible, and to provide free tax preparation assistance.  

I arrived at the Economic Prosperity Center a little before 5:00pm in order to miss the crowd. Unfortunately, I was not the only one who had this idea. As I walked to the end of the line I passed by many eager, excited and thankful people who were eligible for free tax preparation. For some this was an annual tradition for others it was their first time filing taxes and for many of the people waiting in line it was the first time they would open their own bank accounts. The Economic Prosperity Center hosts over 40 individuals every Monday through Wednesday and over 100 individuals on Saturdays for tax preparation.  

How in the world were all of these people going to get helped and in only three hours?  

That is when I met Terri, a volunteer greeter who welcomed me to the Economic Prosperity Center, checked my paper work and politely ushered me to the first of three phases of my tax preparation. Eventually I was greeted by another volunteer who went through my paper work to make sure that all of my information was correct. It was a good thing I had so many volunteers looking over my paperwork because he caught two mistakes I had made. If I had been doing this on my own that small error would equate to a giant mess.  

It was truly amazing how many volunteers work at the Economic Prosperity Center during Denver Asset Building Coalition’s free tax preparation. Throughout the night I met with eight volunteers who were all donating their time to help educate, empower and support individuals toward economic self sufficiency. Peter, my personal tax expert for the night, said tonight was his first time volunteering, but he wanted to give back in some small way. In truth, his small contribution will have a large and lasting impact on everyone who walked through the doors of the Economic Prosperity Center on February 23, 2011. 

Three hours later, my taxes were done, my refund would be automatically deposited into my bank account and I left the Economic Prosperity Center unscathed. Next year, thousands of individuals will walk through the same doors and receive the same outstanding service from Denver’s Asset Building Coalition and the Economic Prosperity Center. We are lucky to live in a community where organizations come together to better the lives of thousands of individuals.  

Filing for your income taxes may be inevitable, but no longer are they something to dread.  

Info you need to know:

• Deadline to file federal income taxes is Monday, April 18, 2011.
• Deadline to file Colorado state income tax is Friday, April 15, 2011. 
• Free tax preparation services at the Economic Prosperity Center available through Saturday, April 16, 2011. 
• Economic Prosperity Center located at 2980 Curtis Street, Denver, CO  80205

Lucy Berenato 

Mile High United Way

Tuesday January 25, 2011 was a morning that seemed no different than any other. While most people were settling into their early morning routines, I was given the opportunity to help the city of Denver take one step closer to ending homelessness and restoring hope.

The Metro Denver Homeless Initiative collaborated with Denver’s Road Home to administer the Point and Time Survey on Tuesday, January 25, 2011. The goal of the Point and Time Survey is to educate citizens about the presence of homelessness in their communities, identify the trends and service needs of the homeless population in the region, and funnel resources to the services and programs for the homeless population.

On Tuesday morning there were over one hundred volunteers at twenty different agencies across the Denver metro area. As I walked through the halls of the Denver Human Services, the mood varied from ecstatic to angry, angry to sad, sad to relieved, relieved to hopeless, and hopeless to hopeful. I was nervous. I was afraid to pry into people’s personal lives and to ask the simple question: “Where did you sleep last night?”

Prior to this experience, I had some general personal definition of homelessness. After conducting only a few surveys I came to the quick realization that the face of homelessness is something dramatically different then how it is most commonly perceived. It is a father who lost his job five years ago and has been working odd end jobs to ensure his daughters private education. It is a single mother who has a special needs infant and has been forced to stay with friends because she cannot afford her son’s medical bills in addition to her own living costs. I collected over twenty surveys and spoke to thirty people. Their stories were all different.

Homelessness is a difficult idea to grasp and an even more difficult term to define because there are so many variables that make a person homeless. In those four short hours that I was conducting the Point and Time Survey, I went through the same emotions that filled the hallways of the Denver Human Services earlier that morning. I left empowered, hopefulness resonated as I handed in my last survey.

With help from Mile High United Way, Denver’s Road Home is in the sixth year of its ten year plan to end homelessness in the city of Denver. So far, Denver’s Road Home has facilitated the development of over 2,000 new units of affordable housing and over 750 units for the chronically homeless. Denver’s Road Home has provided job training, employment opportunities, prevention assistance and a support system for thousands of individuals and families within our community. Next year I know that many of the men, women and children I spoke to on January 25, 2011 will have been impacted in some way by the amazing work of Mile High United Way and our Community Impact Partners. 

Lucy Berenato

Mile High United Way

Its tax season and you know what that means? You have the opportunity to help support the 2-1-1 program in Colorado. 

In the early part of 2010, we, 2-1-1 Colorado, were able to secure a spot on the Colorado Income Tax form allowing you the option to designate and donate any dollar amount you choose from your Colorado Income Tax refund to the 2-1-1 program. 

Just look for the Colorado 2-1-1 First Call For Help Fund on line 41 of the Colorado Income Tax form. 

With your donation you’ll be supporting a free state wide referral service that last year helped more than 285,000 fellow Coloradoans find vital services like emergency shelter, food, rental assistance, utility assistance, child care, health care and much more. 

Your support is greatly appreciated. 

Here’s a link to a recently produced television commercial raising awareness of the 2-1-1 check off. 

http://www.youtube.com/user/MileHighUnitedWay

We have a partnership with Comcast and they’ll be playing this commercial during the first two weeks of February, and again through March up to tax day. 

The folks in the video did call and receive help from 2-1-1, they are not actors.  

Please feel free to share this information with your friends and family. 

Stephanie Sanchez

2-1-1 Director, Mile High United Way

Document shredding at King Trimble.

The Economic Prosperity Center at King M. Trimble recently held its first “Open House and Free Shredding Event- Guard Against Identity Theft” to help celebrate National Protect Your Identity week. 

The Economic Prosperity Center is working to raise awareness of identity theft and to educate Denver residents on how to protect themselves and recover if they have had their identities stolen. 

The event had a great turn out and served approximately 120 Denver residents; many of which utilized the free shred truck provided by Cintas Document Shredding. 

To help educate residents, Money Management International (MMI) and the Attorney General’s Office offered free classroom-style educational workshops addressing the steps to protect yourself against identity theft and how to recover from it, how to pull your credit report and manage credit wisely.  MMI also covered how to detect a scam and avoid becoming a victim. Community Credit Counseling Services’ counselors met one-on-one with attendees to assist in pulling their free credit reports, walked them through their credit reports and offered advice on the steps needed to correct any negativity. 

The Economic Prosperity Center would like to thank everyone who attended the event and give a special thanks to all the partners that provided services to make these free financial education tools available. 

Danelle Herman, Economic Prosperity Center at King M. Trimble

A lot of people have commented on Dan Haley’s column from Sunday’s Denver Post about the documentary Waiting for “Superman”. Here’s a link:  http://www.denverpost.com/haley/ci_16589185

What do you think?

As you may know, United Way’s across the country used the movie, Waiting for “Superman” to spark discussions about education. As part of the Campaign for the Common Good,  we invited people from the community to come talk to us about their aspirations for our community and how education plays a role in that.

We held 3 public conversations in the last few weeks. We are working on collecting all of the information together and will let you know what people in our community think.

But I want to know what you think, too.  How would you answer these questions:

1. What kind of community do you want to live in?
2. Given your aspirations for the community, what do you want education to be like here?
3. How is that different from how you see things now?
4. What are some of the things that need to happen to create that kind of change?

Check out the video on our Campaign for the Common Good webpage  to see how some fellow community members answered these questions.

-Nicole Adair, Mile High United Way

Just a friendly game of Broom ball to kick off the campaign!

WOW…what a morning!  We just kicked off our Mile High United Way Employee Campaign for 2010 and gosh was it great!  Not sure if everyone knows that United Way employees actually run a campaign to raise money but we most certainly do. Something about “walking the walk and talking the talk”. The theme is the Spirit of the Founder’s Tournament but somehow Harry Potter’s magic and wizardry got mixed in.  Luckily our staff knows to expect the unexpected. We had lots of yummy food, fantastic information on the Founder’s of United Way and our history here in Denver and why we are here today.  To think, we’re the first United Way which started only 123 short years ago.  Not easy when your population in 1887 goes from 5000 to 100,000 over night.  You’re going to have folks who are homeless and children that need education. Don’t forget about the Tuberculosis (cough).  If it wasn’t for the 6 founders and their incredible insight who knows where Denver City or we would be.  We ended our kickoff with a fun game of “Broomball” which I recommend for every organization, business and office staff to play.  Really gets the creative juices flowing while at the same time sets up a friendly but competitive environment.  Can’t wait to see us reach our goal of 100% participation this year!! 

Go Team and thanks for helping to Advance the Common Good.

                                                                                                                                                                                    – Lisa Betchey, Mile High United Way

Every parent’s dream is for our children to succeed – and for their success to surpass ours.  But today’s young Americans are less likely to earn a diploma than their parents, a bleak distinction not shared by any other industrialized country.

Mile High United Way is launching a new campaign called Campaign for the Common Good. The campaign is an effort to mobilize people to take action around the education so that all children have access to a quality education.

There has been a lot of buzz around the film Waiting for “Superman” that will be released in Denver next Friday, October 15. The documentary by Davis Guggenheim is about the state of public education in America. Mile High United Way is partnering with Stand for Children and the Colorado Children’s campaign and more than 40 other organizations as part of a national social action campaign around the film to give you and others the chance to make a difference. Visit www.coloradokidscantwait.org to learn about some easy steps you can take now to ensure that Colorado children get the chance they deserve.

As part of the Campaign for the Common Good and our partnership around the film, we will be hosting community conversations around education. Stay tuned for dates, but in the meantime, what are your thoughts on the following questions?

1. What kind of community do you want to live in?
2. Given your aspirations for the community, what do you want education to be like here?
3. How is that different from how you see things now?
4. What are some of the things that need to happen to create that kind of change?

                          
               – Nicole Adair, Mile High United Way

Watch the photo slideshow.

The annual Celebration event marks the end of Mile High United Way’s fiscal and fundraising year, and serves as the official kick-off for the next. 

It is also the stage from which Mile High United Way honors outstanding community partners.  Each year awards go to amazing individuals, companies and corporations in honor of their compassionate, generous support of our community and of Mile High United Way.  

This year’s winners included: 

Anna Jo Haynes Care About Kids Award – Cheryl Caldwell

The Anna Jo Haynes Care About Kids Award recognizes an individual whose work with and for children within the early care and education community has exemplified the highest level of commitment. 

Legislator of the Year – Councilwoman Paula Sandoval

The Legislator of the Year Award recognizes outstanding leadership in advocating for programs and services that advance Mile High United Way’s School Readiness, Youth Success, and Adult Self Sufficiency initiatives. 

Champion of Hope Awards – 1^st Bank, United Launch Alliance, CoBank and Grant Thornton

The Champion of Hope Award is the highest tribute for corporate community involvement for established workplace campaigns. The award honors companies that not only have run an outstanding workplace campaign, but also have demonstrated their commitment to the community in a comprehensive and tangible way though Mile High United Way.

Spirit of Hope Awards – Local Insight Media/The Berry Company, AlloSource and EMC Insurance

The Spirit of Hope Award is the highest tribute for corporate community involvement for newly launched workplace campaigns. The award honors companies that not only have run an outstanding workplace campaign, but also have demonstrated their commitment to the community in a comprehensive and tangible way though Mile High United Way.   

Mile High United Way was proud to honor these true champions of our community.  

Celebration was also a time to honor Mile High United Way’s outgoing chair of the board trustees, Brad Busse, President of RBC Daniels, and to welcome the incoming board chair, Scott Binder, Senior Vice President – Colorado Region for Comcast.                                                                                                                                          

“For the past two years, this community could not have had a better champion than Brad Busse,” said Mile High United Way President and CEO Christine Benero, “and, how fortunate we all are that Scott Binder will continue to lead the way to help us advance the common good for everyone in our community.”

Each year, hundreds of thousands of Coloradans call 2-1-1 for help.  And, now, you can help support this vital, statewide lifeline by simply checking a box. 

Beginning in 2011, the Colorado State Income Tax Form will include a charitable check-off box to benefit Colorado 2-1-1.  The issue was championed through the Colorado legislature by state representative Ellen Roberts (R) of Durango.  And, on June 7, 2010, Governor Bill Ritter signed the measure into law. 

“This gives everyone in Colorado an easy way to help their community,” says Stephanie Sanchez, director of operations for Mile High United Way’s 2-1-1 Call Center.  

Colorado 2-1-1 is the state’s premier clearinghouse of human services information and referrals.  With one free call to 2-1-1, people in need of help are matched with local organizations that offer the assistance they seek. 

“2-1-1 actually helps people find what they need more quickly and efficiently,” says Sanchez.  “If they called on their own, research shows that they would spend precious time and call between seven and eight organizations before finding any help.” 

The  Colorado 2-1-1 network includes six call centers across the state including Mile High United Way 2-1-1 in Denver. 

Through the income tax check off, Colorado 2-1-1 hopes to raise $75-thousand to help with operating costs and to grow the 2-1-1 system.  Right now, 2-1-1 is completely funded through individual donors, the United Way, and local foundations.  

Look for the Colorado 2-1-1 check off on your 2011 Colorado State Income Tax Form!