For many of us, making the decision to volunteer in 2012 made the New Year’s resolution list. Congratulations and good for us! That was easy. Now we may be wondering how to actually make that happen and that might feel a little more challenging. The typical questions that go along with this decision go something like this…What should I do? What can I do? What do I have to offer? How can I squeeze it in? Where can I help and when? What if….. and on and on.

Foothills United Way’s Volunteer Connection is your source for local volunteer information and we’re here to make it easy for you to volunteer. We can help you answer all of these questions and find a rewarding, meaningful volunteer opportunity that benefits both you and our community. At any given time, there are over 400 volunteer opportunities to choose from throughout Boulder and Broomfield counties. Surely one of them will be a perfect fit for you!

You may choose to participate in a one-time opportunity such as the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service on January 16. Or, as January is National Mentoring Month, you may choose to commit to a long-term, ongoing opportunity such as mentoring a child. For more information on these two January initiatives, visit our website. Here are a variety of other opportunities you might also consider:  

1. Survey homeless individuals during the 2012 Point-In-Time Homeless Count on January 23 & 24
2. Deliver library materials to homebound patrons
3. Teach English to adults
4. Develop children’s games
5. Be a music instructor  
6. Be a companion for terminally ill patients or older adults
7. Transition puppies into service dogs
8. Cook meals for the homeless and low-income
9. Help someone move out of poverty
10. Be an exercise leader for individuals in wheelchairs

Contact me at volunteerconnection@unitedwayfoothills.org to learn more about any of these opportunities. Now make that New Year’s resolution a reality. Get out there and volunteer!

Sue McCullough is the Director of Foothills United Way's Volunteer Connection

Foothills United Way’s Fourmile Recovery Program and United Policyholders will host the workshops, using United Policyholders’ “Roadmap to Preparedness Program” as well as information from local mountain builders to assure that residents’ insurance policies accurately reflect the real cost of rebuilding in the mountains west of Boulder. Meeting dates and times are:

• November 30th, 6:30 to 8:30pm: Commissioners’ Hearing Room, Boulder County Courthouse, third floor, 1325 Pearl St., Boulder
• December 1st, 1 to 3pm: Highlands Presbyterian Camp & Retreat Center, 1306 Business Hwy 7, Allenspark
• December 1st, 7 to 9pm: Nederland Community Center, 750 Hwy 72, Nederland

For more information about the workshops, please contact Amy E. Hardy, Foothills United Way’s Fourmile Recovery Resource Coordinator, at ahardy@unitedwayfoothills.org or 303-895-3418.

As the holiday season is upon us and the year’s end is near, I personally use this time to reflect on the passing year and ask myself a few questions. How have I spent my time this year and how have I spent my dollars? What have I done for myself this year and more importantly, what have I done for others? Finally, what else might I like to do before the year ends? 

I’ve spent the past few weeks gathering information from local nonprofit and service organizations to
compile Volunteer Connection’s annual Holiday Guide.  The Holiday Guide provides our community with a variety of holiday-specific volunteer opportunities, donation ideas and adopt-a-family & sponsor programs. It’s a great resource for alternative giving options and I’m always amazed to learn of our community needs during this holiday season. 

I have to say, it’s really tough to choose from so many great programs. Would I like to cook and enjoy Thanksgiving Day dinner with runaway and homeless teens? Would I like to spend Christmas Day bringing a senior to a holiday meal? Would I like to put food bags together for those that would otherwise go without? Or would I like to experience the smile on a child’s face as I give out toys? If I don’t have extra time to give this season I can buy socks and mittens to donate, I can purchase grocery, gas and/or gift cards to drop off at a local nonprofit or I can pick up some extra food items while at the grocery store to take to a local food bank or pantry.  The list is endless and the need is great. And as I said, it’s hard to choose from so many great programs. 

The important thing for me is that I choose to do something for someone else before the year ends. Volunteering or making a donation in support of our local nonprofits is truly a meaningful and rewarding way to give. Whatever you choose, know that your support is very much needed and very much appreciated.  What have you done for others this year? What else might you like to do before the year ends? I encourage all of us to give some extra time or some extra dollars this season. I hope the Holiday Guide will help you choose a great way, or several ways, to give before the year ends!

Sue McCullough is the Director of Foothills United Way’s Volunteer Connection

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)—which is only available to those who work---was established by the federal government specifically to help lower and moderate income Americans. The credit is especially focused on workers with children, reducing the taxes they pay. A study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found the poverty rate among children would be 25% higher without the EITC. Not only does it directly help families, but it also helps local communities. Experts estimate that money from tax refunds is recycled two to three times in the community, broadening the beneficial effect.

For over 20 years the Piton Foundation and its community partners have sought to help eligible workers access the EITC, 300,000 families in 2011. Also in 2011 nine community colleges and three four- year colleges, including the University of Colorado in Boulder, assisted 6,000 low-income taxpayers at 20 sites file their tax returns for free. Trained college students take a special accredited course for IRS certification and then operate a free tax preparation service for which they receive college credit. More information about this part of the program can be found at piton.org/taxhelpcolorado.

The most recent year for which the IRS has released statistics showed Boulder County with 12,904 recipients receiving refunds totaling $19,340,000 and Broomfield County with 1,711 taxpayers’ refunds totaling $2,945,000.

But the benefits do not stop with the tax refund. They are multiplied throughout the community by promoting work, helping low-income families build assets to weather economic storms, reducing poverty and reducing income inequality. The EITC is not a hand out, it is a hand up based on the individual’s own earned income. It is the community coming together to help support those who are working to sustain their families. It is LIVE UNITED in action!

Barbara B. Pingrey is the President and CEO of Foothills United Way

Saving good things for later is often difficult.  During this season of fall, keeping a good piece of pumpkin bread or apple pie for later, rather than having two at once is often difficult even though we know that it is best to pace ourselves. 

At the Personal Investment Enterprise (PIE) program, we know that the same is true with money.  It is difficult to save money for the future, rather than enjoying spending it when it is available.  Saving for the future is what the partnership between Foothills United Way and Boulder County Community Action Programs promotes through PIE.  It provides hope for the future with low-wealth individuals through a savings program.

PIE offers resources to help individuals and families save, and help them see that, over time, this can make a significant difference to future opportunities.  PIE’s resources include:

• Financial education
• Individual Development Account: a matched savings account (4 to 1 match).  For every dollar saved, $4 is matched, up to a total savings of $3,750.
• Community support provided through grants for matched savings funds and local partnerships in education and banking

PIE is an individual development account (IDA) program that empowers individuals to save for a permanent asset:  homeownership, post-secondary education or business development.  An asset is an investment of accumulated resources for the purpose of social and economic development (Definition form Center for Social Development).  Assets are important as they promote economic household stability and decrease the risk of intergenerational poverty.

IDAs are a policy approach intended to help low-income and low-wealth families build assets and enter the financial mainstream.  Based on the theory that increased income alone is not likely to move individuals and families permanently out of poverty, asset-building strategies promote and empower individuals to make economic choices that provide long-term benefits just by simply opening a savings account. 

17 partner agencies collaborate with PIE to help identify, refer and counsel participants.  Boulder County Housing Authority provides the financial literacy and homeownership classes.  Wells Fargo bank provides bank accounts at no charge to the participants.

Many households today find themselves in asset poverty, which is defined as the Percentage of households without sufficient net worth to subsist at the poverty level for three months in the absence of income.  In Colorado 21.5 % of the population is asset poor (2004).  14% are extremely asset poor with no net worth or negative net worth.  Assets are necessary for financial stability, and to buffer personal and economic crises.  They are essential for economic mobility, and for the well-being of the family.  In addition, you may be interested to know that 60% of assets of the middle class come from home equity. 

IDAs are gaining national recognition as more studies are being done on the importance of IDAs and how they help build assets for lower income wage earners.  According to the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED), whose purpose is to create economic opportunity that alleviates poverty, over the last 10 years, more than 85,000 IDA’s have been opened at more than 1,100 sites across the country.  The impact of these programs has resulted in 9,400 new homeowners, 7,200 purchases for education and 6,400 small business development purchases.  CFED estimates that every dollar invested in IDAs yields a return of approximately five dollars to the national economy.

To date, 132 participants have graduated saving over $99,000 of their earned income combined.  Of the 132 participants, 54 have purchased a home, 28 have invested in business and 50 have pursued post-secondary education.  Currently, there are 89 participants in the PIE program.  By creating investment opportunities for low-income residents, the PIE program is cultivating financial stability and empowering participants to become stakeholders in their own communities.

If you know of someone who may be interested in the PIE program, individuals must be at least 18 years old, meet income guidelines, be a resident of Boulder or Broomfield counties, have a valid social security number, maintain earned income, and have household net assets of less than $10,000 which does not include the first home or first vehicle.

For more information, please visit http://www.bouldercountypie.org for qualification information.  You may also contact Nino Gallo, PIE program Coordinator at Boulder County Community Action Programs at 303-441-3998 or ngallo@bouldercounty.org or Rosemary Thompson, PIE program Coordinator at Foothills United Way at 303-444-4013 X 111 or rthompson@unitedwayfoothills.org

You may also like to visit our blog at http://foothillsunitedway.typepad.com/pieblog/  Join us as we work together to build stronger financial foundations and stronger futures in Boulder and Broomfield Counties.

Rosemary Thompson is the Program Coordinator for Personal Investment Enterprise (PIE)

As I settle into my new position as the Volunteer Connection Coordinator with Foothills United Way, I am humbly reminded of the many reasons I love the work I do. During this transition period, I’ve realized that there are actually 133,900 reasons.  I was elated to recently discover that the Boulder Metropolitan Statistical Area ranks fourth among the Top Five Mid-Size Cities for Volunteer Rate with a whopping 133,900 volunteers.  

According to the 2011 Volunteering in America Report, 133,900 residents, or 44.8% of residents, volunteer.  This translates to 16.2 million hours of service and $346.1 million of service contributed per year. In 2010, the national volunteer rate was 26.3 percent. The top four volunteer activities in our area included General Labor (29.6%), Prof/Management (24.3%), Fundraising (23.8%) and Tutoring/Teaching (21.3%). Statistics for this area were collected within the Boulder Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and are based on an average using 2007 to 2010 data.

Personally, I am especially proud of this accomplishment as I’ve spent the past 3+ years working to strengthen our community by connecting amazing volunteers to rewarding and meaningful opportunities. I feel that in some small way, I am able to contribute to this accomplishment by fostering the ethic of volunteerism in our community.

Foothills United Way’s Volunteer Connection supports almost 300 nonprofit and government programs that rely heavily on volunteers to fulfill their missions. We also support the over 30,000 individuals including youth, adults, families, businesses, corporate and service or social groups that utilize our resources annually, to connect with community programs that need volunteers.

This ranking does not simply happen without a community working together collectively. Thank you to the many volunteers that make a difference in our community every day. And thank you for giving me so many reasons to love the work I do! We are all extremely fortunate to be surrounded by such a generous volunteer community.

Sue McCullough is the Volunteer Connection Coordinator at Foothills United Way.