United Way Calls For Emerging Leaders
September 20, 2018
By LAINE GRIFFIN
Daily News-Record 9/20/18
HARRISONBURG — Kate Smucker wants to do more to help those in need throughout the community.
Now she can.
The first United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County Emerging Leaders program launched Wednesday afternoon along with the charitable agency’s third annual community tour, which visited 11 partner agencies in Harrisonburg.
“The goal for Emerging Leaders is to get everyone involved to the point where they end up on a board or part of some organization,” said Emerging Leaders volunteer Ellie Holsopple.
The program is designed for Harrisonburg and Rockingham County residents seeking opportunities to learn about the needs of the area and engage in community service by networking in the nonprofit sector, according to the United Way website.
Bank of The James is offering its support as a partner to the program.
Fifteen people were accepted into the program, which only takes volunteers younger than 40. Holsopple said the program’s age limit because it is designed to “shape the future of leadership.”
“I’ve been wanting to get more involved for a while but didn’t know how,” said Smucker, an Eastern Mennonite University graduate student. “This program will help give me a better understanding of how, through community efforts, we can collaborate and make a change no matter how big or small.”
Around 55 community members, including the 15 in the Emerging Leaders program, attended the five available tours Wednesday throughout the city, with one stop being Our Community Place, a nonprofit that focuses mainly on helping homeless and other disadvantaged people.
OCP, which started as a soup kitchen in 1992, has evolved over the years to become a place where services such as laundry, showers, meals and help in finding work and a place to live are available.
“We focus on trauma informed programming and want to give people a chance to get back on their feet no matter where they’re coming from,” said Eric Olson-Getty, director of development and administration for Our Community Place. Other agencies on the tour included Boys & Girls Club of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, Roberta Webb Child Care Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Harrisonburg-Rockingham County, Mercy House, Blue Ridge Legal Services, The Collins Center, New Bridges, Second Home and Way to Go. “As nonprofits, we feel like we have the answers needed to make a change, just not the resources, so these barriers are created,” said attendee Zanetta Ford-Byrd, executive director of the Harrisonburg Education Foundation.
United Way also kicked off its annual Community Impact Campaign on Wednesday, which provides funding for over 33 organizations.
“You hear about what these organizations do, but this tour gives the community a chance to get some exposure,” said United Way campaign co-chair Jim DeLucan. “You don’t understand the impact of United Ways until you see it in the community with your own eyes.”
Eric Olson-Getty, director of development and administration at Our Community Place, talks to participants of the annual United Way tour about the many services offered to people without a home.
Daily News-Record 9/20/18
HARRISONBURG — Kate Smucker wants to do more to help those in need throughout the community.
Now she can.
The first United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County Emerging Leaders program launched Wednesday afternoon along with the charitable agency’s third annual community tour, which visited 11 partner agencies in Harrisonburg.
“The goal for Emerging Leaders is to get everyone involved to the point where they end up on a board or part of some organization,” said Emerging Leaders volunteer Ellie Holsopple.
The program is designed for Harrisonburg and Rockingham County residents seeking opportunities to learn about the needs of the area and engage in community service by networking in the nonprofit sector, according to the United Way website.
Bank of The James is offering its support as a partner to the program.
Fifteen people were accepted into the program, which only takes volunteers younger than 40. Holsopple said the program’s age limit because it is designed to “shape the future of leadership.”
“I’ve been wanting to get more involved for a while but didn’t know how,” said Smucker, an Eastern Mennonite University graduate student. “This program will help give me a better understanding of how, through community efforts, we can collaborate and make a change no matter how big or small.”
Around 55 community members, including the 15 in the Emerging Leaders program, attended the five available tours Wednesday throughout the city, with one stop being Our Community Place, a nonprofit that focuses mainly on helping homeless and other disadvantaged people.
OCP, which started as a soup kitchen in 1992, has evolved over the years to become a place where services such as laundry, showers, meals and help in finding work and a place to live are available.
“We focus on trauma informed programming and want to give people a chance to get back on their feet no matter where they’re coming from,” said Eric Olson-Getty, director of development and administration for Our Community Place. Other agencies on the tour included Boys & Girls Club of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, Roberta Webb Child Care Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Harrisonburg-Rockingham County, Mercy House, Blue Ridge Legal Services, The Collins Center, New Bridges, Second Home and Way to Go. “As nonprofits, we feel like we have the answers needed to make a change, just not the resources, so these barriers are created,” said attendee Zanetta Ford-Byrd, executive director of the Harrisonburg Education Foundation.
United Way also kicked off its annual Community Impact Campaign on Wednesday, which provides funding for over 33 organizations.
“You hear about what these organizations do, but this tour gives the community a chance to get some exposure,” said United Way campaign co-chair Jim DeLucan. “You don’t understand the impact of United Ways until you see it in the community with your own eyes.”
Eric Olson-Getty, director of development and administration at Our Community Place, talks to participants of the annual United Way tour about the many services offered to people without a home.
