70 Percent of Young Americans Are Unfit for Military Duty

70 Percent of Young Americans Are Unfit for Military Duty — Sphere News, Opinion and Analysis.  Click on this link for the complete article.

More evidence of the immediate need for finding ways to keep our children in school and on track for a meaningful graduation from high school.

The recent Graduation Pathwya Summit was part of United Way’s initiation on helping Children and Youth Achieve Their Potential through education.

One of the goals we are encouraging is “90 by 19″  — ninety percent graduation rates in Tampa Bay by 2019.

Want to learn more about the Graduation Pathway initiative contact Betty Tribble at btribble@uwtb.org .

 

ESPN 1040 & eBay Sports Auction Now Underway

It’s Showtime, Baby!

Follow the United Way ESPN 1040 Sports Auction starting today live on the ESPN airwaves and on eBay, all to benefit United Way of Tampa Bay. Click here to see the eBay auction items. Different and unique items will be on ESPN 1040, so be sure to listen to the live auction on radio, and visit eBay.

PARTIAL LISTING of eBAY ITEMS GOING UP FOR AUCTION!
This is just a partial listing of the great memorabilia that goes online on eBay starting September 21.

You can bid and win any or all of the following:

Jack Nicklaus & Arnold Palmer – 1971 Vintage Photo
B&W framed photo of Jack & Arnie from Laurel Valley Golf Club in 1971

Tiger Woods – Signed Flag Collage- US Open at Torrey Pines
Signed framed collage with flag from the 2008 US Open Championships; w/COA

Eli Manning – Signed Super Bowl Collage
Photo framed collage signed by Eli Manning with replica Super Bowl Ticket; w/COA

Urban Meyer – Signed Photo
Coach Meyer framed photo from the BCS Championship Victory; w/COA

Williams, Orr & Bird – Boston Greats Signed Shadowbox
Ted Williams, Bobby Orr & Larry Bird – Signed by the Boston sports greats with patch from their team; w/COA

Lebron James – Signed Shadowbox Collage
Cleveland Cavaliers star Lebron James – Signed framed photo collage with unique NBA card set; w/COA

Ted Williams & Babe Ruth – Photo Collage
Unique framed photo collage of Ted & the Babe with engraved signatures

Joe DiMaggio & Mickey Mantle – Vintage B&W 1951 Photo
Framed photo of DiMaggio & Mantle in 1951 which is Joe’s last year and Mickey’s first year as a Yankee

Magic Johnson & Michael Jordan – Photo Collage
Framed photo collage of the two NBA greats with engraved signatures

Dale Earnhardt Jr – Signed Two Photo Collage
Nice framed signed two photo collage of Dale Jr.; w/COA

Peyton Manning – Signed Photo
Signed framed photo of Super Bowl Champion & MVP

MORE ITEMS WILL BE ANNOUNCED LATER IN THE WEEK!

Share this will all of your sport fan friends. Help United Way by “sharing” this on your Facebook Wall and on Twitter, too! Spread the word and help others!  Remember, there will be more  and different items on Radio ESPN1040, broadcasting in Tampa Bay throughout the week. If you are in Tampa Bay, listen for even more items!

SULPHUR SPRINGS RESOURCE CENTER GRAND OPENING

Through many months of hard work and marriage of community and agency, the Sulphur Springs Resource Center became a reality on Saturday, March 28 when the grand opening was celebrated.

“The center will provide training and services that the community identified that it needed, said Emery Ivery, vice-president of United Way’s Community and Partnership Development. “Teamwork is what makes this so special.”

Services and programs that will be provided include: financial literacy, financial assistance, employment training, legal assistance, and GED training.

The center will be open Monday through Friday and occasional Saturdays starting April 13. It will be staffed by United Way partner agencies: Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA, Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, and Bay Area Legal Services. The Tampa Bay Workplace Alliance and Hillsborough Schools will also provide training.

“A lot of partners and committed individuals worked together – a neighborhood alliance, agency partners, schools – to support Sulphur Springs and the vision to make it a better place. It took awhile, but there’s been steady progress along the way,” said Paula Kay, United Way Community Partnership and Development Manager.   United Way partners include: Cy and Joanne Spurlino, J.P.Morgan Chase, Hillsborough County Schools, Time Customer Service and Allegany Franciscan Ministries, Inc. IBM provided in-kind donations of computers while Refurbished Office Furniture provided office furniture for the center.

As the efforts move forward, United Way will gather data from the center’s programs, continue to convene community partners, advance further training opportunities, and secure resources for the center to prosper.

“This is a cause for celebration. People came together with this shared vision to make it happen: to support families,” Ivery said.  More than 75 people attended the grand opening from throughout the region, but especially from throughout Sulphur Springs.

For more information about the Sulphur Springs Resource Center, contact Paula Kay, Community Partnership and Development Manager, at 813.274.0936.

United Way Launches Disaster Services Blog

United Way’s Disaster Services blog has been launched to provide the Tampa Bay community – citizens and health and human services agencies — with a disaster planning, mitigation, and recovery resource. 

In addition to finding help with getting your family ready for a disaster, human service agencies will find help with business continuity planning as well.

You will also be kept up to date on United Way’s work with its many partners with respect to the following:

1. The development of Volunteer Reception Centers that are primed and ready to go in the case of a major disaster.

2. The development of collaborations throughout Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties that work to mobilize human service organizations, governments, business, and volunteer organizations when a major disaster strikes.

3. Opportunities for human service agencies to participate in disaster training workshops.

4. Information for citizens about how to prepare for, and respond to, a major disaster.

5. Where to go for help if and when a major disaster strikes.

If you have any ideas about how this blog could better help you and the community, please contact Sheri Taylor at United Way. Her email is staylor@uwtb.org and her phone number is 813-274-0962. 

If you would like to volunteer for a post-disaster opprtunity, please register with us for opportunties posted HERE. 

VISIT THE UNITED WAY DISASTER SERVICES BLOG

From Bosnia with love- Day of Caring true to its name

Amira Forto stood in the shade as she watched the improvements being done on her St. Petersburg home, watching volunteers work in the heat and humidity to get the job done.

The job was a home mini-makeover: complete with interior and exterior painting, plumbing and electrical repairs, and minor carpentry work. What at first glance appeared to be a weekend project from friends and neighbors of Amira was something much more. It was a product of United Way of Tampa Bay Day of Caring.

United Way Day of Caring, held on October 18^th, mobilized 130 local companies and more than 2,000 volunteers to assist 58 local non-profit agencies with everything from landscaping to clean up to mini-makeovers like Amira’s.

This project was supported by more than 20 volunteers from Pinellas County Schools, and organized by the Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services, a United Way partner agency.

United Way and Bucs ‘Huddle’ to benefit Sulphur Springs school

The United Way of Tampa Bay and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers teamed up on October 10, 2007 to provide new sports equipment to Sulphur Springs Elementary School as part of the National Football League’s nationwide collaboration, Hometown Huddle. 

Through the efforts of the United Way’s community impact initiative, Buccaneers players Sammy Davis, Ike Hilliard, Matt Lehr, and Maurice Stovall joined team mascot, Captain Fear, in personally delivering the equipment for the school’s Physical Education Department. Jump ropes, baseballs, footballs, soccer balls and goals, basketballs and nets were donated for use in the school’s Physical Education curriculum.  

Led by Sulphur Springs principal Cora Wimberly, the school was in frenzied form for the arrival of their beloved Buccaneers. Handmade pennants, hats, banners adorned the school’s playground, while many children and teachers were dressed in Buccaneer jerseys and t-shirts honoring their hometown team. Chants of ‘Let’s Go Bucs’ were echoing throughout the school’s playground as the players arrived. 

The Buc players joined Emery Ivery, Vice President of Community and Partnership Development, in talking about the community impact efforts of the United Way and the importance of hard work and success. They then put the new equipment to good use, playing basketball, jumping rope, and participating in parachute games with the kids.  The NFL and United Way’s Hometown Huddle is a collection of hands-on volunteer projects implemented simultaneously on a single Tuesday in different NFL cities across the country. 

Thanks to Hometown Huddle 2007, the Buccaneers and United Way ensured that the children in Sulphur Springs will enjoy their physical education experience on a daily basis.