By Dennis Carman — President & CEO, United Way of Greater Plymouth County
For some of us, campaign season is over, but not at United Way of Greater Plymouth County. Our United Way campaign is in full swing! Each year we ask local companies and individuals if they would be willing to make a donation so that we can support over twenty-four of the most compassionate and successful community partners in greater Plymouth County to help house the homeless, feed the hungry, open the doors to affordable healthcare, support our children and youth, and assist our unemployed neighbors to secure better jobs! It is such rewarding work.
I am reminded of something that was said by one of our all-time greatest supporters, Chris Oddleifson, President & CEO of Rockland Trust for decades, who recently retired. Chris said, "I support United Way because they make 1 + 1 = 3!" Crazy math from the head of one of the most successful banking institutions in Massachusetts, don't you think?
Chris was referring to the fact that several years ago, our United Way directed $20,000 toward helping our community's homeless families and individuals. With these dollars, we hired a part-time grant writer who successfully wrote several grants totaling $60,000. We then used these dollars as a required 10-percent match to apply for an $830,000 grant from the state of Massachusetts to establish a regional network to end homelessness. The majority of those funds went to obtain housing for over 400 homeless individuals and over 300 homeless families. The city of Brockton, witnessing the wonderful results of our newly established regional network to end homelessness, contributed an additional $611,000 from federal funds it had received to rapidly rehouse homeless people. In addition to these monies, two of our member nonprofit sheltering and housing organizations successfully applied for an additional $1.9 million in state funds to develop even more housing opportunities.
I don't think I'll ever forget telling Mr. Oddleifson of this chain of events or his immediate ability to calculate in his head that our initial $20,000 had brought in $160 for every dollar we had invested! For hundreds of our homeless neighbors, safe, affordable housing became a reality.
So, what does this have to do with health?
Well, achieving and maintaining good health is not easy, right? It is very hard to establish the discipline of eating healthy foods, avoiding unhealthy foods and exercising regularly. My doctor at Signature Healthcare has diagnosed me as "pre-diabetic." He strongly recommends that I adjust my diet and exercise to lose some excess weight and hopefully avoid the awful consequences of full-blown diabetes. I know he is right, and I know I should do exactly as he has directed me. But it is hard.
So, what if I enlist the help of family and friends to help me? What if I ask if some of my friends and family members go to the gym with me or join me in walks or bike rides out and about our neighborhood? What if I announce to all of those in my social circle that I need to eat more vegetables and avoid sweets? I may have to endure some friendly ribbing for all the Twinkies and bowls of ice cream I have consumed over the years.
What I really think, though, is that two things will happen. One is that I will more likely engage in a more active lifestyle where I will lose those unneeded pounds. Two is that I will be much more likely to develop better eating habits to stave off the horrors of diabetes. In both these efforts, I will have included my family and friends in my personal battle to keep me on a healthier trek in my life.
Therefore, I will gain the added bonus of being able to spend more quality time with my family and friends than I would have in my past days of unhealthful practices. They will help me be successful in my efforts to be more healthy. In one of my past blog posts I may have shared my appreciation for Gestalt Therapy that teaches the "whole" of something is much more than the sum of its parts. We are incredibly powerful when we gather together to help each other out. And as my friend Chris Oddleifson says, we can make 1+1=3.
Be healthy with the help of your friends and family, and take advantage of the crazy math!
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