Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Utilize United Way's 2-1-1 To Connect With Community Resources



Sometimes things happen to us in life unexpectedly, and sometimes, these unexpected surprises can bring joy and happiness into our lives. Unfortunately though, this certainly isn’t always the case.  It seems that more often than not, surprises can cause more harm than good, quickly adding to the stress and worry in our lives.

Events like these may include unexpected car trouble or medical bills that leave you struggling to make ends meet.  Or, maybe an elderly parent falls ill and is no longer able to care for him or herself, leaving you to figure out how to care for your parent, while maintaining full-time employment. These are just a few examples of how one isolated incident can exacerbate our already busy, stressful lives. Don’t face these problems on your own. There are services available to help people in many, various ways and United Way’s 2-1-1 connects people to these resources.  

United Way’s 2-1-1 online information database is full of community resources available right at your fingertips. Simply log-on to www.getconnected.org and click on ‘Information Database.’ From there, you are able to search for resources by category, keyword, or agency. The database also allows you to enter your zip code to search for resources nearest to your home.

For those without internet access, 2-1-1 is also a phone number you can dial to get information on community resources. Referral specialists are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help with information and resources, such as:  housing matters, food, child care services, counseling, literacy classes, health care, substance abuse treatment, family services, Veteran’s services, suicide prevention, energy assistance, job training, senior services, volunteer opportunities, and much more.

United Way’s 2-1-1 is also as much about giving help as it is getting help. If you or your organization provides services in your community, please visit getconnected.org to verify your organization is listed with 2-1-1. If not, please call 2-1-1 with your information. Callers not able to reach 2-1-1 due to your telephone or cell phone carrier can use the toll-free number (877-384-5565) to connect to community resources.



Monday, May 06, 2013

Help "Stamp Out" Hunger This Saturday



The annual National Association of Letter Carriers “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive  is this Saturday. It's easy to participate. Simply, leave a bag of nonperishable food items next to your mailbox for your letter carrier to pick up on that day.

You can also participate by volunteering for the event. Volunteers are needed on Saturday between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm to help load and deliver the food to the food pantries and volunteers are also needed the following few days to help sort the food at Soup Or Socks.

If you are interested in helping with the food drive, please contact Soup Or Socks at 715-387-1796 to schedule yourself a shift
or visit www.marshfieldareaunitedway.org for more information.