Weekend Full of Action
This past weekend, you may have been celebrating Father’s Day or taking part in United Way’s Day of Action.
United Ways across the country participated in Day of Action and many United Ways also tied in an opportunity to take action for Father’s Day.
United Way of Long Island (Deer Park, NY) partnered with Barnes & Noble of Bay Shore for a fundraiser for their YouthBuild Long Island program. They invited their community to take action by either attending the fundraising event or giving to their YouthBuild Long Island program at another Barnes & Noble store or online.
On Saturday, they held a day of fun-filled events at Barnes & Noble of Bay Shore, which featured a Father’s Day Storybook Reading by YouthBuild Long Island students who are fathers, book signings by two authors who wrote books about youth overcoming adversity on Long Island, and face painting. The events were centered around the core concepts of United Way of Long Island’s YouthBuild Long Island program, which are: leadership, community services, educations, and career planning & development. A portion of the proceeds from the day supported United Way of Long Island’s YouthBuild Long Island program.
United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey (Philadelphia, PA) joined the PA Says No More campaign to pledge to end gender-based violence, in honor of Father’s Day. They invited their community to take action by joining them in taking the #FathersDayPledgePA to help end gender violence on their Web site, Facebook, and Twitter.
United Way of Northeast Florida (Jacksonville, FL) invited their community to take part in United Way’s Day of Action to help make a big impact in education with their United Way Backpack Challenge, which ensures students in Northeast Florida go back to school with the tools they need to succeed. They encouraged community members to help them fill as many clear or mesh backpacks with school supplies as possible to donate to Achievers For Life schools or United Way Full Service Schools resource centers. They included a suggested timeline for United Way’s Day of Action on their Web site, which included making breakfast for your dad for Father’s Day, heading to the nearest store to load up on school supplies, and tweeting a picture to @unitedwaynefl with #DayofAction to encourage others to get involved. They promoted United Way’s Day of Action and their Backpack Challenge on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
These are three great examples of inviting community members to take action, and I love how these United Ways tied in Father’s Day to engage their community on the holiday weekend. Consider offering similar opportunities for your community to take action and remember to engage your community throughout the year by communicating frequently and using multiple communication methods.
