What would you like people to know about United Way?
Let me start with something healthcare professionals all know really well: Results create hope. We not only see people come to us who are ill, but we also see people whose illness has been impacted by the conditions in which they live. Lack of education leads to lack of income, which leads to poor health.
We are on the front lines of seeing the unmet need in our community. At United Way, we are about helping change conditions for these people. One of the ways United Way does this is by reducing the teen pregnancy rate. We were a community several years ago that had the highest teen pregnancy rate in the country. Through the efforts of United Way working with a number of different agencies, city officials, and media outlets, we were able to reduce that rate more than 50% - surpassing the original goal.
Now we’ve turned our attention to another critical healthcare need in our community: infant mortality. Infant mortality is the bell weather for the health of a community. What’s more important than making sure all babies born reach their first birthdays?
United Way and its community partners have rallied around this cause by focusing on factors that lead to infant deaths and will continue to do so for the long-term to create change for those who need it most.
Why should people choose United Way?
United Way looks at urgent needs in a very data-driven way. By focusing on three portfolios, health, education, and financial stability, and following through by looking at effectiveness, results and measuring the impact that the agency programs are making United Way makes a real difference. Being able to pull all the resources together to get to the root cause of an issue is better than a disconnected approach. United Way really brings a collective approach to the community.
In light of the recent merger, what would you like to say to Waukesha County residents regarding their gifts to United Way?
As president & CEO of Froedtert Health, I can say this merger will mean a great deal to our employees. Our organization has a footprint in both counties. We are one of the largest employers in Waukesha County and one of the largest employers in Milwaukee County. The county borders don’t mean anything to us. Our employees move back and forth between, working in one county and living in another.
We never utter a word about county lines as we serve people from the four-county region every day. United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County holds the same philosophy: We will help people where people need help. We believe the merger of United Way of Greater Milwaukee and United Way in Waukesha County has enhanced what our employees can do for the community. We expect Froedtert Health to be a leader in strengthening the 2015 Community Campaign.