This transcript was exported on Dec 16, 2021 - view latest version here.
Mary Bickerstaff: Okay. Thank you so much. We get calls all the time from people wanting to volunteer, and so, I just wanted to that have a good understanding of what might be available.
Matt Atkins: Yep. I think there's a lot.
Reggie Hammond: Is there anything that you can think of as you look forward through the lens of United Way that you see as a substantial challenge for United Way? Anything that you see as a substantial challenge? Matt Atkins: Well, I mean, they're everywhere. I mean, my first thought is the book, Who Moved My Cheese? I mean, something's always going to be moving. We've always got to be looking for ways to stay relevant in our community, whether that's fundraising or providing benefits to the community, those needs are evolving constantly as well. When we had the sort of twin storms in 2017, it created an entirely new need that we didn't have the year before that. And then, of course, Hurricane Michael expanded that need, then COVID hit us, and it changed the needs within our community tremendously. Matt Atkins: And we spent a lot of last year talking about education and how are we going to make sure that our students who now were in a virtual environment without the resources largely in our community, that we're conducive to that virtual environment, how are we going to keep them on a path to success? So there's challenges everywhere, there's fundraising challenges, but then, importantly, there's challenges in identifying the needs of the community. So, I think we're just constantly evolving, and always on the lookout for what's next for us, and for the people that rely on us.
Reggie Hammond: Okay. Anyone else sees substantial challenges?
Rachelle K. Scott: I think there's an opportunity that kind of dovetails off of what Matt was saying, and that is, in addition to those needs growing or increasing in certain areas, then there're constraints with the donors as well because they may be experiencing challenges too or hardships that would prevent them from releasing those funds into the community versus kind of focusing inward onto their own needs and things that they have to provide within their household. So, to really still tap into the heart of those or finding ways to do more with less whatever has to be done in order to still meet those needs that, one, are growing, or at least in particular areas as we have a different landscape, and things will change depending on natural disaster, or pandemic, or other things that we've seen in the past. Rachelle K. Scott: But we know that we are resilient, this community does rise to the occasion. But part of what I've found even working with Procter & Gamble, that concept of doing more with less, it needs to apply throughout. It's not just the business sector or for-profit trying to stretch the dollar and be very creative,
UWSWGA - SOAR Focus Group 1 (Completed 11/16/21) Transcript by Rev.com
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