By Kevin J. McCarthy
Chief Executive Officer
United Way of the Inland Valleys

“No doubt unity is something to be desired, to be striven for, but it cannot be willed into being by mere declarations.“
-Theodore Bikel

Unity is a goal sought after by our people since the founding of our nation… but it is so hard to achieve!  “Give. Advocate. Volunteer. Live United.”  This is the clarion call recently issued by United Way of America to encourage people throughout our great land to stand together to meet and overcome our challenges.  This is a noble and vibrant call to action.  Can we do it?

But first; should we do it?
According to noted local economist John Husing and the Public Policy Institute of California, our region is slated to grow by another one million people in the next seven years, despite our current economic slowdown.  Our region’s recent growth has already been phenomenal and has placed extreme stresses on our local systems; including water, air, employment, law enforcement, education and our health and human services.  Our local nonprofit organizations were created when there were far fewer people living here.  Unfortunately, funding has not grown with the population… or with the need for the services.

If we do not begin working together now to plan for this influx of humanity, will it not overwhelm us?  Will it not strain our systems to the breaking point?  What will so many people unsupported by appropriate health and human services mean in terms of our workforce?  Will our employees have the level of training needed for the available jobs?  Will families have access to adequate day care for their children… or for their aging parents?  What about after school programs and anti-drug efforts and programs to reduce gangs?  Without active, intentional planning and preparation, we may be heading for some dismal times.

So, can we do it?
Everyone knows the price of gas is through the roof and foreclosures have devastated thousands of lives.  But anyone can be a philanthropist in good times.  Aren’t hard times when people of good will are needed the most?

United Way of the Inland Valleys, United Way of the Desert, Central County United Way, Corona-Norco United Way, California Baptist University and many other organizations including some county and municipal departments are preparing a joint county-wide needs assessment.  This document will not only assess needs, but it will identify assets.  It will be an invaluable document for our region’s leaders to use in making decisions about how we meet our emerging challenges.

However, at a recent meeting to discuss focus groups being held across the county, one of the representatives present said, “We can’t have only one focus group meeting in the Corona-Norco area because folks from Norco won’t go to Corona and vice versa.”  Then someone else spoke up and said, “Yeah, and folks won’t go from Beaumont to Banning.”  And then another said, “Yeah, and they won’t go from Moreno Valley to Riverside.”  Yet another said, “Yeah, the same is true of Murrieta and Temecula.”  If these statements are true, it’s a pathetically sad commentary on our society. 

It is understandable that many people live in city “A” because they don’t want to live in city “B” and they are quite proud of their own community.  Pride in community is a valuable asset… but taken to extremes, it tends towards the ridiculous.  When pride causes hurt, it becomes folly.

Without unity there will be no comprehensive solutions to area wide problems.  Fires, earthquakes and hazardous spills observe no jurisdictional boundaries.  Neither do gangs, poverty, domestic abuse and financial illiteracy.  Benjamin Franklin once said, “We must all hang together, or surely we shall all hang separately.”  Our immediate future is likely to prove Mr. Franklin correct unless we decide to “hang together.”

So, can we live united?  It seems as if we have no choice.

United Ways all over the country raise funds for their community through workplace giving, corporate gifts and leadership donations.  These monies are allocated to local needs by local volunteers based on local information.  You don’t get closer to a pure form of democracy anywhere else in the health and human services field anywhere in the world. 

Yet, in western Riverside County, where some of our emerging needs are the greatest, United Way of the Inland Valleys is raising significantly less than comparable United Ways elsewhere in the country.  And why is this? 

Expectations.  Historically, we have not expected most businesses, especially if they are small or medium sized, to participate. This is the “let George do it” syndrome.  Some employers have the misguided notion that they are protecting their employees.  From what?  From being able to vote with their tax-deductible contribution for the services they and their families want access to?  Studies have shown over the years that companies that run in-house campaigns to raise money for the community are actually more productive, because the workers appreciate working at a business that invests in the community and allows them to do so as well.

United Ways can be powerful engines for their communities; if they can raise the necessary resources.  They get the ‘united’ thing.  After all, they call themselves United Ways not Divided Ways for a reason.  Because they don’t get into partisan politics they are able to bring folks from the left and the right, from management and labor, from different ethnic groups and from different religious affiliations all to the same table to work together; to live united.

This is such an important moment in the life of our communities and our region.  Won’t you step up and make a difference, an investment of time or money or both? If you are employer, won’t you run an active workplace campaign?  “Give.  Advocate. Volunteer.  Live United.”  Because so much is riding on what you decide… because Community Matters!