Links to Success

We hope you had a wonderful summer and Labor Day weekend! The 2014-2015 school year has officially started and kids across the country are back in school. Many United Ways focus on addressing issues within the categories of education, income, and health – if this is your United Way, does your community know you are focused on education in your community?

Trident United Way (North Charleston, South Carolina) is communicating the importance of education and students graduating in their community. Their bold 10-year goal is that 88% of students graduate high school. Trident United Way is spreading awareness about their Links to Success initiative on their Web site and in social media. Their Links to Success initiative supports site coordinators to positively impact educational, financial stability, and health outcomes for at-risk students and their families. By partnering with all four school districts and local service providers, Trident United Way's Links to Success initiative contributes to academic success and a higher graduation rate for the community.

Trident United Way just held a contest to encourage community members to read site coordinators’ stories about what makes their experience as a site coordinator “sweet” and to vote for their schools to win a frozen yogurt mobile unit. They posted pictures with quotes from the site coordinators on their Facebook page and linked people back to their Web site to read the full stories. The story with the most “likes” by September 1st won.

The frozen yogurt company also promoted this contest on their Facebook and Twitter pages, explaining that the site coordinators are making a meaningful and measurable difference in the lives of Charleston’s young students and encouraging them to visit Trident United Way’s Facebook page to vote.

This is a great way to reach numerous people in your community and connect them to your United Way, including people who follow the frozen yogurt company giving out the prize, people who are friends with one of the site coordinators, and people who have children attending one of the schools.

This contest is also a fun way to inform your community of the great work your United Way is doing in the community. You are able to explain the issue(s) you are addressing and the impact you are making in the community, while asking people to vote for a fun contest.

Trident United Way is linking students and their families to success with their Links to Success initiative, but they are also linking community members to their United Way by sharing information about their initiative and their focus on education.

Make sure you are finding ways to link your community to your United Way and inform them of the great work you are doing in the community.