Paul Szmal: Good morning 816, FLX Morning, Guest-O-Rama Monday. We got all four guest slots filled and we're Zooming with Rhonda Jasper, United Way of Seneca County at uwseneca.org. Good morning and welcome back. Thanks for having me. How are you?
Rhonda Jasper: I'm doing well.
Paul Szmal: We're here to talk about the campaign, of course, but first, as always, our value of the month for September.
Rhonda Jasper: Yes, so for September it's caring and courtesy, which is always a good reminder, especially with the kids going back to school. You know, everything from, you know, kids being able to help their neighbors with yard work to joining youth groups, perhaps our youth group RISE, always a good one, but really being caring and courteous of the people around you and just being aware. Adults, become a mentor, a friend to someone younger, be excited when you see a young person, and my god, please remember that all the kids are watching us and we are setting an example in the way we treat everybody.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, now you mentioned RISE. Tell us a little bit more about that youth group.
Rhonda Jasper: Sure, so RISE is Resilience and Inclusion for Students Everywhere. It is a United Way of Seneca County youth group as part of our coalition work. It is for all students in Seneca County, grades 6 through 12, and it's really neat because it's student-led. I mean, obviously, we're there to support them and help them learn the skills they need, but we've had some great kids really take leadership and ownership of it. So, you know, anyone who wants to join, it's pretty much what the kids want to focus on. We have a lot of focus on, obviously, prevention around, like, substance abuse and the mental health pieces. You know, the kids always want to talk about and work around bullying, so it's definitely a thing. We always know that kids say there's not enough activities for them, so they're also planning activities and things like that. So, if you want any more information about that, you can reach out to Sarah Smolinski, who's our youth coordinator, and she's just sarah at uwseneca.org. Sarah with an H.
Paul Szmal: All right, that group is called RISE, and it fits right in with the September value, caring and courtesy. For October, it's dignity and sense of purpose. We'll talk more about that in detail next month. But, of course, at United Way, there are two seasons, campaign season and the one day a year it's not.
Rhonda Jasper: Correct, and that would be Taste of Spring.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, exactly. So, tell us about the preparations for this year's campaign.
Rhonda Jasper: It's been really exciting. We've had some new energy this year, which has been just wonderful for those of us in the office and that have been working on it, but really focusing on our dedication to Seneca County. Obviously, we are the United Way of Seneca County, and we're really proud of the work we do, but we know that a lot of people don't necessarily attribute the things they say in the community or see in the community to our programs, so helping people make those connections. But we've had some fantastic conversations with some wonderful people who are willing to be ambassadors this year for us and really help us get that news out there, law enforcement and school officials, and so hopefully you'll be hearing it a little bit more in some different places this year.
Paul Szmal: So, you have a new way of giving, an e-giving option this year. How will that work?
Rhonda Jasper: We do. We're using a whole new program this year, and so we'll still be able to do cash and check through the offices, of course, but you will see through the website, QR codes, there's a text-to-give number. All of them bring you to the same place, so this year we're able to take all of the usual kinds, but we're also able to take Venmo this year, Apple Pay, Google Pay. We can do donor-advised funds electronically. So, you know, as easy and user-friendly as possible.
Paul Szmal: So, one of the things you want to talk about today, there's been some negative publicity about another United Way organization in the region, and you just want everybody to know exactly who you are, that you're Seneca County all the way.
Rhonda Jasper: We are. We are. Since 1958, we've been working in Seneca County. We have no intention of going anywhere. You know, we're proud to say that a hundred percent of every donation stays here. We, of course, support the work that other United Ways are doing. However, you know, want to remind people, for all United Ways across the board, we're all very different. Yes, we're members of the same organization. We're all members of United Way Worldwide, and in some places, also the State Association. So, we're also members of the United Way of New York State, but those are really supports for us. Worldwide gives us guidance, allows us to use their logo. You know, we have rules that we have to follow for them, but after that, everything is completely up to the local United Way. You know, we operate completely autonomously. We do all of our own 990 filings. We have our own local board. All financial decisions are made here. So, we're able to really focus on Seneca County and make sure that all of the donations, whether it's skill or time or, you know, dollars, stay right here supporting Seneca County residents and what they're doing.
Paul Szmal: One of the campaign pieces that you sent out has a few FAQs that people ask, and one of the ones you run into all the time is, you know, my little donation of a couple of dollars can't help.
Rhonda Jasper: Oh, it certainly can. It adds up. That's the whole goal of being united. You know, we found out that if every household in Seneca County gave us a dollar a week, we would more than double our budget, which I know sounds unrealistic as far as getting out to every household. However, that's how much it can add up and how quickly. You know, if every household gave us 50 cents, that'd be our budget. So, that flexibility, those donations, adding up is what allows us to be able to react in real-time to what Seneca County needs, be it, you know, responding when Seneca County Emergency Management needed help with the masks and, you know, doing the Seneca County needs masks and putting out 12,000 masks in three months with a hundred volunteers, that kind of thing. You know, being able to jump and help create a suicide coalition when there wasn't, and now, you know, years later, we have so many resources in the area. It's just fantastic. So, those donations, they add up 50 cents a paycheck, a dollar paycheck, if you're in a place that does workplace giving. Hopefully, you'll start to see some, you know, the coin collecting things that registers, or if you have an opportunity to round up or support us, every dollar adds up. So, please, please think of us.
Paul Szmal: One of the things that also comes up, especially if someone has an affinity for one particular organization, is why give to United Way rather than directly to that organization?
Rhonda Jasper: That's a fantastic question, and that's another way to make sure that your dollars stay local. So, we support several of our funded partners through our Community Investment Grant, which is an annual grant, but when you start looking at, especially our community partners that span a couple of counties, for example, like Safe Harbors, they do amazing DV Advocate Services across several counties, and if you write a check directly to Safe Harbors, it supports all of their work, which is fantastic, and we would never deter you from doing that. But if you want your dollars to stay within Seneca County, if you write your check to us, United Way of Seneca County, and designate it to Safe Harbors, then it goes specifically to a fund just to help Seneca County residents with what they need to establish and maintain their independence, lock changes, moving trucks, whatever that is. That's obviously up to them for those decisions. Same with Family Counseling Services of the Finger Lakes, that's a sliding scale only for Seneca County residents. Catholic Charities of the Finger Lakes, that's support just for Seneca County residents. So, we follow up and make sure with our partners that all the dollars stay with our local residents, and that is, you know, one of the main rules of our thing is that we need to know that it stays with Seneca County.
Paul Szmal: When we talk about every donation making a difference, I didn't know this one. This is great. If every household in Seneca County donated a dollar a week for a year, that would double your budget.
Rhonda Jasper: It would, even before we talk about grant income and things like that. I mean, the flexibility that would give us would be amazing. If we continue everything we do and grow it exponentially, it would be fantastic. And I know it's unrealistic to think that we could get 13,000 households to do anything. However, that's how much your dollar a week can matter. You know, or if, you know, everyone in your neighborhood pitched in a dollar and you gave us a one-time donation, like it adds up. Every single dollar adds up.
Paul Szmal: Most people probably still know United Way for its funding of partner agencies, but we've talked about over the last several years, a few years ago, you said we need to do more. And that's when you got into things like Coalitions United and the RISE group that you talked about and taking positive action yourself as an organization in the county.
Rhonda Jasper: Yes, we've definitely seen, you know, it's a movement. You'll see many United Ways moving that way, but the pass-through of funds isn't a sustainable method anymore. So, of course, we continue to support our partners. We love doing that. We love keeping the dollars with Seneca County. But in-house, we do have the Coalitions United, and through our campaign, you're also able to designate to our in-house programs. So if you want to write us, you know, make a donation to United Way and make sure that your dollars go just to supporting, say, the Substance Abuse Coalition, you can do that. So between Substance Abuse Coalition and Suicide Coalition, we've got the Problem Gambling Education and Outreach. We now house the Seneca County Opioid Overdose Prevention Task Force, of course, RISE, and of course, Women's Leadership, which people know because of the famous Dede Olofsson. A lot of people... I'm losing my train of thought. What was I going to say?
Paul Szmal: A lot of your programs are focused on kids and teens. Are you starting to see the results? Are kids coming to you saying, you know, because of this group, because of these meetings, I feel like I have a place to go and I feel like I can talk out my problems?
Rhonda Jasper: We've had some fantastic success with a couple of our teens who have been accepted to, like, regional support boards. You know, we've got Brea and Delaney, who are two students who are now serving in larger sections, but still, you know, on our groups. Prevention's a hard thing to measure. You can't measure what, you know, doesn't happen. Right. So, but yes, we seem to... The ones that have found us, the ones we've connected with seem to have very positive feedback. You know, we still do the annual student survey across all four districts, you know, watching the trends there as far as mental health. And, you know, but kids seem to really feel like they've got adults in schools they can talk to. They've got adults in the community they can talk to. And those connections, that community is just paramount for success for everybody.
Paul Szmal: All right. The campaign's about to begin. Consider making a donation if you haven't before, and increasing it if you have. Rhonda, thanks for the news, and thanks for the great work.
Rhonda Jasper: Thank you so much.
