After mergers two counties covered

Published 8:55 pm Thursday, December 9, 2010

United Way of Southwest Michigan Campaign Manager Retta Curneal in Dowagiac Thursday. Based in St. Joseph, her United Way serves all of Berrien and Cass counties. (The Daily News/John Eby)

United Way of Southwest Michigan Campaign Manager Retta Curneal in Dowagiac Thursday. Based in St. Joseph, her United Way serves all of Berrien and Cass counties. (The Daily News/John Eby)

United Way of Southwest Michigan touched the lives of 45,000 people in Cass and Berrien counties last year.

“Used to be, in the old days, if someone got touched by United Way, it meant they had a really bad problem,” Campaign Manager Retta Curneal said.

Then the St. Joseph-based agency, which merged with Cass County in 2006 and absorbed Greater Niles this year, reinvented itself.

Greater Niles’ board decided March 29. The consolidation became complete in July.

“Their house burned down or they hit rock bottom and had nowhere else to go but the bottom of the barrel and scratch their way up,” she said. “They came to United Way for help. It’s not necessarily that way anymore. United Way has all kinds of great programs that just about anybody can participate in to help our residents of both counties have a better life. We want all our residents to have great lives from the day they’re born through retirement, but we know that takes a lot of education and the help of everyone. That’s why we call it ‘Live United.’ We all have to work together for everybody to have a great life. United Way is very much different than it used to be. It’s changed a lot since I came on board.”

Curneal spoke to 23 Dowagiac Rotarians Thursday noon at Elks Lodge 889 as the guest of Sheriff Joe Underwood.

She joined United Way in 2008 and is manager of her third campaign.

Her campaign cabinet includes Rotarian Joan Forburger of Lewis Cass Intermediate School District.

Curneal, who started working in Cass County this year and addressed the Board of Commissioners Oct. 21, reiterated, “I always tell people, ‘You may not see us here every day, but we are here.’ A lot of agencies headquartered in Benton Harbor and St. Joe have satellite offices here.”

United Way offers 49 programs through 37 funded agencies.

“We focus on the basic building blocks of life,” she said, “education, income, health and basic needs. If you’re missing any component, you have a really good chance of not having a good life. You can have all the education and income in the world, but if your health is terrible, what good does it do you? And in times of trials and tribulations and times of emergency, United Way will always be there to help out with the basic needs of our community.”

Each target issue contains goals beneath it, such as under education, United Way focuses on school readiness from birth to school.

“School superintendents tell me 5-year-olds come for kindergarten and they’ve never seen a book,” Curneal said, “let alone someone cuddling them up in their lap to read them a story. That’s terrible and should be illegal. They’re not going to have the best educational experience without a better start to life.”

In fact, she said, states project prison population growth with third grade reading skills.

“If a child can’t read well by third grade,” she said, “he or she has a very good chance of spending a good portion of their life” behind bars.

“If they can’t read well, they’re not going to learn well, so that’s our top priority. We want our families to have financial stability, with decent job skills. Part of that is learning how to handle money. Many of you are business owners or managers and I know you have people who live paycheck to paycheck. If they get a flat tire, they can’t afford to come to work because they can’t afford to go get a new tire. We offer classes that teach financial stability. We want babies to be born healthy and our adults to make healthy choices. Right now, in Cass County, only 68 percent of toddlers get immunized. That’s a statistic from the State of Michigan. That means a good number of Cass County children can get really sick. In both counties, we have a high ratio of obese adults — which I always talk about over breakfast or lunch. Doughnuts or pizza, it never fails.”

As far as basic needs, during the Great Recession of the past few years, “Folks have lost their jobs who never, ever thought they’d be unemployed. They need help, but they’re too proud to ask, but we’re there for them and for the folks who are always tottering on that fence between a good life and a not-so-good life.”

Goal for fundraising is $3 million. Payroll deductions for this campaign run Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2011.

“Our needs are probably more like twice that amount,” she said. “In Cass County last year we raised approximately $40,000, but we invested $150,000. We’re proud sponsors of the (LCISD) backpack spectacular, which supplies up to 1,500 to needy children so they are equipped to start school.

United Way contributes $7,000 to $8,000 for the 3-year-old effort.

“Each book bag is separated by ages and grades,” Curneal said, “so a kindergartner is not getting a calculator and a 12-year-old is not getting a box of crayons. I helped pack them and hand them out this year and it’s really a neat thing. We only do that in Cass. We don’t do that in Berrien County. We also entered into a program with Lewis Cass ISD, Parents as Teachers, here in Cass County. Stable parents get trained to mentor families that are not so stable.”

“Money raised in Cass County stays here to support your community, your friends, your families,” she said. “Approximately 17 cents of each dollar is used for administrative purposes, which means 83 percent of the money we raise goes right back into our communities. The standard for non-profit overhead is 25 percent, so we are outstanding stewards of our money.”

By moving into its own building, Curneal said United Way saves on rent, “so even more money will be going right back into our community. We’ll save thousands of dollars every year from what we paid in rent.”

Drug savings

United Way offers prescription drug savings cards.

“FamilyWize drug discount cards are intended to be used by people who don’t have prescription drug coverage,” Curneal explained. “Perhaps they lost their job. Perhaps they’re a contract employee who doesn’t get benefits. Or, their company offers benefits, but they don’t feel they can afford them.

“Maybe they’re on Medicare, but they get in this doughnut hole each year where they have to spend thousands of dollars out of their own pocket just to get their medicines. This card can be used at pretty much any pharmacy. I personally have not heard of any pharmacy rejecting it. People can walk out saving up to 35 percent on their prescription drugs. There’s no income limit, there’s no age limit, there’s no residency limit. It’s totally free (www.FAMILYWIZE.org).”

Rite Aid in Dowagiac and Cassopolis, Pamida and Family Fare all accept the cards.

“It’s a national program we brought it out in June 2008,” Curneal said. “Between our two counties, more than $490,000 has been saved by our residents and almost 50,000 claims using this card. It really does work.”

Free books

United Way participates in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which mails free books every month from birth to 5 years old, so by the time a child starts school, he or she has a library.

The country singer “created this program because of her love of books. She realizes not every family can or will buy books for their children,” Curneal said. “Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is free to all children. The only qualification for this program is that the child be at least one day old and not have reached their 5th birthday. Enrollment is open to all children in Cass and Berrien counties. No income restrictions. The only restriction is the age limit.”

Curneal continued, “The child gets an age-appropriate book mailed to his or her attention at home every single month they’re in the program. If we get a newborn and they stay in the program until they’re 5, they’re going to have an awesome library. Obviously, we hope someone’s going to pull them in their lap and read to them and teach them how to read. But even if they don’t, the child is still going to understand how to open the book and they’re going to use their imagination to create great stories. They’re going to know a book is a really good thing.”

The book program costs United Way $30 per year per participating child so it can be free to every family. Families can enroll up to four children. Write to United Way of Southwest Michigan, Attn.: Imagination Library, P.O. Box 807, Benton Harbor, MI 49023 or call (269) 925-7772 for enrollment information.

“We have about 1,300 children enrolled in the program,” Curneal said. “The very last book they receive during their 5th birthday week is called, ‘Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come.’ ”

211

Curneal compares 211 to 911, except this national program connects callers to health and human services organizations rather than emergency responders in police cars, firetrucks and ambulances.

“It’s a program United Way worked for about seven years to bring to our area,” she said. “Our umbrella for this program only covers Berrien, Cass, Van Buren and Allegan counties. About 80 percent of the United States and 80 percent of Michigan have the 211 program right now. It’s live 24 hours a day.

“A person dials 211 — it’s a totally free, confidential call — and before they hang up, they have a referral to an organization that can help them solve their problem. If you can imagine someone in your family having surgery that didn’t go quite as it was supposed to. Now that person’s coming home and they need someone to stay with them. Maybe you can’t take time off from your job. Call 211 and they can refer an agency in your area which can help with that problem and send people to your home. It’s a great program. We kicked off our program on 211 — Feb. 11, 2010.