This Week's Guest Blogger: Alan Edelstein

This week, United Way's blog series will focus on hunger in Delaware County. To start off this series, we have a guest blogger, Alan Edelstein from Family and Community Service of Delaware County.

Alan Edelstein is the Executive Director of Family and Community Service of Delaware County (FCS). FCS administers Delaware County’s emergency food assistance programs through a network of food centers including the twelve member centers of the Delco Interfaith Food Assistance Network (DIFAN).

For most of us, the approaching holiday season is a time when we think of gathering together and spending precious time with our loved ones. Many of us also think about making donations to those in need that are less fortunate than ourselves. As a provider of food assistance services, our Agency is grateful that so many folks feel the impulse to give, and we see these sentiments reflected in an outpouring of aid that brightens the holidays for those who are struggling with the persistence of poverty.

In our media culture, the poor tend to be invisible for most of the year. To give you an idea of the extent of hunger in our communities, a 2009 US Department of Agriculture study found that 14.9 percent of Americans­— more than 50 million people­— experienced “food insecurity” at least some time during the year and were unable to meet their dietary needs. Closer to home, last year in Delaware County 7,000 households— including 8,500 adults, 6,600 children and 1,900 elderly persons— received government donated food assistance. As a result of the lingering Great Recession, in the same period the 12 DIFAN food centers distributed 1.1 million meals, an increase of 22 percent over the previous year.

We and our affiliated food centers and agencies greatly appreciate our neighbors’ generous support during the holiday season, which helps us to meet a critical need. However, we should not lose sight of the fact that poverty and food insecurity are not just limited to a couple of months on the calendar, and I encourage everyone to maintain the giving spirit and support organizations that help those in need throughout the entire year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

United Way of Southeast Delaware County would like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! We are thankful for all of you: friends, and families. We are also thankful for all of you who have been supporting United Way’s annual campaign, as well as helping United Way serve as a leader in this community. We hope you all enjoy the holiday and remember that Thanksgiving is about giving as well,so do not forget those who are less fortunate and remember to donate leftover foods and volunteer over the holiday!

Safe Travels this Thanksgiving Holiday!

United Way of Southeast Delaware County also wants to wish you safe travels during this Thanksgiving holiday. Many people travel distances to see their loved ones for Thanksgiving meal. Travel can not only be dangerous but can also bring about sickness. To make travelling safer, prepare for your drive or flight, and if you are driving, take the proper precautions and drive when it’s lighter outside. In order to help prevent sickness, research measures to help you stay healthy and make sure to bring hand sanitizer and wash your hands wherever you go. Most importantly to stay safe and healthy during the holiday and your holiday travels, stay hydrated and well rested.

Have a HEALTHY Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is an annual holiday where families gather together to give thanks. While it is a holiday meant to celebrate family and friends and show appreciation for those in our lives, the primary focus is on the Thanksgiving meal. The meal consists of hearty portions of turkey, gravy, stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pies; just tons and tons of food often accompanied with alcohol. Although these foods are delicious and a large part of the thanksgiving celebration, eating and drinking to excess can be dangerous to one’s health. Big meals like thanksgiving, where the average plate is around 3000 calories, can not only add onto existing issues such as high cholesterol and heart disease, but they increase risk for heart attacks and gallbladder pain. Also, the combination of heavy portions and alcohol can impair you for the drive home by increasing drowsiness, and in cases of high alcohol consumption it can strongly impair your judgment and the motor functions necessary to drive. But Thanksgiving dinner does not have to be a meal full of poor health choices. One of the keys to having an enjoyable and healthy Thanksgiving meal is to practice portion control. This means cutting down on the amount you eat, because the main health issue with Thanksgiving is over-eating and over-drinking. You are more likely to be successful at portion control if you do not go to Thanksgiving dinner hungry and if you exercise at some point during the day. Also, if you happen to be the cook, make it a lighter Thanksgiving meal: substitute certain fattier options for some fat free options and cook more vegetables and healthier dishes instead of large amounts of unhealthy, high-fat dishes. United Way of Southeast Delaware County wants you to have a happy, as well as a healthy, Thanksgiving. This holiday is about giving thanks for everyone and everything, and that includes everyone’s happiness and health.

Below are some resources to help make your Thanksgiving healthy:

Healthy Thanksgiving Recipes

Portion Control Tips

Healthy Holiday Eating Tips

It's the 25th Annual National Philanthropy Day!

United Way would like to wish everyone a very happy National Philanthropy Day!

National Philanthropy Day is a celebration of the wonderful things service and philanthropy contribute to our lives. It is a day meant to recognize the incredible impact that philanthropy and those who give have on our lives. This day means to commemorate all of those involved in the charitable sector including nonprofit organizations and individuals, who donate their time, effort, and resources to help others. So United Way of Southeast Delaware County celebrates all of those who give because no matter how small, your actions do not go unnoticed!

A Special Message from United Way for Veterans' Day

United Way would like to emphasize that the community of Delaware County cares about its veterans. Many Delaware County social service agencies are providing services specific to veterans. For example, Trimerge Investments, LLC has recently opened Buchman Meadows in Chester, a housing facility for veterans. Buchman Meadows was previously a veterans’ hospital that was recently renovated to provide housing units for veterans, as well as others in need. The facility will not only provide housing and housing amenities but will be staffed with individuals who can help veterans establish themselves and get access to various social services. Efforts such as Buchman Meadows highlight the need for more veterans’ services but also show that Delaware County is a community that appreciates and wishes to honor its veterans.

United Way of Southeast Delaware County would like to pay tribute to all of the men and women who are serving or who have served our country. These individuals serve our country and its citizens on a day-to-day basis, and United Way would like to emphasize that their hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed. Happy Veterans Day to all those who protect and serve our country!

To contact Buchman Meadows:

Call: 484-841-6646

Email: homeforheroes@comcast.net

And for more information please refer to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Veterans Affairs.

Source: Delaware County Daily Times

Dropouts: An Even Steeper Mountain to Climb

In southeast Delaware County education is a prevailing community issue. Schools, in particular, face a handful of challenges from high school dropouts to poor performance on standardized testing. It will take a whole community acting together, like the recent high school dropout summit, to begin moving past the wide array of educational challenges that schools and communities face every day.

Recently we have seen the Federal Government taking action to more accurately assess the dropout rate. Starting this year, Pennsylvania, along with all other states, will be making changes to how they measure the graduation rate. The previous method of calculation focused specifically on the graduation rates of the senior class. Starting in 2012 the new method will be based on a “four year cohort graduation rate”. This means they will calculate how many students have dropped out from the beginning of freshman year to the end of senior year. The new method reflects essentially the amount of students dropping out over the course of four years as opposed to focusing on the last year of high school only. Unfortunately, this four-year method will without a doubt reflect a higher dropout rate. These higher numbers, although more accurate, could also lead to a whole new array of problems in regards to funding and schools struggling to meet these criteria.

As an agency for community change we have to ask ourselves what kind of action we will take when faced with the stark reality of higher dropout rates. How can we help re-engage these youth? How can we prevent them from being counted in this large statistic? What can we do about the root causes that influence the dropout rate?

What do you think of the four-year measurement?

Do you think a more accurate measurement will help strengthen our education system? Do you think it will make existing challenges even harder to overcome?

Tell us what you think.

This Week's Guest Blogger on Education!

Our Community Impact Manager, Rich Crespo, was compelled to say a few words about Education after attending the October 2010 Dropout Summit:

2010's midterm elections have been decided and one thing is for sure, this was a remarkable race. I know many Pennsylvanian's are concerned about the proposed impact to our budget, specifically in education. I think it is important to note that while funding is important, so much more goes into a child being successful in school. Students are successful when their schools encourage the community to become involved in the process. This means families, educators, businesses and others must become resources in order to get results. The bottom line is that parents must put sincere effort into developing their kids. We must treat the education of children as a long-term investment. Parents should be given chances and in turn choose to visit local schools, meet with teachers and administrators, voice concerns, share ideas, volunteer and suggest ideas to improve systems. School leaders must use community members as a resource and attend local events and forge partnerships. This formula was echoed at the recent Summit, Re-Engaging High School Dropouts, that I attended in October. Over 50 local organizations were represented at the meeting. The result was the understanding that we need to all work together to improve conditions. With these supports in place, students will be able to develop work habits, character and a sense of personal responsibility needed to succeed in school, work and life. The best part? This process doesn't depend on money to succeed.

~ Rich Crespo, Community Impact Manager

Re-focus On Education: Re-engagement of H.S. Dropouts

United Way of Southeast Delaware County has embarked on a new Initiative to help promote Education in our community. We strive to encourage lifelong learning throughout the community. We do this by helping all residents gain access to the resources, services and knowledge that will help them learn and develop over their lifetime. Yet we see that education remains a major challenge. It is up to us, the community, to find the root causes of this challenge and find a way we can all contribute to the solution.

Delaware County still faces its fair share of educational challenges, but its citizens have been working to tackle these issues. On October 20^th and 21^st, the Delaware County Office of Employment and Training held a “Re-engaging Delaware County’s High School Dropouts” Summit along with 50 social service agencies (including the United Way of Southeast Delaware County). The Summit consisted of various speakers talking about the issues followed by break-out groups where people discussed ways to re-engage Delaware County’s high school dropouts.

The Summit brought to light some salient statistics about drop-outs in southeast Delaware County:

· There are 3,700 high school dropouts in Delaware County between the ages of 16 and 24 years.

· Dropouts are twice as likely to be unemployed and four times more likely to be living in poverty.

· Dropouts earn 40% less than a high school graduate.

· The economic impact to the community is $638 per dropout per year in public assistance, health care and incarceration costs.

Statistics like these remind us just how critical the drop-out problem is. Statistics like these also serve as motivation to do something about it:

United Way of Southeast Delaware County is tackling tough problems, such as high dropout rates, through its Community Impact Model. We participate in various meetings and summits, like the drop out summit, as well as convene key stakeholders to help identify the root causes of problems and develop strategies to resolve them. This will be a long process but United Way is committed to achieving significant and long lasting change in the Delaware County community. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure that citizens of southeast Delaware County are aware of the educational challenges facing the community while offering solutions. The Dropout Summit was a positive step toward our larger goal however this is just the beginning!