There still is much to do to get the word out about the 211 program: “It’s like calling 911 for social services; if you have a sick parent, are out of a job, need shelter, where do you turn?” A “one stop shopping” site for social services, 211 is much like 911 or 411, “staffed 24 hours a day” and offering referrals to services not necessarily under the UWVC or Interface - which sponsors - umbrellas. Funded largely by UWVC, 211 is multi-lingual.Earn It Keep It is another Community Impact program that “many here in the river valley” should utilize to ensure that they receive tax refunds due them.Volunteers are always being sought. “I look around this room and so many are involved in so many things, some cannot commit” too much time, but Bobkiewicz said that there are “many, many opportunities for short-term volunteer opportunities,” described on UWVC’s www.volunteervc.org as well as in postings by those who would like to volunteer.Some people believe that they should not donate to organizations that advertise, that they must get enough funding, but Bobkiewicz said “at the end of the day they serve local people... UWVC is providing help and support for the people of Ventura County. We all have to work together, we all are part of a larger community” that benefits overall when the needs of others are met.
United Way of VC: Incoming Chairman Bobkiewicz urges volunteerism
May 07, 2008
Santa Paula News
The vice chair of United Way of Ventura County (UWVC) addressed how business can help nonprofit organizations and presented an update on the successful 211 program at the April Good Morning Santa Paula.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesThe vice chair of United Way of Ventura County (UWVC) addressed how business can help nonprofit organizations and presented an update on the successful 211 program at the April Good Morning Santa Paula. Debbie and Don Johnson/Santa Paula Times hosted the Chamber-sponsored event held at Logsdon’s at the Airport.City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz is vice chairman and the incoming chairman of the UWVC, a “huge organization that does so much good,” said Chamber President/CEO John Blanchard, who noted that he serves on the UWVC West County Action Team. Bobkiewicz noted that Sam Hishmeh also serves on the action team, and a UWVC outreach event on 211 garnered Hishmeh’s strong support.Hishmeh, the owner of more than a dozen Domino Pizza franchises, although then “new in the community, said ‘I sell about 8,000 or 9,000 pizzas a week,’ “ and offered to post a flyer on pizza boxes advertising the 211 program. Such support is an example of “how businesses can help organizations,” said Bobkiewicz. “Sam proves that at times you have to be more creative to get the word out.”Singling out GMSP regular Ed Lyon, Bobkiewicz said, “We’re partners in crime on several different projects” that support the needs of county residents. One such program was the Freeze Fund, created in the aftermath of the January 2007 freeze that hit the ag industry hard.“It was a big program that United Way stepped up and said there’s an opportunity to help people and act as a conduit” to funnel funds to farmworkers for food and shelter. The Freeze Fund, said Bobkiewicz, was a critical component of the UWVC Community Impact program.
