Sea sculptures will wait week to surface
May 22, 2007 | Leave a Comment
By Jill Jedlowskijjedlowski@dailyherald.com
Posted Tuesday, May 22, 2007
The usual Memorial Day weekend debut of the Naperville United Way’s annual outdoor public art campaign has been bumped back a week this year.
The first sculptures in the seventh annual “Under the Sea” campaign will hit downtown streets June 1, said Deena Manna, assistant director of the Naperville United Way.
The popular summertime display throughout the central business district is a major fundraiser for the United Way. The pieces will be auctioned Sept. 14, with proceeds going to numerous area agencies.
To date, the effort, which began in 2001, has generated almost $800,000 for programs supported by United Way.
An extra week was built into the time frame this year because the raw sculptures arrived a little later than expected. Local artists needed a full six weeks to apply the final touches — paint, tile, embellishments and all — on the 51 sculptures in the collection. It’s a job that can’t be rushed, Manna said.
The pieces include sea turtles, mermaids and dolphins. Some of the statues also double as chairs and birdbaths.
Select folks will get a sneak peek at the finished products May 31 at an invitation-only preview party. “That’s when we get all the oohs and ahhs, and people get to meet the artists,” Manna said.
The artistic variety and creativity among this year’s creations are said to be stunning. “These are absolutely gorgeous pieces,” Manna said. “I don’t even know where people come up with these ideas. They’re awesome.”
Local Firm Owes Fundraising Success to Enthusiastic Employees
May 10, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Through the contributions of local businesses, such as DiGiovine Hnilo Jordan and Johnson Ltd., Naperville United Way is able to support a broad range of programs that improve lives.
For the past six years, Liz Gonzalez, firm administrator at DHJ and J, has enthusiastically led the company’s United Way fundraising campaign.
How did you become involved with United Way?
Our managing partner, Tom Jordan, is a past board member and long-time supporter of the Naperville United Way. Tom asked me if I would be interested in heading up our campaign. He talked to me about what a fantastic organization it is and how they go about supporting such a broad range of programs locally.
Why is your campaign so successful year after year?
We run a fun and energetic campaign with raffles and prizes donated by our company. It’s terrific to see everyone getting involved and making those pledges. We try to have as much fun as we can with our campaign before tax season hits – then the fun is officially over!
What are the rewards for you as a volunteer and contributor to United Way?
Each year when DHJ and J kicks off a new campaign, I am rewarded with a great feeling of knowing our staff contributions and volunteered time will make a difference in our community. I am confident that my contributions are going to worthwhile agencies that count on me. As campaign coordinator, I can easily translate that feeling to the rest of our staff because I truly believe it.
Investing in United Way helps more than one person, one charity or one issue, because we support a broad range of programs that improve lives. United Way is the most effective way to invest in our community to create positive, lasting change.
NCO and the Naperville United Way: An Important Community Partnership
May 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Investing in United Way helps more than one person, one agency or one issue, because we support a broad range of programs that improve lives.
One such program is Life Workshops, which is one of the many programs of NCO Youth & Family Services – Helping Children and Youth Succeed. Ron Hume is Executive Director of NCO Youth & Family Services.
How does the program work?
On a daily basis NCO works to respond to the needs of the youth in our community, by helping to guide them successfully to adulthood. The Life Workshops program of NCO is an eight-week series of innovative workshop sessions, designed to empower high school age females to better cope with the many stresses of life. This program helps to show teenage girls how to reduce their stress levels, thus preventing further issues with depression or anxiety.
Providing a fun, creative and supportive environment for the girls to learn about handling life is the goal. Through the program, teenage girls are exposed to a variety of tools to help them learn how to understand and appreciate themselves, how to deal with others, and how to take care of themselves both emotionally and physically. The participants learn how yoga, guided imagery, nutrition, self-expression, communication and organizational skills can impact their ability to navigate their way through life with greater ease and confidence.
Who does the program help?
This program targets 14-18 year old females who are having difficulty dealing with the everyday stressors of life. A counselor from NCO Youth and Family Services conducts these weekly workshops, which included teaching coping and communication skills to reduce stress. Each workshop includes an educational component, a discussion of how this applies to the teens’ lives, and an opportunity to practice some of what they learned that night. The final workshop presentation includes the parents who learn how they can be a continued support to their children beyond the workshops.
How does Naperville United Way Help?
Through their strategic initiative process, the Naperville United Way identifies the needs of our community, and lends support to activities that address these issues. With the support of the United Way, the Life Workshops started as a strategic initiative and was able to develop a very positive impact on youth. In fact, one father said they saw immediately changes in their daughter. “She was more talkative and was able to relax and sleep at night,” he said. The United Way is now continuing to fund this effort and more Life Workshops will be offered in the fall.
Naperville United Way researches the issues facing people here in our community, researches the programs that best address those issues, and invests resources where they are needed most.
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