by Roxanne Cottell

Created on: September 29, 2008

Though it seems that the world is falling to pieces, it is a proven fact that people tend to give more when times are tough. The reasons are many, but the most important reason is because at the core of us all, we care. We care so much about so many different issues and societal problems that when the call goes out into the world, we are ready to help. A good example is when the United Way

of the Inland Valleys sets out into the world to make the call for volunteers, people show up in droves.

The United Way
of the Inland Valleys supports 38 basic human services agencies, such as shelters for abused women, women's substance abuse rehabilitation centers, family shelters, food banks, and more popular agencies such as The American Red Cross.

There are so many different types of service agencies which are supported by the United Way
of the Inland Valleys
that it sometimes is hard to believe that this one little place in Riverside, California
has the capability to do all it does on such a limited budget. Of course, it takes a lot of work, and that is where the account managers shine the brightest. The account managers are more like ambassadors of hope than people whose job it is to go out into the world and garner financial support. Those whose job it is to tell the world about these programs are the lifeblood of places like the United Way
of the Inland Valleys. They depend on community support so that those places which depend on UWIV can continue to do what they do in the communities which they serve.

The United Way of the Inland Valleys does not only support those agencies which come to the forefront of tragedy, but also those which are responsible for eliciting the best in people. Places that are near and dear to many of us Boys and Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, the Wylie Center
for Childrenall of these agencies are directly supported by the fundraising efforts of the account managers from the United Way of the Inland Valleys.

Many people seem to believe that the monies collected by organizations such as the United Way spend much of the hard earned fundraising dollars on administrative costs, but the truth is that nonprofits survive mostly on donated items to furnish their offices, pay the utilities, pay the employees who are directly responsible for raising the money to continue their support of the agencies they do support. Thinking about how your dollars work in your own communities makes a big difference in the reasons why you should give and give generously. Without your support, services such as those which make sure kids have backpacks and clothes for school, which feed the hungry, which are there when there is a community tragedy like that of the Temecula wildfires, end up being something which not only impacts the community at large, but also impacts the future. Imagine going to school in clothes which do not fit, imagine being hungry, imagine life not being like it is right now, and then imagine that there is no help available. When you have the chance to give, money, your time, your heart, do it joyfully. You never know the next person your money helps might be you!

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