Do You Live United?

The catch phrase of the United Way of Cass-Clay — LIVE UNITED — is ubiquitous throughout Fargo-Moorhead. You see it in bold print on billboards. You hear reporters mention it on the local news. You read it in articles like this one. And every time someone gets ‘LIVE UNITED’ stuck in his or her head, it’s because Kristina Hein is doing her job, and doing it very well.

“It is all about teaching our community,” Kristina Hein, marketing and brand management director for United Way of Cass-Clay said. “That motivates me to keep lifting up United Way’s message and keeps me working hard to encourage people in our community to LIVE UNITED by giving, advocating, or volunteering.”

In 2010, United Way of Cass-Clay raised more than $5 million to invest in 42 local non-profit agencies, 66 programs, and several initiatives throughout the two counties. This year, United Way is adding its support to Smiles Across America Children’s Dental Services Program for Moorhead Public Schools. The program will help improve the oral health of uninsured and underinsured children in the Moorhead Public School District.

“We couldn’t accomplish all that we do at United Way if we didn’t work together as a team,” Hein said. “It’s because of the top-notch staff and volunteers that we are able to coordinate successful events and raise millions of dollars each year.”

And leading the charge to spread the United Way’s message is the energetic and passionate Hein.

Her original plan after graduating from Concordia College was to teach journalism and literature to high school students. But a series of volunteering opportunities at local non-profit organizations during college changed her path.

“At the time, I thought that teaching students was the way I wanted to make an impact on the world. I thought that if I could prepare them for success, then that was how I could make my mark on the world,” Hein said. “I quickly learned that there are other ways to “teach” our community.”

Hein’s first job with United Way was the community impact associate. In 2008, she helmed a successful school supply drive that equipped more than 3,700 local k-12 students with backpacks and school supplies. That led to her role as communications director and eventually to her current position of communicating and promoting the United Way brand. If you see, hear about, read about, or watch anything related to United Way of CassClay, I know I have done my job,” she said.

But behind every billboard, news story, or article that you see in Cass and Clay counties, there are real people, with real stories, of how United Way helped them in some way. That personal connection is what motivates Hein. If you give her a moment, she’ll tell you the name of a girl who, with help from the Big Brother Big Sister program, is graduating from high school this year. Or she’ll share the story of a dad who can attend his daughter’s swim meets because of the prescription assistance program.

“I get to meet people whose lives are completely changed by the work of United Way of Cass-Clay,” Hein said. And that is all Hein needs to LIVE UNITED. [AWM]