Voices For the Common Good: The World Speaks Out On Opportunity by United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County

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VOICES FOR THE COMMON GOOD •

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THE WORLD •

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SPEAKS OUT ON •

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OPPORTUNITY •

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UNITED WAY VISION United Way envisions a world where all individuals and families achieve their human potential through education, income stability and healthy lives. Imagine a world that fosters hope and opportunity for everyone: n Where all children receive a quality education that offers a pathway to a brighter tomorrow. n W here the cycle of poverty and financial dependence ends and productive livelihoods begin for even the most disadvantaged. n Where everyone receives effective healthcare that improves quality of life. n W here communities not only set significant and measurable goals to advance these fundamental elements of human development but achieve them.

UNITED WAY MISSION To improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good. To do this we will: n I gnite a worldwide social movement, and thereby mobilize millions to action – to give, advocate and volunteer to improve the conditions in which they live. n G alvanize and connect all sectors of society – individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations and governments – to create long-term social change that produces healthy, well-educated and financially-stable individuals and families. n R aise, invest and leverage billions of dollars annually in philanthropic contributions to create and support innovative programs and approaches to generate sustained impact in local communities. n H old ourselves accountable to this cause through our steadfast commitment to continually measure – in real terms – improvement in education, income and health.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword..................................................3 Introduction.............................................5 What We Learned.....................................7 What It Means..........................................15 Acknowledgements..................................16

FOREWORD In 2011, Time magazine declared “The Protestor” as its Person of the Year. From the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt and throughout the Middle East, to the demonstrations organized by the Occupy Wall Street movement in the U.S., it was clear that people were not only angry but felt that if they did something, it would matter. And so they acted. These conflicts around the world are different in nature, but in many ways, the fundamental issue being debated is the same: What should the modern global social contract look like? In other words, what role do government, business, NGOs and individuals play in addressing social issues and ensuring access to the opportunity of a good life? United Way set out to explore this topic and get beyond the conversation taking place among the intelligentsia. Across the world, we went into neighborhoods to listen to everyday people talk about their aspirations for their communities, how they define having a good life, the challenges they see in getting there, and what they think needs to be done to make a difference.

BRIAN GALLAGHER President & CEO United Way Worldwide

We did this because it’s our fervent belief that to create opportunity, to ensure that people have access to a good education, a job that pays, and the resources needed to live a healthy life, it’s not enough for institutions to develop solutions. Solutions to these challenges will only come when we inspire individuals and communities to act collectively in ways that address the conditions in our communities that are stifling progress. Some of what you read will undoubtedly reinforce and add lift to things you may have already known. In other cases, the things we heard were startling and highly instructive for any of us trying to create opportunities for a good life. For example, people told us time and time again that they feel more isolated than ever. In one community, young people expressed this by saying they essentially feel abandoned by their parents’ generation. In the age of social media, when people have the capability to stay plugged in 24/7, we’re hearing that they, in many ways, feel like they’re on their own. At the same time, when pressed for ways to address these issues, very seldom did people talk about ways NGOs, or businesses, or their government could help them. In fact, it seems as if institutions were an afterthought for most of the people we heard from, regardless of where they were in the world. What is perhaps most promising is that people said they want to make a difference, but they aren’t sure how to do it given the isolation they feel and the pressures they face simply to “keep up.” People need a path that connects their desire to fix the problems they see with an action that is part of a larger change strategy. The challenges our world faces are bigger than any one person, organization, business or government can solve alone. But if we work together, share goals, and hold one another accountable, we can make progress. I hope you’ll take the time to read the comments from people we heard from, discuss the ideas laid out in this report, and think about what it means for you individually or your organization.

INTRODUCTION Despite billions of dollars invested in programs by hundreds of NGOs, charities, governments and businesses; countless expert opinions; and volumes of research, opportunity remains elusive for many. The fundamental question facing all people and all organizations hoping to improve lives is simple: “What will it take?” Through our work in communities over the past 125 years, United Way has learned that fundamental change cannot happen unless individuals and institutions alike, from businesses, to NGOs, to government, come together and are willing to consider not only programmatic responses, but also changes in community conditions, systems and policies that may stand in the way of opportunity. We need to bring the voices of individuals into the conversation about opportunity – everyday people who live in our neighborhoods, in communities, who experience challenges in building a better life all the time. This report, compiled from more than 120 community conversations in 12 countries, raises those voices up. What you will read in the following pages are a series of stories based on the real words people used to talk about their aspirations for their communities, what it means for them to have a good life, the challenges they see in creating opportunity, and what they believe must be done to make a difference. These conversations – some of which involved hundreds of residents and community leaders, but most of which were small, informal “kitchen table-style” discussions – were conducted in rural and urban neighborhoods, places of worship, community centers, local businesses, schools and other places. In these places, we listened to people of all ages. The ideas presented in this report were developed by: • Reviewing more than 120 community conversations conducted by United Ways and our partners around the world. All participating United Ways were asked to use a conversation guide adapted by United Way Worldwide from tools developed by The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, an NGO based in the United States that helps people and organizations around the world create more impact through deeper community engagement. • R eviewing notes from select United Ways that had previously conducted community conversations using a similar format that focuses on the same issues being addressed in this report. • I nterviewing and consulting United Ways and their leadership to discuss their reflections from engaging their communities around these and similar issues. United Ways from the following countries contributed to this report: • Canada • Guatemala • India • Indonesia • Peru • Romania • South Africa • South Korea • Taiwan • United Kingdom • United States • Venezuela of America

WHAT WE LEARNED In conversations, people discuss what kind of community they want, what stands in the way of that, and what opportunity looks like. People in these conversations worldwide wrestled with fundamental questions of their own place in the community and their connections with others. While some policy ideas and solutions came up, these are not what people are most focused on. The people in these conversations say that they are focused on the human consequences of lost opportunity and the need for individuals – more than organizations and institutions – to step forward to improve things. Many say a lost sense of connection to other people is at the core of the problems facing their communities and that repairing this connection will help them to make progress. This central idea plays out in three interlocking findings that tell a story of how to move forward. And while the character of these conversations differed from session to session and from place to place, the findings hold up across regions and across countries. Whether in Mumbai or Memphis, key themes rose to the forefront through community conversations.

Key Themes • O pportunity means the same thing worldwide: a job that pays, a decent education and a healthy community • People, especially young people, say they are on their own. • People say they need to step up and step forward.

Opportunity means the same thing worldwide: a job that pays, a decent education and a healthy community. When people think about opportunity and what kind of community it would take to realize it, they do not focus on specific proposals and policies. Instead, they talk about fundamental things they need to see in their lives: jobs, education, a healthy community. They say that opportunity involves not only giving people an equal chance, but also making sure people are not held back.

Beyond Economic Relief: It’s All Intertwined At its most basic, for people in these conversations, opportunity involves getting relief from economic pressures. “Knowing your bills are always going to be paid and you don’t have to worry about anything, that’s the good life,” said one person in a Midwestern U.S. city. The importance people placed on this economic relief was strong – people say economic pressures drive a number of problems facing communities. “[The good life means that] everything in my house would be paid for; I wouldn’t have to be paying off loans on a TV or stealing across the street from a meth lab,” said a person from the Northeastern U.S. This is not limited to the United States by any means. In Romania, for example, one person said, “A better society is a society where . . . financially you can afford more.” And, in Indonesia, another person said, “To have a good life means [being] able to fulfill daily needs and have savings.”

“ You’re in the same position, month after month. I barely make it. I pay rent, but month after month it’s the same thing. A few days ago I paid rent and I realized I’m in the same spot as the last month. I don’t have enough to save cause there’s food and stuff.”

Ironically, most conversations featured people who feel that economic relief does not in itself add up to opportunity. There is something more, they say. In Guatemala, they said that “a good life is to have education, health, safety and freedom.” In the Southern U.S., one person said,

“get people beyond subsistence level.” In a conversation in an Eastern U.S. metropolitan city, participants feel that “in an ideal community every person has access to success and knowledge.” In a suburb of the same city, another person said that the good life is when you “have people in your life who love you and you love back.” In Canada, a United Way leader describes the results of conversations in her city: “People talk about wanting to live in a place where everyone has a friend, everybody has a home and enough to eat, and nobody’s left behind.” In a western U.S. city, one person sums up opportunity this way: “Part of the community is you need to have that to be happy and successful. If the community doesn’t have the money to do that, where you do you go from there?” People strongly tie opportunity to the needs of young people and say that there need to be improvements there in order to have the kind of community they would like to have. In a Midwestern U.S. city, a young adult said there are “no jobs for people our age in our neighborhood.” Many people said they feel that opportunity in communities has to include equality – that opportunity is denied some people while others get access to it. “My dream is an equal playing field,” said one person in a Western U.S. conversation. Again in Guatemala, people call for attention to the emotional health of young people: “Young people need to enjoy

“ If you don’t have hopes of a better life, what reason do you go to college or even high school, and if your social group is on the same trajectory, then you are very likely to be on that same path.”

good mental health and avoid being influenced by negative thoughts or frustrations.” “Without an education you can’t help yourself,” said a person from the U.S. West Coast. “Without health you can’t raise above. It’s all intertwined.”

Education Is A Key People in these conversations see education as a central component to having a fair shot at opportunity. They see it as one of the keys that will allow people to advance, and that will set people on an even playing field–and that, too often, there is more we could be doing in this area. In Taiwan, for example, one person said, “[W]e can put more efforts in school readiness or after school tutoring. But we just put them [students] at school. Most of them are economically minorities. I think those kids who come from the same background need more support from us.” In a Western U.S. conversation, one person said that people need “access to education and better teachers.” In a Midwestern U.S. city, one person talked about it in this way: “We have to push those kids who

aren’t [succeeding], that are lagging. We need to push those people up so that they can be in the same place that these other kids are that are actually excelling.” This person sees education as the linchpin to progress. In a southern U.S. conversation, a young person agreed: “If you drop out of school, what are you going to get in life? There’s no point.”

“Without an education you can’t help yourself. Without health you can’t rise above. It’s all intertwined.”

With education so central, many people also say that we need to do more to ensure equality. In a Southern U.S. metropolitan city, one person complained, “There is inequity in the education system.” This person saw addressing it as key to making progress toward opportunity. In another U.S. Midwestern city, a young person in the juvenile justice system makes it clear: “To be successful, you have to have an education.”

People, especially young people, say they are on their own. People talk about a number of different worries when it comes to their communities, including safety, crime, a difficult economy, challenges around education, and more. But rising to the top of people’s minds among all these concerns is that people say they feel like they are on their own. This is especially striking among youth, many of whom say they feel abandoned. They say that making progress will involve inclusion – that too many people in their community are excluded.

is living next door.” Summarizing a discussion, a conversation leader in Venezuela said people are “only interested in what happens inside their homes and do not go out of their house, so they do not see what happens outside of the fence.” Young people express this isolation in stark terms. A youth in a Western U.S. city pointed out that “living in a community that lacks the feeling of community” is a barrier. In this town, they say,

It’s All About ‘The Me’ The problems on peoples’ minds run the gamut. In many communities, in every country, people are concerned with crime and safety. In the U.K., one person complained, “I don’t go out at night. I don’t feel safe.” A U.S. Midwesterner said, “The drugs have a bad effect, especially meth, meth has been really, really bad. It’s how everybody is making their money. “[Y]ou can’t be walking around scared; you will be taken advantage of,” said someone from the south.

“ People think that they will not have an effect and they have other things they need to be doing and ‘my voice will not have an impact.’ Complacency.”

In South Africa, one person points to the dividing effects of living amidst crime: “High walls, security bars, locking the doors and always checking around to see if you are safe.” Everywhere they look, people see divisions between people. In Romania: “I don’t know my neighbors either. And I grew up here.” In a Midwestern U.S. town, one person said, “a lot of people just strive and worry about themselves and don’t worry about anyone else.” In a large Western U.S. city, “neighbors [used to be] neighbors – nowadays you don’t open your door. You’re afraid. It’s so sad.” This theme of isolation comes up again and again – and everywhere. In South Korea, one person said, “I think of the community I used to live in. When I was young we were interacting with our neighbors and we knew what was happening next door. Nowadays, we don’t even know who

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DISCONNECTED As part of our community listening, United Ways in 34 communities in the U.S. also reached out to “disconnected youth” – young people generally aged 16–24 that have dropped out of school and are unemployed. We wanted to better understand how this particular group of young people think about opportunity, the challenges they see, and what they think needs to happen to get us back on track. In these communities, young people consistently shared that they felt isolated and on their own to figure out how to get ahead. They described this feeling in a variety of ways. In one community, residents talked about not having people in their neighborhoods that cared about them. They pointed out that they didn’t have any adults to help guide them to job opportunities or help them figure out how to get an education. In another community, young people expressed that they felt their parents’ generation had essentially abandoned them. As you see in this report, these feelings were echoed by many parents from their own perspective. They expressed concerns that their kids are being left on their own too much

“It’s all about ‘the me’ and not about everyone.” In South Korea, someone expressed a similar sentiment: “The society is naturally forcing people to be self-centered worrying about their basic needs.” In an Eastern U.S. city, another youth complained: People [are] just trying to skate by unnoticed, because they are afraid of being judged – everybody doesn’t got it the same, they don’t have the same supports. People [are] trying to use each other.” On the U.S. West Coast, one said that, in his experience, “people care only for themselves.”

YOUTH during the day and that they no longer have time to support their kids the way they would like to, because of job and other life pressures. The young people we heard from also suggested that to get ahead they need to step forward and take initiative. Although in some places, they said they felt the effort was futile because they couldn’t see a path to employment that would lead them to be able to build a savings and become self-sustainable. The idea of stepping forward was expressed both as a need to take more personal responsibility, but also as a reflection of their feeling that institutions and other people simply were not going to offer solutions or help. United Way was invited to share their findings with the White House Council for Community Solutions, which has a particular interested in helping connect young people to education, employment, and civic opportunities in their communities. The White House Council will leverage what we learned to help shape potential strategies to help these young people connect to opportunities to succeed.

In the Southwest U.S., one high school student described his vision of a perfect community by talking about doing away with divisions: “If I had the chance to restart, like to restart a planet, I would make everyone look the same. Everybody should be wearing the same, nothing different, because from people having different looks and people being different, a lot of things come up, like hate.” As if to confirm some of the negative thoughts people expressed about young people, one said in an Eastern U.S. city, “I’m trying to get mine – I don’t give a damn about who I gotta go after.”

Held Back; Cut Off In a large Southern U.S. city, one young person describes feeling apart from and held back by peers, and cut off from adults: “[I’m held back by] other people – other kids at…school – because they try to bring you down. There’s always somebody that’s going to tell you, ‘You can’t do that,’ or ‘You’re not good enough.’ And it means you’re weak if you let it get to you. But you’re only human, and you have feelings, and you’re going to get hurt, but I think that even the toughest people are going to get affected by this in some kind of way. It could be your family, too, if you don’t have family support, not just your school.”

“ I’d like to live in a community where there is respect and responsibility, towards ourselves and between neighbors.”

Many in these conversations are quite worried about the values of young people. “[The] younger generation is off the chain,” said one person in a conversation in a large southern U.S. city. “When I was coming up, the people around me weren’t encouraging me to drink, smoke, act like a gang banger. I couldn’t have acted out like that without someone taking me home to my parents.” One person in an Eastern U.S. city spoke of how they address young people directly to counteract what they see as bad behavior: “I tell my kids there was a prison cell built for you when you were in 3rd grade. It’s your choice of whether you will be in it or not.” In Taiwan, another person expressed a related concern and said, “These kids used to drop out of

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school when they were middle school students. But this situation happens even earlier now. They drop out when they are at elementary school.” In Peru, one mother describes an interplay between poor behavior by some, which leads to other young people having problems. “[I]n my community, my own neighbors are gang members, my own neighbors are alcoholics,” she said. “They get drunk and you’re there in the middle, your children are hearing and then they learn not to respect. They have no respect for others because they think that there are no children who are listening and will take all those bad habits that others have.” In Indonesia, another conversation participant points to this same type of interplay, on a broader basis: “Youth are easily affected by the media, therefore they lose their manner and their politeness towards the elders. . . . It all starts in the family.” Even so, young people in many conversations said they do not feel much of a connection to adults. A young person in a large Southwest U.S. city said this about feeling disconnected: “I’m hardly home. . . . You wake up in the morning and you go to school and then if you do stuff after school. . . . So I’ll get home like later on tonight and then I will just do my homework, shower and go to bed. So you don’t really get to talk to your mom all that much. Like you just go home, go to sleep, wake up, go to school.”

“ I can’t make a difference for everyone, but I can help at least one.”

Inclusion: ‘We The People’ The sense of division and isolation comes through powerfully as people talk about what they want most in their communities. A person taking part in a conversation in Peru said, “I’d like to live in a community where there is respect and responsibility, towards ourselves and between neighbors.” In a city in the Southeast U.S., one person asked for a community that was “nonjudgmental, open-minded.” A person in a large Southern U.S. city sought a “close knit community where everyone knows everyone.” And, “I would like to see communities that are actually

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neighborhoods,” said one person in a major Eastern U.S. city. People in these conversations are seeking hope and connection. In some cases, people talked about needing to recapture “small town” values of, as one person in a Southern U.S. city said, “everybody helping everybody.” In South Korea, one person sounded a similar theme: “I wish for the community to be trustful and intimate among neighbors…[I]f I can interact [with the] people of this apartment, then there will be lots of them to be friends…I wish for a community where I could easily meet and make friends.” Over and over, people echoed what one person in a Northeast U.S. city said: “People need to come together.” A person from the Southern U.S. said what is needed is “a stronger community. ‘We the people,’ not ‘you the people.’” In another U.S. conversation in the West, one person said that in order to have the good life, it would take “an inclusive community, where people feel accepted.” Another person in that discussion immediately agreed, “That’s a big one.” This theme of acceptance and inclusion is prominent. People see acceptance – especially of young people – as a fundamental need, as well as one of the paths forward to make progress. In a small Midwestern U.S. town, one participant sees this acceptance as lacking, especially when it comes to gay or lesbian young people. “There’s people who have been bullied out of school, have been bullied out of homes and the [community] group that helps people can’t house them because they’re under age. We can’t house them and we can’t make their families love them and let them back into their homes.” In a larger Midwestern U.S. city, someone told a similar story, about someone he knows who he believed was gay. “One day he did something I thought was feminine,” he said. “I lost it. I told him, ‘til you tell me you are gay I don’t want to talk to you.’ He finally cornered me and went through his life [with me]. It changed my life. Made me think, ‘Why was I judging this guy?’”

People say they need to step up and step forward. People in these conversations are almost unanimous in saying that in order to make progress, it is up to us. In thinking about who should act in order to create communities with more opportunities, few people point to any organizations or institutions. They point, instead, to themselves.

things like beautifying the neighborhood. In Romania, one person said, “Everyone should get involved somehow: clean their own sidewalk, clean after their dog, throw garbage in the can, care for their neighbor.” And, in Indonesia: “Start [by] doing small things, such as…cleaning the house yard.” In a Midwestern U.S. city: “Paint a wall.”

It Starts With Me

“If you go out and start picking up trash,” said someone in the U.S. South, “you never “So my school we had a teach know who might come who used to be big in the out and help you pick up the trash.” But, even business world and had a radio though it is simple, it station and all this and he takes doing. “You have to take the initiative to decided to become a teach and do what you’re thinking he gets the youth employed and about doing,” said make sure they get jobs and another member of the same conversation. checks up on them and if they

People said that they themselves – along with neighbors – are going to have to step up and step forward. “It starts with me – I need to meet my neighbors and engage with them,” said a person from a large Southern U.S. city. In a Northeastern U.S. city, one person was upset that people don’t want to get involved in their community, people wait for someone else to do something to make changes.” This is not to say that there is no role for organizations or institutions in creating opportunity. However, people start with themselves, and see community and other organizations as there to provide a boost. According to a Romanian conversation member, “The government funds initiatives from the community. I would like more ideas to come from the community and not from outside.” And, in many cases, the role of these organizations is to help individuals themselves to play leadership roles. “It is hard to be a good parent or a good community person,” said one person a Western U.S. conversation. “However, I found there are groups that will hold together. Even if, sometimes, the meetings get down to just six or ten, they hold the group together. It may go up to 30 or 40, if you can just hold together. Then, they see progress.” People in these conversations often said that the kind of stepping forward that would make a difference does not have to be so big. Anyone can do it. In many cities, people talked about tutoring and mentoring young people as an important way for individuals to step forward. In Venezuela, people talked about working together to create sports programs for young people. Others talked about

want to go to college. He writes

The need to step up recommendation letters and forward is not isolated to adults, either. People he works with the students that feel youth have an have no homes and he’d give important role to play for communities to make them money to rent a hotel or progress. In Mumbai, get food or somewhere safe at India, one person put night. He went out of his way…I it this way: “Charity begins at home. As the think it makes a lot of difference youth of the nation, to have someone like that. we need to be the change that we want Makes a real big difference.” to see in the city.” This theme was echoed in a Western U.S. city where one person said, “It comes back to us, if we just put our minds together.” Another in the same Western conversation agreed, “It has to be a group effort, everyone has to be a player.”

Time For Leaders The need for leaders and leadership came through loud and clear in these conversations. But the leadership people talk about is not only national

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leadership. It is community, local leadership, right down to the personal level. One person in the Northwest U.S. referred to “surrounding yourself with good, uplifting people or mentors” as a critical component of building opportunity. A young person in an Eastern U.S. city told this story: “[There is a man who works at the Police Athletic League (PAL)] center from around the way. He knows everybody. He works for PAL for free. He’s an older man, but he is very intelligent and he’s helping me with five or six college essays. You can’t give that job to somebody. It’s gotta just be somebody who steps up.” Over and over, people point to people like the PAL volunteer – people who “just step up.” In Guatemala, a United Way leader said that the people in one conversation expressed reservations about the role of government when it comes to community: “They believe that government is only about promises, when what really matters

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are actions that can make a good life in our communities.” In Canada, as if to underscore the need for more than just programs, one leader said that in his city, “People feel overstudied and underserved.” However, people do think there is room for community organizations and institutions, as well as other community leaders, to play a role in moving communities forward. “Someone has to invite people to the table,” said one person in a Western U.S. city, referring to the convening power of the local United Way. While political figures and other “official” leaders were rarely mentioned, they do come up in the context of using their position to help galvanize community progress around creating opportunity. In a Northeastern U.S. city, one person described the role this way: “Political people need to take their time and dedication [to] TV [and] use their visibility to assist with change.”

WHAT IT MEANS What do these findings mean for organizations and people working in communities and around the world to create opportunities for people to have a better life? While these conversations weren’t designed to assess policy prescriptions, they do provide some insights into the way people think about and talk about the issues affecting their lives. Anyone seeking to work on issues related to creating opportunity that should think about what these words mean for the strategies they are pursuing. Here are some potential implications for what we learned through these conversations:

It’s about people, not organizations. cross these conversations, it was clear that when A people were pressed to think about what could be done to create opportunity in their communities, their first instinct was to look toward themselves and their neighbors, not institutions. In very few cases did people in these conversations talk about specific programs or services they were looking for or looking toward to address the challenges they talked about. oes that mean that institutions are irrelevant? D No, people did see a role for them. But it does mean that institutions should be looking beyond a programmatic response to the challenges facing our communities. This means taking a hard look at the systems, structures, and norms that are standing in the way of people realizing the opportunity for a good life.

People are ready to step up.

with people making different choices and taking responsibility to address the challenges they face. People often expressed a willingness to step forward, but could not articulate a way to do so that they felt would make a fundamental difference. T he opportunity for organizations like United Way and others is to create pathways that connect the aspirations of people to actions that can make a real difference. People are hungry to do things that are connected to collective action. But they are hesitant to start, even though deep down they feel they should. So while creating opportunities for people to give, advocate and volunteer is a great start, we need to do more. This means linking people with community strategies that are aimed at creating lasting results and that feel meaningful.

I t’s important to work on issues related to opportunity in a way that builds the social fabric of communities. eople want to be connected with one another P but feel extremely isolated, even in this age of social media. The challenge for United Way and others is to work on issues central to a good life – education, income, and health – in a way that also builds more connections between and among people and enlists individuals to address these issues with one another. eople express this sense of isolation in a variety P of different ways, but it is clear that there is a strong need for organizations to take on the responsibility of not only delivering on their mission – but making sure they are doing so in a way that connects individuals.

eople in these conversations spoke in a variety P of ways about how creating opportunities starts

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Local United Way Support The following United Ways contributed to this report: Community Chest of Korea (South Korea) Dividendo Voluntario Para La Comunidad (Venezuela)

United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley (Boston, Massachusetts)

Fondo Unido de Guatemala

United Way of Metropolitan Chicago (Chicago, Illinois)

Heart of Florida United Way (Orlando, Florida )

United Way of Miami-Dade (Miami, Florida)

Liverpool Charity and United Services (United Kingdom)

United Way of Mumbai (India)

Lusa Community Chest (South Africa)

United Way of New York City (New York City, New York)

Mile High United Way (Denver, Colorado)

United Way of Northeast Florida (Jacksonville, Florida)

United Way for Southeastern Michigan (Detroit, Michigan)

United Way of Northern Arizona (Flagstaff, Arizona)

United Way London (Canada) United Way Metropolitan Nashville (Nashville, Tennessee) United Way of Asheville & Buncombe County (Asheville, North Carolina) United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut (Hartford, Connecticut) United Way of Central Jersey (Milltown, New Jersey) United Way of Central Maryland (Baltimore, Maryland) United Way of Central Ohio (Columbus, Ohio) United Way of Delaware (Wilmington, Delaware) United Way of Greater Houston (Houston, Texas) United Way of Greater Kansas City (Kansas City, Missouri) United Way of Greater Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)

United Way of San Diego County (San Diego, California) United Way of Southeast Louisiana (New Orleans, Louisiana) United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) United Way of Southern Nevada (Las Vegas, Nevada) United Way of the Bay Area (San Francisco, California) United Way of the Columbia-Willamette (Portland, Oregon) United Way of the Mid-South (Memphis, Tennessee) United Way of the National Capital Area (Washington, DC) United Way of Tulare County (Tulare, California) United Way PerĂş United Way Peterborough (Canada) United Way Romania

United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg

United Way Southwest Minnesota (Marshall, Minnesota)

(Richmond, Virginia)

United Way Taiwan

United Way of Greater Stark County (Canton, Ohio)

United Way Thunder Bay (Canada)

United Way of Greater Toledo (Toledo, Ohio)

United Way Toronto (Canada)

United Way of Hunterdon County (Flemington, New Jersey)

United Way Winnipeg (Canada)

United Way of King County (Seattle, Washington)

Valley of the Sun United Way (Phoenix, Arizona)

United Way of Madison County (Anderson, Indiana)

Yayasan Mitra Mandiri (Indonesia)

Voices for the Common Good: The World Speaks Out on Opportunity was written by Brad Rourke, Mannakee Circle Group and Michael R. Wood, United Way Worldwide.

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