"Surprise, we are rebuilding your house"

"The alarm went off at 6:30 a.m. - I got dressed, grabbed some coffee and headed out to help suprise a deserving family in Hyattsville. In a long procession of buses, cars, local law enforcement and the whole celebrity cast and crew, we made our way down the street.

Along with several builders, the United Way staff and hundreds of volunteers stood in the distance as ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition let a special family know that their dream had come true - their home was going to be rebuilt in 7 days! United Way of the National Capital Area received an overwhelming response from friends and supporters, literally thousands of people wanted to volunteer. It was an incredible chance to highlight our new fitness and nutrition program Fun, Fly & Fit - a new program that fights childhood obesity in the nation's capital. It was an incredible experience that brought, neighbors forward to help neighbors. 

Businesses and sponsors all made this a reality for a little charter school and a lovely family that thought they were forgotten. When they saw the finished product they realized that many someones remembered them and decided to lend a hand to make it possible.

Living united in our nation's capital

On December 19, 2008, two months before my wedding, I checked online to review the status of my vendors. My personalized wedding website told me that the photographer, florist, printer and the caterer all received their deposits and signed contracts. All things held equal, my husband-to-be and I would continue to save and pay the remainder of our enormous debt at the time of our wedding. Just moments after reviewing our wedding related debt, panic set in. That morning, I learned that I lost my job. My financial stability, my basic living expenses everything seemed overwhelming.

Along with thousands of Americans I was looking for work. I always had a strong sense of empathy for those people - you know the sad people you pass on the street. They are cold, they are hungry, they are homeless. I always wonder how life on the streets became their fate. I now understand that without education, income and health, we could all be moments away from desperation?

During my job search, I came across an opportunity to help people, people just like me, but without the resources to advance beyond their circumstances. Without families, without severance, without advanced degrees. In March 2009, I started working with United Way, an organization that believes education, income and health are the building blocks of a good life.

Within the first few months, I helped build a marketing and communications department. I established an online presence for the organization. In the midst of many other pressing priorities we had to find people where they were gathering. 

We recruited former Washington Post columnist and radio personality, Bob Levey, to jumpstart this effort. Within a few months, where there once was no presence now two blogs, an active facebook page, a twitter account and a you tube channel were quickly up and running. I tried to do it with some true focus and I continue to keep our channels full of interesting user generated content. I took pride in using my role to help area residents lead a better quality of life. In keeping with the national United Way brand, I infused the tone and feel of the LIVE UNITED campaign into our 2009-2010 campaign materials and in an advertorial featured in the Washington Post Express (visit December 16, 2009 issue (pages 16-24). I was fortunate enough to land in a stable place and now it was my turn to give back.