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Live United by Erin Haag

Before I write anything else, I’m instructed by my children to send a secret message. E., we are so sorry you’ve been under the weather, and we miss you. My children are disappointed they didn’t get to see you. My son may be even more disappointed that this secret message is not actually written with invisible ink, but operating on the knowledge that you read my articles. We hope to see you soon!

Last Saturday night, we opened the doors wide and invited the community in for our Fall in Love with United Way Open House. Board members came, volunteers came and new faces came. We ate pie, drank apple cider and talked. I certainly love my pumpkin pie, but what I love the most? People who had already been there brought others. Volunteers brought friends. A man who had spent some time asking me questions about our work brought his wife so that he could show her around. All in all, we estimated about 30 people came.

That afternoon, we had put winter pots on our porch. They weren’t quite done because there are only 24 hours a day. There were a few pine branches, and I figured eventually, my daughter would complete the rest of it if I got her the supplies. A volunteer stopped by on Wednesday and asked if she could add some to the pots; she didn’t want to step on any toes. I told her to go for it! I went back to moving pallets of food around and working on organizing. I didn’t realize she had intended to do it right then and there, so it was a delightful surprise to step out and see the pretty branches and dogwood.

This ownership and participation in creating this space as a community space is what gets me down deep. In our planning, studies, and projections, we didn’t envision this part quite so clearly. We did envision it belonging to our clients, creating welcoming spaces for them. Little Free Libraries and opportunities to give back. Conversations with us and with each other. That’s what we envisioned. This though? This creation of a space that our volunteers own? That’s beyond my wildest dreams, and I’m grateful for them each and every day.

We’re learning how to make this work, nearly six months in. Major changes are coming up, and what exactly those changes are remains to be seen. I know it takes a lot of effort to keep up at the pace we’ve been going. The high volume of people coming through our space, whether for the Winter Gear Drive, the Welcome Pantry or just looking for resources, is far beyond what we had planned for.

Ownership is happening with our volunteers who have their boots on the ground, investing in sweat equity. But it takes more than that. Financial support is also needed for these highly needed programs to survive. As we approach the end of the year, I worry that our campaign isn’t going to be enough for us to operate at the level we have been. I worry that we’ll have missed opportunities due to capacity levels. I worry that we’ll have to make the very hard decision of having to pull back. Every day I see missed opportunities. Opportunities to fundraise, opportunities to leverage resources. Someone calls with a free pallet of food we could hand out? That’s great, but I don’t have room in the freezer for them. There’s a whole world of food rescue and working with local restaurants and grocery stores that we haven’t even tapped into yet, because we’d need more space.

Our volunteers have a deep well of empathy and compassion. They’ll run out into the night to chase someone they realize is walking and offer rides home. They’ll dig through their own closets to bring the size coat that someone needs. They stay late so we can get in one more family before locking the doors. As I consider different scenarios for scaling back without reducing our impact, I think about my encounter with a local veteran last week. The veteran asked to talk to me and shared some opinions on how the “line” could be managed. The strategies shared were, unfortunately, ones we’d either tried before or didn’t work for other logistical reasons. I worked through the thought process, though, and truly enjoyed our conversation. The veteran was thoughtful in our conversation, and I believe they learned some things they hadn’t considered before. They told me, “I’m new to this world, and I’m so glad it’s here. I’m just stuck without it … I’m just stuck.”

We’re working on getting unstuck. These growing pains are painful, and I hate the thought of having to tell my volunteers that we need to step back a little bit. Hate the thought of turning people away.

This isn’t just about the Welcome Pantry. United Way oversees 10 programs including our annual Community Impact Grants, which funded nine different programs for area nonprofits this year. Our community’s support is vital for child care, early education, food resources, senior care, disabilities and more.

Poet Nikita Gill wrote the following, which has resonated deep within me.

“Everything is on fire
but everyone I love is doing beautiful things
and trying to make life worth living
and I know I don’t have to believe in everything
but I believe in that.”

We’re doing beautiful things. Our community is doing beautiful things. We may be stuck and things may be on fire, but we’re going to keep doing beautiful things the best way we know how. I’m committed to doing my part, leveraging what resources we do have, telling our story, writing the grants and making the ask. If you’d like to join us in being part of the solution to get through these growing pains, please consider contributing to the 2023 campaign. Donations are accepted at PO Box 686, Albert Lea, MN 56007. You can also come in person at 411 S. 1st Street, Albert Lea, MN 56007. If we’re not there, we have installed a new drop box to the left of our door. Lastly, you can also donate online at http://unitedwayfc.org/donate Questions? Give us a call at 507-373-8670.

Erin Haag is the executive director of the United Way of Freeborn County.