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| From left, Peggy Collins and Nancy Simmons, community investment volunteers, consult with each other at the Main Street Schoolhouse site visit. |
JournalNews :: 2.28.05 —
The task of Butler County United Way volunteers visiting and asking questions of nonprofit agencies seeking funds for programs may seem intrusive.
However, Butler County United Way officials say it's necessary to help determine allocation
s.
"The community volunteers continue to imp
ress me with their insightful questions, endless dedication and willingness to make the tough decisions,
" said Maureen Noe, president and
chief executive
officer for Butler County United Way. "This is not a popular job no
r
is it an easy task. The dollars that they hav
e to
allocate are
significant. However, they are not enough.
"
Butler County United Way's
volunteers, divided into panels based on impact areas, have just completed site visits, in which agency directors and staff explain how they operate
,
serve the commun
ity and what out
comes they are seeing from their efforts.
The site visits will
help BCUW volunteers determine how to allocate a portion of the $2.6 million to 28 nonprofit, program-partner age
ncies with the Butler County United Way this spring.
Learn more about Community Investment.
Last week, some BCUW volunteers visited the Main Street Schoolhouse in Hami
lton.
The pri
vate school pro
vides one-on-one education to more than 500 teens and adults who attend to learn Spanish, English as a Second L
anguage and computer literacy.
Officials of the school have requested funding for three of their programs. If funding is awarded, it will go toward hiring more teachers, schoolhouse offic
i
als said.
"I thin
k (the Butler County Unit
ed Way volunteers) asked
for a lot of details to get an idea of what kind of students come here and what goes on,
" said Karen Cocina, director and senior teacher of the Main Street Schoolhouse. "Just
telling somebody in a brochure o
r on the phone wouldn't help."
BCUW
volunteers discussed each of the three programs and how they have generated funds during its 11 years educating students.
The school
, located on the corner of D and Main streets, relies heavily on volunteers to teach, Cocina said.
Cocina
said she spends 11
-hour days at the school six days a week, in addition to preparing less
ons for students.
The school is small by comparison, but Cocina "hopes they (BCUW volunteers) saw that it's a friendly and personal place, where you can learn in a personal way."
