COMPASSION '10 kicks off with a
free public roundtable on Feb. 25

SANFORD, N.C. — Hoping to capitalize on some early success during its inaugural year, COMPASSION '10 kicks off its months-long effort to enhance human services in Lee County with a free community roundtable later this month.

"Understanding Poverty," the centerpiece event for COMPASSION '10, will be held on Feb. 25 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Ernest and Ruby McSwain Center in Sanford.

The roundtable featuring Susan Pennock from Communities In Schools of North Carolina is open to the public. Leaders from ministries, nonprofits and social service agencies throughout the community are urged to attend.

In her presentation, Pennock will help service organizations better understand the people they serve. She will discuss how poverty and differences in economic class affect the way people learn, work, communicate and make decisions.

She also will point out differences between "generational poverty" and "situational poverty" — and how organizations must treat these groups differently to be effective — and then help volunteers identify individual strengths that could help people pull themselves out of poverty.

COMPASSION '10 actually continues for months after the roundtable. Pennock will return to Lee County several times to work individually with working groups formed for organizations providing food, employment, financial help, dropout prevention and housing.

"Those working groups were formed during last year's roundtable," says Jan Hayes, executive director of the United Way of Lee County and one of the event organizers. "When leaders came to the roundtable last year, many didn't even know the other organizations in their working group, and they were addressing the same problem in the same community.

"What we tried to do last year was unite everyone and begin helping organizations work together. We had some success, so now we're trying to take the effort one step further."

Hayes calls this effort a "roundtable" because it's designed to be interactive in finding solutions, particularly in sessions following this year's kickoff event.

When Pennock returns to assist working groups, she will listen carefully to what circumstances and challenges local organizations are facing and then adapt information provided at the kickoff event to solve local problems.

About 60 people attended last year's inaugural session, and Hayes hopes COMPASSION '10 will draw many more.

"I tell people all the time how fortunate we are in this community, where so many people are willing to give their time and money to care for neighbors and make our entire community a better place to live," Hayes says. "What we're doing here is investing a relatively small amount of time to make everyone more effective for many years to come."

The United Way of Lee County has raised and distributed millions of dollars to help nurture children, enhance self-sufficiency and strengthen families. Contributions raised throughout the year, including the fall campaign, are distributed to more than two dozen partner agencies dedicated to improving life for everyone in Lee County.

Press Contact
Jan Hayes, Executive Director
919.776.5823
janhayes@leecountyunitedway.org

COMPASSION '10
The Essential 411 On Line
COMPASSION '10 Flyer (102K PDF)
COMPASSION '10 Printed Registration Form (88K PDF)
\COMPASSION '10 Lee Social Service Directory (452K PDF)

Register for COMPASSION '10 by completing the form and returning it by e-mail, fax (919.708.5678) or postal mail (info@leecountyunitedway.org)