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I hate to admit it, but I am not a handy, do-it-yourself kind of guy.
I easily can recognize when something is broken or a drain is clogged, but to fix most things I usually have to call for help. At one point when my kids were young, they started calling our plumber “Uncle Dave” because he was at our house so often.
Last weekend, my normally patient wife kindly reminded me that my to-do list of things needing attention around the house is growing. Observant as most husbands are, I detected a sense of urgency. She pointed out that our younger daughter is graduating from high school next spring, and we need things to be accomplished to be ready for the graduation party!
The reality hit home for me: Our baby will be graduating. Yikes!
At the United Way of Wyoming Valley, we believe education is one of the key building blocks for a better life, and graduation rates are an important indicator of the well-being of the community. For the past three years, educational support has been a core strategy in our new “Poverty to Possibility” model and is critical to our goals to improve the odds of success for at-risk children and families.
Children start learning the day they are born. The United Way is funding programs that support a child’s educational needs from cradle to college or career. Our goal is to help more children enter school ready to learn and move through school, and beyond graduation, with more confidence.
In partnership with many area school districts, the Luzerne Intermediate Unit and nonprofit organizations throughout the Wyoming Valley, we are focused on the early development of a child, as well as working to improve the quality and access to early childhood care programs. We also are focused on reading levels, access to books, after-school care, summer learning, school attendance and, of course, graduation rates.
For a child to succeed in school, his or her family must value the education of that child. Also, children must be healthy, safe, have access to good nutrition, and avoid risky behaviors. Every day we are working on these issues as well.
To advance our education agenda, our United Way will be partnering with America’s Promise, the national nonprofit organization founded by Gen. Colin Powell, to host a one-day summit on Oct. 28 at Mohegan Sun Pocono. The summit’s aim is to develop strategies to improve graduation rates throughout the Wyoming Valley. The GradNation conference will focus on early childhood programs, early warning signs to reduce school dropout rates, career readiness, and family engagement strategies. The keynote speaker, Dr. Leonard Sax, is a family physician who holds a doctorate in psychology. Dr. Sax is also a very successful author on child and adolescent development.
The conference is free and open to the public. To register, please visit uwwvsummit.eventbrite.com or call 570-829-6711.
In further driving home the point of families making education a priority, I had the pleasure of sitting with attorney Allan Kluger and Sue Kluger at a recent dinner event. The Klugers have supported the United Way system for more than 60 years.
Allan called me the next morning to talk about the importance of our work, and he shared with me that his mother valued education so much, they spent every dollar they had to send Allan to law school and his brother to medical school. What a difference that commitment has made for their family and our entire community!
Not everyone needs to be a doctor or lawyer, but we hope all children, even our babies, graduate. As my daughter tackles her senior year and prepares to move on to the next chapter in her life, I have no doubt my “to-do list” will be completed and the house will be ready for the graduation party.
The house will be ready, but I’m not so sure I will be. If my eyes start to leak, I do know a good plumber!