Announcer 1: The views and opinions expressed in to the point are those of the hosted, the program and its guests.

They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of WGTE public media.

Few organizations can claim to have transform the lives of Toledoans the way United Way has, from funding other non-profits to facilitating conversations about the most critical issues in our communities.

United way has never faltered in reminding us of our obligation to serve others.

Wendy Pestrue, United Way's chief Executive officer, is here with us today to discuss its mission, direction and how you can become involved.

I'm Doni Miller.

Welcome to the point.

Connect with us on social media pages.

But you know that you also know that you can email me at Doni underscore Miller at wgteorg.

And for this episode and other additional extras, you also know you can always find them at wgte.org To the point I am so glad that you're with us today, because one of my favorite people on the planet is here.

she does some of the most important work in town, and that would be Miss Wendy Pestrue, who is the CEO of, United Way of Greater Toledo.

And, you know, as I said to you, before the show, you guys have been around for so long, you do such amazing work.

yeah.

I just think that people kind of take you for granted.

It's like they're always going to be here.

we're always going to be able to rely on them.

And so they're losing touch with the way you are evolving as an organization and the impact that you're making on the community.

Wendy: And it's tricky, Doni, because we have been around for 106 years now in Toledo, and a lot of people live in communities where they've had a united way.

And I kind of jokingly said to you, we turn into wallpaper.

It's like, you know, they're always there.

It's always good.

To your point.

But it was interesting when I first took this position six years ago, I went through the history of this United Way.

In particular.

I read all the board meetings, minutes from the board meetings and things like that over 100 years.

And it was really interesting to learn about Toledoans and their orientation to try and lift, lift up community.

And like it started out, you know, right after World War one and the funds and things were even going to adopting French orphans after the war.

my personal favorite investment that they like was the home for old ladies, because I think taking good care of old ladies a good thing.

That's just the name of that organization subsequently.

But, you know, it's things like that.

And so in the end, even during I thought it was really cool in World War Two, when there were so many businesses leaning in, and as folks went off to fight the war, gentleman did.

Somebody would pay their pledges to United Way.

And so I think it speaks to a really rich history about how this United Way, in particular, has been there for community.

But everyone's been here for United Way well, over time.

And I get it.

You know, people in the workplace giving environment, they say, don't tell me who to give my money to.

And I can't blame them at all.

So it felt like when I came to work with United Way, I wanted to turn it into the kind of organization people really want to give to.

They want to volunteer, they want to advocate with us, and they want to ultimately maybe give us, you know, a contribution financially.

And so to change it and to make it a little different.

And so this is why I always say we're not your Granddaddy's United Way.

We've changed a lot.

And that meant opening a community analytics center and using data much like businesses use data.

How do we use our data for our investments to show return on investment?

That means our donors, they really can see that.

So building out that community analytics center was important to us.

And we want it to be an asset for everyone.

We have monthly calls with lawmakers and corporate funders and different folks to listen to the information and try to extrapolate from that what trends look like in our community and and what we can do to make a difference.

we started a collective impact model.

And you know it well, you're one of the partners in that that we work with, you know, with the Neighborhood Health Association and many others.

We have to take great content experts like you all.

And then our folks with lived experiences, we have a panel of folks who access these services.

Access agencies tell us what they're experiencing and use all of that to help guide investments.

So that's that's where we've changed a little bit.

It isn't just who you know, and it isn't based on anything more than kind of the feeling we have at United Way has to get down to this information and using it well, our partners are data, that sort of thing.

We brought 211 back.

I couldn't believe it when I got here.

Doni, Doni: it's been outsourced.

That's right.

Wendy: It doesnt make sense for our community resource advisors to be people who aren't living right here in Toledo.

So it brought jobs back, for starters.

But then one of the things in, you know, during the pandemic, we realized what an asset it was to have.

We only moved it here a month before the pandemic.

But then when it came time to register people for children or, excuse me, children for food, or to register folks for vaccinations and a myriad of other things.

I can't imagine what it would have been like if that 211 service had not been somewhere else.

Doni: So what are you finding, the trends to be in, in terms of community needs.

Wendy: So and we really look at that two on one call volume dining because to me it's, it's the most valuable in that it's real time from people on the ground.

so right now and it really has been pretty much housing and there's a lot of instability in housing as it gets more expensive and that sort of thing.

That's the number one thing you know people call about especially when the moratorium on evictions and that sort of thing was lifted.

We've seen more troubled space.

Affordable housing is hard for people here in the area.

And that's true.

You hear these stories nationally.

I mean, this is a conversation food insecurity here in our area.

And actually, years ago, before I took the position, I had been told on several occasions it's extremely problematic in Toledo.

and we're learning.

We did a lot of research.

It's there's food, but there it is, the distribution model.

And how do we maybe make some changes and look at that strategically.

Doni: So we have enough providers to to meet the need.

Do you think it's a distribution?

Wendy: I think a lot of it is the distribution based on what we can tell.

And so and then the quality of those calories, sometimes there's a lot of food, but it may not be the healthiest that we could get into the hands of folks.

So we're, right now, one of the members of our team is at Johns Hopkins as she is a Bloomberg fellow named Jill Bungay.

She's fabulous, and she's worked in the food space here for years.

But for the next two years, she's studying these distribution models.

And because the program she is in is international, it's got folks that have applied and only 50 are chosen out of the thousands that applied.

So we're really excited to have someone from Toledo there learning, and she'll come back and help us with this.

And we're going to get that one.

Our research and then having this expertise at the table is going to make a big difference.

Yeah.

But these are things that we hear a lot the trends and needs transport.

Doni; Oh is still an issue.

Yeah.

Wendy: It's it it's the one we can't meet as easily.

Doni: And I you know, I think that people, especially people who work in the social services, understand the frustrations with transportation, people not being able to get to appointments, not being able to lots of things that that many Americans take for granted.

Because you have a car and you, you know, you put the key in or you push the button and it takes you where you want to go.

But but here and I think this too is a conversation.

I think it's not just here.

It it seems to be an issue that we just can't get our arms around.

You just can't fix it for Wendy: it is very tricky here.

And, you know, having lived in some larger cities and, you know, people point to really great mass transit systems and I think the systems here are doing well.

They're they're working at it.

They're really trying to learn from it.

I think they have good leadership.

But it's it's complicated.

One of the things that we started doing at United Way, we got some grant dollars for a ride United program and what that is, is, it's for folks to call 211 and access some transportation for some spe needs.

Now, I wish we had all the money in the world to cover it at the level we'd like to, but, we started and really incubated with those that needed to get to prenatal appointments.

As we know, we have a very high infant mortality rate in our county, one of the highest in the country in maternal mortality.

So this Ride United program, what was nice was the these women were able to offer their, you know, appointments and that sort of thing.

Give to one want to call and get a free ride to the doctor's office.

And that was covered.

But the driver in the Lyft service, they didn't know that this person was accessing it through this, that I like that that anonymity and dignity is important.

Yes.

The mind blower and all of this, we we were so happy to get folks to their appointments.

We had great success.

But Doni, there were a few of these women who use the service to go to the hospital and have their baby.

And to me, that was especially heartbreaking because they didn't have a family member who was taking them.

They didn't have.

So we really don't know what people are going through.

And when they're asking for housing, help, food, transportation, there's so much more that can be there that we want to learn from and help folks find all the resources they need to feel really solid.

Doni: And, you know, I'm so glad that that you're making these points, because one of the things that I think is really important for people to take away from what you say is that these are ordinary Americans who are doing the best they can do.

These are not people who are necessarily sitting around looking for a handout.

These are people who are trying to live their lives and are running into barriers getting that done.

Wendy: It's unbelievable.

So in our county, there are those who live at the federal poverty level that, you know, we often need some extra benefit work, you know, and we're worried about them, of course.

But in Lucas County specifically, you know, that said, about 12%.

But there's a much greater 28% of folks when we call that our Alice population asset limited, income constrained, employed.

These are folks that are very much living paycheck to paycheck.

They don't own their home.

They might not have a retirement account savings account.

And so when you look at this large, you know, anywhere from they gage between 26 to 28% of our population who lives like this.

So when the housing goes up a little bit, the food, if you get sick or hurt and can't go to work, I mean, it can cascade into crisis, right?

And to your point, good people, hard working, trying to take care of their kids.

And it just it's it's very difficult and expensive.

You know, back to school time is something that always hits me between the eyes because I think a lot of families, they can budget and do things, but getting those back to school supplies and you know, that whole that it's expensive.

And just the other day we had an experience with an event and a woman at the event, she she won a prize.

It was the first place prize.

And, she had lamented whether or not to buy it was a rubber duck race.

You know, I've watched her talk to her daughter, and they decided to go ahead and get one for $10.

She won $1,000.

Doni: Yes, I read, I saw that, yeah.

Wendy: And she was she said to me, she said, this is great.

Now I can finish getting those back to school things.

I wasn't sure what we were going to do.

and I thought, oh, you know, just that reminder.

And this is, again, hard working everything.

But this time of year, I think the holidays, different things hit people hard.

Doni: Yeah.

And I think you guys are really good at, reminding us, especially those of us like me, who work in, in social services.

you're so good at reminding us that we have an obligation, to, to pay attention to needs like this woman had, again, so many of us just take our lives for granted and the opportunities that we have for granted.

and there are the her daughter could be the next president of the United States with just a little handout.

Handout.

And you guys are so good at that.

Wendy: We try and I think it is acknowledging that there's and at any point in anyone's life, you could be somebody who needs some of these services.

That's that's so critical and so really addressing it that way.

And I point out at United Way, going back to that workforce campaign, you know, we've got at the Jeep plant years ago we had 100% participation.

And, you know, at different organizations where those employees do that.

But when they go on strike, we need to be there for them.

I mean, you know, there there have been so many situations where you realize that somebody who contributes to your organization is a volunteer for or maybe they're donating philanthropically, but they could be on the other side of that at any time.

And so that's why it's so important, going back to why we have volunteers and experts and all sorts of folks lean in to help us invest the dollars.

Yeah.

and you're probably aware I always want people to understand at United Way, I don't decide where the dollars go.

And our board of directors doesn't decide.

We have a community impact cabinet, and it's made up of content experts who work in those fields.

But also, we have 35 community reviewers.

These are folks with lived experience.

They've had times in their life or they've access these services and they can tell you who's doing it well and who's doing that.

and they make the decision about where the money goes.

It's an extremely complicated process.

It takes time.

But at the end of the day, I keep calling it democratized solutions.

You know, where everybody can have a voice.

You know, I think that is so important.

Doni: I would agree.

And we're going to pick it up there when we come back.

And I'd also like to talk about, the way you're using data really interesting process.

And as well, your focus on food.

Okay.

When we come right back, you'll stay with me.

You'll stay with me as well.

We will be right back.

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Doni: Welcome back!

As you know, you can connect with us on our social media pages.

You can also email me at Doni Underscore Miller at wgte dot org.

And for this episode and any others that you are interested in seeing, please don't hesitate to go to wgte.org to the point if you are just joining us.

Welcome.

But I have to tell you, you missed an incredibly informative first segment with our guest, Wendy Pestrue, who is the CEO of the United Way of Greater Toledo.

We left.

first of all, you just are so busy.

I cannot believe all of the things that United Way is doing.

And and I have to congratulate you for changing the organization to meet the time.

It is not, as you said earlier, your grandfather's United Way anymore.

One of the things that you guys are doing, among many, many important and impressive things, is the use of data.

Wendy: and, you know, data science is it has rapidly evolved and continues to do so.

And I might also add artificial intelligence.

It's interesting to see where we're at an intersection now, where that can be a much bigger part of the social services construct.

And I think really help people.

So data tells a story as we know what's going well, what isn't, our two on one data is interesting because that call volume and the way it comes in and really analyzing, do we are we on the brink of maybe a crisis point in our community, whether it is around food or housing?

It was really helpful during the pandemic as we were getting those two on one calls where people were registering for food or vaccinations.

But we take away from that where concentrations of folks and understanding what they might need in the future.

If there's a water crisis, for example, things like that.

So data becomes an imperative to really learn from.

We don't want to do, for people to feel like, though, that they're just a number.

I mean, we are really paying attention to the anecdotal stories that go with us.

We do listen to the 211 calls.

It's one thing to have the data, it's another to hear the voices of people.

And that actually led us to where artificial intelligence is interesting.

Doni: You know, I was just going to say the thing that I like about the use of the data is that it really supports your mission.

It really supports where your dollars get spent.

So you're not randomly chasing, oh, let's let's take a look at that or oh, let's take a look at this.

The data tells you what the needs are.

And and that makes the use of the funds that people give you, appropriate and impactful.

Wendy: They're researched.

We are trying to be thoughtful and it's made by lots of people using this data.

And, you're right, don't chase the flavor of the day.

The trends that you think are meaningful.

You've really got to understand and peel back the layers and get to that point.

It was interesting even early on when we were using this.

And a great example is why are the kindergarten readiness scores so low in certain areas?

And then it's like, well, what is the lead abatement in those houses look like?

There you go.

First and foremost.

Right okay.

You know in it that's what data tells you and takes you, you know, down the road.

And then from all of that we're now in a looking at artificial intelligence and voice intelligence and voice recognition.

Like when 211 someone calls.

And if there is something in the tenor of their voice that could identify something that's going on, or perhaps they have an accent that's more difficult to understand.

Maybe there's language they use that's indicative of telling us a story that maybe the community resource advisor, well, they're great people and do a good job.

This might help recognize some things that they're not hearing or seeing right away, because there's just one person listening to another person, versus maybe if we were to take lots of information from lots of callers.

And I think my example here in our area that comes to my most is like in human trafficking.

We know that there are a lot of hidden people that are being badly abused.

It's true of domestic violence as well.

And so when they call 211 maybe they need something for their household.

But there are occurrence and underlying circumstances where we may realize that you need to escalate the conversation, escalate what's going, you know, how to get this person in touch with things, and we want to do a better job of that, but using technology that's available to us to get there.

So whether it's data science or how can I voice recognition help us do a better job taking care of folks?

We want to explore that.

Doni: Right?

Right.

And I it's sort of to your point.

but I really want to make sure that that I get this said before you leave today, is that the kinds of challenges that are faced by the folks that are served by, United Way are challenges that can impact anybody, that can affect anybody.

It's not a certain race.

It's not a certain class, economic class.

These things can happen to anybody.

Wendy: Oh, they can.

And that's the thing about 211 is insight into that a little bit.

We've had folks call it the needed help with transportation, because they didn't have the right car to get somebody to a rehab appointment and they needed some help.

Understand.

Just a really simple little thing like that.

We had one woman who was hurt.

She came into town, she had taken a job and she was checking some things out.

She someplace else and was moving here for that job.

And her baby came early and she called 211 because she was at the hospital.

She didn't have anyone she knew around her.

But little things like getting a car seat or some basic needs for that baby when you leave the hospital.

We took care of it.

I mean, it's funny, that thing, you never know about it.

And I always remind people too, was any of the United Way services, the information we have, the data in two, one, one use it for things that you're working on in your church or maybe your school, or, you know, it's always there for you and it's always there for community member.

You may see that a neighbor's got something going on, your little worried you can call 211.

We see this a lot with mental health.

Find out about those resources yourself.

And then when you sit down with them or want to spend some time with them having a conversation, you may feel a little better equipped.

It's there for everyone.

Doni: What amazing information.

I know that everyone thinks, everyone that I know who knows about United Way thinks that two and one is the place that you call when you're desperate.

You know I'm about to be evicted.

I and what you're saying is that it is really a place that can answer a plethora of questions and provide a ton of responses to whatever your issue may be.

Wendy: They'll even put you in touch with free resume writing services or, you know, things like that, or workforce development.

Like, you know, maybe you're thinking you want to change your education path or there's something you a skill you want to develop.

We'd love to get to where we want to work more with the two on one resources to help with job placement that's been discussed a little bit.

How do we help people with any kind of on-ramp and to it's hard to Google.

That's the point.

If you Google food near me or, you know, you get all these restaurants or whatever.

And sometimes it's, you know, especially for somebody who's older, maybe, you know, Doni: and you don't get a person who's listening to you that can respond to your questions.

Right.

That's the other thing as well.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So we were talking a bit, you wanted to explore just a little bit more the way your money is disbursed.

Wendy: So over the years obviously United Way and dating back to as I said, you know, World War right after World War One, we took the money in and the board of directors would decide how to invest it.

And then over years, it's changed to where we have volunteers and then we have subsequently, in the last few years, gone to where data is really instructing some of this, along with volunteers.

And the other layer we brought in was the folks who have lived experiences.

We need to hear from those who were affected by these choices.

So having all of that come together, I think the next level up and the thing that we're going to pursue with partners is what I call united funders or and this is the United funding model is where it's not just the United Way.

It can be any of our corporate funders or legislative folks, all these different facets of our community that contribute dollars to trying to create solutions and talk to each other more.

We need to be more transparent, right?

United way always publishes the list of who they've invested in and why and what that looks like.

We're very open to that.

We'd like to help other partners find their paths so they are as well.

And then maybe if we're talking to each other, you know, sometimes we have an organization and they've applied for dollars and they're not quite maybe fitting into the mold of what we were looking for at that time.

But one of our corporate partners may be looking for exactly that opportunity to really support their corporate social responsibility.

We want to work together to say, you know, we didn't give them dollars, but you should.

You know, this is great if this is what you're interested in, but really help each other unite around the funding.

And then I feel like that will really help our partners know how to budget more effectively.

You know, they'll know what kinds of programs they can pursue and feel confident that they really understand the landscape.

Doni: Yeah.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

The other thing, too, we only have a few minutes left, but I wanted to highlight some of the specialty activities that are under the United Way umbrella, the Women's Initiative, for instance.

Wendy: Oh, our affinity groups.

And it was funny when I got here, they were great.

But I think under the new leadership we have in our affinity group space, it's it's a whole new game.

women's Initiative is fabulous.

And, you know, with all of our affinity groups, I think we have something in the future that will be very interesting.

They all volunteer, they raise money, they do great things.

I love what AOC does and our retiree United, you know, all these.

But, we have a new project coming to the area.

We are one of the four pillar partners with the Art Tatum zone, Lucas Metropolitan housing, and TPS.

We want to create an environment where families have some more support as students.

We've had some bad numbers out of Covid.

Kids are not recovering in their education.

Right.

And so how do we create more families, support some of these affinity groups and other partners?

We would like to have a little team of volunteers, not just one mentor for that child.

But what if there were a few volunteers, content specific tutoring, maybe, facilitation of conversations.

But how can all of the affinity groups maybe help support a model where we have volunteer structure that really supports families, specifically in our school district?

Doni: So if people want to get involved, how do they do that?

Wendy: Well, please go to our website.

We have a number of things to sign up for and I might like to recommend.

Right now we are looking ahead.

We start are united for the holidays work the first week of November.

So on November 7th we will be moving ahead and you can volunteer and pack a food kit.

We have lots of activities like that you can get on the website and even before November.

Happy for you to look at our volunteer opportunities on the website and just come be a part of it to be a part of the affinity groups.

It's about $25 a month.

So we do ask for contribution to United Way, but it comes out to what I think is fairly.

It's even less than $25, Doni: so people just have to reach out to you.

Precisely.

You'll give them all the information they need.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for joining us today.

I so appreciate your time.

Wonderful information.

You guys.

If you're not doing anything, come on, give Wendy's team a call.

There's lots of work to be done in the city.

And you can help that work get done.

Thank you so much for joining us today.

I'll see you next time.

Until the point.

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They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of WGTE public media.

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