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Published: March 2007
Kathy Pelham, President of the United Way Northeastern New York Chapter, discusses her work helping the homeless and their new drive to bring an information service to the region.
Success Magazine: What is the mission and function of the United Way of Northeastern New York?
Kathy Pelham: The purpose of the United Way is to try to alleviate root causes of negative social issues. Our branch deals with the four surrounding counties. One of the things that we do is bring people together to help us analyze problems, suggest solutions and bring them into action plans. I have been the president of this chapter for fourteen years, and we have certainly made a lot of inroads towards this goal in that time.
SM: It sounds like a broad scope, what kind of issues do you focus on most?
KP: The human issues and the degree of severity are different in certain areas such as rural vs. city area. However, the problems are the same. There are homeless people in suburban, rural and urban areas. We look at the issue and then try to establish the problem and find a solution.
SM: How do you deal with homelessness?
KP: Our greatest focus is preventive care within the family. Families are the core of our culture. We know from research that young children are strongly influenced from the time they are born to their first five years. Many of them are developing their personalities and we are focusing on the families and children to ensure that they have an opportunity to be productive and are given every chance to survive in our society. So, while homeless families are one issue, we also deal with wellness issues, mental health, prison release, poverty and other precursors to homelessness. The lack of education affects the future potential productivity of an individual. For us to get at the root cause we try to get to the children at an early age to help them obtain a better education which helps the next generation get away from poverty. An individual who does not complete high school has a 60 to 80% chance of living in poverty. We have a family support network at SUNY to try to get better education training with support networks that teach them computer skills and tutoring and we have funding that will help up to the 6th grade, but our funding is limited after that age group and we need to raise greater funds and awareness of how critical it is to reach those children at that formative age to maintain there drive to obtain a better education and at least complete high school.
SM: How can you reach the masses to let them know that they can help?
KP: It is like the woman on the beach. Someone walks up to her after a storm and the woman is throwing starfish one by one back into the ocean. The visitor asks why she is wasting her time, there are thousands of starfish on the beach. She replies it is true I can't save them all, but every one that I throw back into the ocean has a chance to be saved. So while I think that ad campaigns are important, I think one of the best ways to reach people is to give them a visible example of the good things you are doing.
SM: How did you get to this position?
KP: I worked in the private sector in pharmaceuticals, then publishing. I didn't follow the usual route to the nonprofit sector. I obtained my business degree and I realized that I needed to complete my masters degree so that I would be prepared to truly help people in a way that was meaningful and long lasting. It is good to volunteer and help people, but sometimes that is temporary. To reach people and change their lives it has to be long lasting.
SM: Can you give us a specific example of what the United Way has done in the area to enhance the future of the disadvantaged?
KP: There was a study done recently where statistics showed that 1 in 4 people are positively influenced by our United Way chapter. We are now going to provide a "211" service to our community that will provide a non-emergency information system that will offer everything from medical services to family counseling. Sixty percent of our nation has this system and we are gearing up to provide this service to the Capital District and Saratoga Counties in the near future. It will touch lives. You will be able to pick up the phone and we will get you in contact with a trained professional who can give you any information that you need.
SM: One of the critical issues that make a leader is giving back to society. How do you have balance in your life, and how do you develop your organization and how do you extract that precious commodity of time from people so that they want to help you and your organizations help others?
KP: That is an ongoing challenge. I monitor my time calendar, and I try to monitor my heart calendar. I try to put myself at a little bit of a distance from what I feel compelled to do that is work related when I should be considering time with my family. I am not good at all at taking care of myself. I find this is true of a lot of women. When I am pushed to choose between taking care of myself or to care for and take care of others, I choose to help others. I am happy to do that, it is not strategically wrong, but something has to give.
SM: You plan to have better family time or "me" time but as a woman and a giver you cut into your own time and self, to give more to others and help others give more. How do you instill that giving thought process to others?
KP: It is something that is emotional. Some people you share an idea and they understand it within 30 seconds, others try to understand what you are saying and they never get it. It is communicating the needs of our society to those who care and want to give back to our society. It has to do with relationships and how to find that magic of connections that is critical.
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