Although most residents were not prepared for the devastation caused by the more
than 13 inches of rain that fell over the course of two days last May, one
organization stood at the ready—United Way of Metropolitan Nashville.
Through its annual funding process, the United Way supports 132 programs within
62 agencies that provide food, shelter, clothing, transportation, financial
assistance, crisis counseling and medical needs. That roughly computes to more
than 55,000 people impacted by United Way.
So when the calls began flooding into the Vanderbilt Work/Life Connections
Employee Assistance Program (EAP) with requests for help and to help, staff
knew exactly what to do. Call 2-1-1.
“We recognized that there were already programs in place to assist with the needs
of our employees,” said Jim Kendall, manager of Work/Life Connections-EAP program. “We did not want to recreate things, so we encouraged people who wanted to donate
items to call existing services that were well-equipped to deal with this
situation.
“There was nothing better than to have an organization that already has the
infrastructure in place to handle the requests as they were happening. The
United Way’s 2-1-1 crisis call line was a life-saving resource.”
Kendall said his staff was better able to serve the needs of their Vanderbilt
co-workers because of the advanced planning of the United Way.
The 2-1-1 help line was launched in 2004, coincidentally the year Hurricane
Katrina devastated New Orleans and had local impact for Nashville in terms of
evacuees. By the time this year’s floods hit Nashville, the emergency response agencies already had a
longstanding relationship.
The volume of calls to the help line reached well over 10,000 in the first 10
days and the calls continue today, according to United Way personnel.
Flood-related needs are not the only way United Way has impacted the lives of
Vanderbilt employees, said its president and CEO, Eric Dewey.
“We have a longstanding relationship with Vanderbilt that is growing and getting
stronger,” said Dewey. “United Way has been a key part of Vanderbilt’s Community Giving Campaign for decades. Additionally, it has supported a number
of Vanderbilt-based community programs through the years. United Way and
Vanderbilt have enjoyed a successful working history in creating a positive
impact in the community.”
Currently United Way supports three programs at Vanderbilt’s Center for Health Services—CASTLES (Communities and Students Together for Learning-Enhanced Service) gives
Vanderbilt students the skills and knowledge necessary to be effective citizens
in the communities where they will live after graduation; Student Health Coalition—Healthy Aging provides health screenings, fitness activities, in-home service
projects, and health education to thousands of people throughout the Southeast;
and the Sudanese Community and Women’s Center, now the Nashville International Center for Empowerment, is a
community-based organization dedicated to empowering refugees and immigrants,
who have settled in Middle Tennessee.
“United Way functions as the Town Square, where we frame problems and issues as a
community, and engage with each other to develop plans, coalesce resources and
partner to ensure that two things always happen—complex problems are addressed in a meaningful, measurable and collaborative
manner and, the most vulnerable in our community will be positively impacted.
At the end of the day, this is United Way’s core mission.”
Vanderbilt’s Kendall strongly agreed. He said the EAP understands the value and community
resources that the United Way provides.
“United Way doesn’t stop right after disaster strikes,” said Kendall. “They are here year-round. The agencies our employees turned to provide services
every day—flood or no flood. This is really where it takes a community to care for
community, and the United Way is there.”
