Servant Leadership Is As Critical to Your Success As It Is To Those You Serve
By Justine Bixler, UWSWA Vice President of Resource Development
“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done. We will be judged by “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.” ― Mother Teresa
Service to others is a key tenet of every successful community. Whether this means making a financial contribution to a local non-profit like United Way of Southwest Alabama (UWSWA), volunteering to feed the hungry through The Salvation Army of Coastal Alabama, donating clothing to Catholic Social Services or serving as a community mentor through Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Alabama; this servant leadership is as critical to your success as it is to those you will serve. It enriches the lives of individuals across our community, builds better organizations, stronger businesses, and helps maintain a vibrant economy. Ultimately, it creates a more just and caring world for everyone – this is our safety net.
In order for us to achieve a more just and caring world we must actively work together to ensure we leave our world better than we found it. We do this by ensuring a strong and stable community where our families within our community must be strong and stable. This requires a strong education, quality healthcare, financial stability, and access to life’s basic essential.
At United Way of Southwest Alabama, we wake up each day on a mission to create this lasting change that will be felt by generations to come. We do this through a vast network of corporate donors, individual donors, grantors and those who support our efforts with in-kind contributions. On an annual basis, these donors fund over 100 health and human services programs operated by our 46 non-profit partner agencies and 11 internal programs operated by your local United Way.
These programs serve thousands of children and individuals throughout Southwest Alabama. These are our neighbors, coworkers, families and friends. This past year, due to the impacts of COVID-19 plus two natural disasters impacting our area, we found more individuals unexpectedly finding themselves in need more than any year before. Individuals who were once donors to our annual campaign have become clients receiving services through our programs and assistance provided by our 46 partner agencies. Because of their choice to give during a time when they were able, they were able to rely on the services we provide during their time of unanticipated need.
We all benefit when more people are able to access quality, affordable health care, when a child succeeds in school, when someone finds a job that will help them provide for their family, and when someone doesn’t have to choose between paying bills or paying for food. Our personal investment in service to others makes an impact daily and our annual investment through United Way creates ripples in our community for many years to come. Each time we give, advocate, or volunteer, we are creating sustainable change in the lives of so many in our community. Our donors create this change. Our donors change lives. Our donors save lives.
By Justine Bixler, UWSWA Vice President of Resource Development
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