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It’s Better to Give Than to Receive

Published Date
Author Aaron Stoklosa

Time. Talent. Treasure. Being an active member and a good steward in the community in which we live and work is something we can all agree on. This marks the fifth year Modernizing Medicine has supported the United Way of Palm Beach County. Our CEO and Co-founder Daniel Cane has been on the organization’s Board for three years and has brought his passion for the United Way to the entire Modernizing Medicine community.

“People at Modernizing Medicine appreciate each other, care for each other and accomplish great feats together. It’s a bigger community than just Modernizing Medicine though. One of the easiest ways to give back is through the United Way,” shared Dan Cane.

The company’s goal is to raise $20,000 this May with 100% employee participation. To add a fun and competitive spin to raising funds, the human resources department has come up with some interactive quizzes and games from guessing the number of countries Dan has visited to the number of jelly beans in a jar, for a chance to win prizes to further increase awareness and participation around the campaign.

The United Way of Palm Beach County’s mission is: to improve measurably the lives of individuals and families in Palm Beach County by uniting the resources of donors, volunteers, agencies and the community. Some other quick facts about the organization include:

  • The organization has served the community for 85 years. It formed after a devastating hurricane in 1928.
  • It funds 80 Palm Beach County programs.
  • The main causes are education, income and health needs.
  • Last year, United Way served 250,000 people in PBC from all different backgrounds through all different partner programs.

We had the chance to hear from Brandon Light, Director of Resource Development at the United Way of Palm Beach County, as well as from two members of local organizations the United Way supports including, Matthew Latica, CEO of Home Safe, and Ted Scott, Transportation Supervisor at the Volen Center.

Brandon from United Way shared that the funds raised go right back to our community and stay here in Palm Beach County. The United Way is a nonprofit that provides the support to other area nonprofits which have been vetted in the area. They serve as the glue that holds these worthy organizations together. He explained that they work with for-profits, nonprofits and government entities in the community to evaluate all of Palm Beach County with the goal of identifying and working to solve the issues in the area. One of the most recent conversations and areas of focus has been around hunger as it relates to children, the elderly and those in the Glades are, as well as supporting the 80 nonprofits in Palm Beach County through various initiatives.

During our recent lunch and learn, two organizations that the United Way supports had representatives share with us their missions and how the United Way is crucial to the success of their services.

HomeSafe
Matthew Ladika, CEO of HomeSafe, is a results-driven non-profit organization with a major focus on helping victims of child abuse and domestic violence through prevention and intervention programs. Founded in 1979, HomeSafe has three programs (residential group care, safety net and healthy beginnings) to serve the needs of the community and serves around 16,000 people each year. The partnership with the United Way has helped the organization fund the education and prevention aspect of their program. Children who are court-ordered into the system are usually 1-2 years behind where they should be in school. HomeSafe makes sure these students are on track with their academics with the support from United Way.

Volen Center
From the needs of children and families to those of the elderly, that’s where the Volen Center comes into play. Ted Scott is the Transportation Supervisor at Volen Center where he works with the seniors in our community through most of Palm Beach County and part of Broward County. Ted shared with us the realization that many seniors in our area face when they have to surrender their driver’s license: How will they travel from place to place? The Volen Center provides door-to-door transportation from 4am – 9pm. Last year, they provided more than 10,000 medical trips to seniors in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. With the support from the United Way, over 80% of those trips were at no cost to the clients. Ted reassured the group that every dollar the United Way gives to the Volen Center goes to the services provided to seniors in our community.

As the saying goes, it is truly better to give than to receive whether that be through time, talents or treasures. Modernizing Medicine is proud to support the United Way of Palm Beach County and all that the organization accomplishes in our own backyard.