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Hello faithful blog readers!

We have some exciting news — we’ve moved!  Come check us out on our shiny new blog:

http://www.uwkcblog.org

Don’t forget to update your bookmarks and RSS feeds!

Get involved with United Way of King County’s Free Tax Preparation Campaign and join the nation’s largest anti-poverty effort!  Help low-and moderate-income individuals and families in King County keep more of what they earn!  With the assistance of over 530 volunteers, the 2009 Campaign filed 13,631 tax returns, and returned over $17.3  million in federal refunds; $5.2 million in Earned Income Tax Credits.  All of this was accomplished at no cost to our tax customers, and we estimate that we saved our customers over $1 million in tax preparation fees!

The United Way Free Tax Campaign Needs Volunteers!

By volunteering once per week during the 2010 tax season, you can help us meet our goal of putting more than $17 million back into the pockets of low-and moderate-income working individuals and families in King County.  Speakers of Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish, Somali, Korean and Russian languages are especially needed.

No Experience Necessary! All volunteers receive free tax preparation training and are certified by the IRS.  Slots at some sites tend to fill up very fast, so don’t wait!  Sign up now!  And then send this along to someone else who should sign up.  You can select your own site and shift, and select your preferred days of training.  It’s really easy.  And you’ll feel better.

If you need more information or have any questions, feel free to contact Courtney Noble (cnoble@uwkc.org, 206-461-5048), Patrick Kelley (pkelley@uwkc.org, 206-461-5083) or Matt Levin (mlevin@uwkc.org, 206-461-4562).

• Is ‘a doll always a doll’, really?  Would you pay $95 for a ‘homeless’ doll?  We asked your opinion on our VibeGlobe page.  I had to take a few days to process this one, but I’ve settled in on an opinion similar to the one expressed by Shannon Moriarty on Change.org’s blog.  I could hop on my soapbox and excoriate Mattel, like others have.  But I think this is less about a company doing what companies are supposed to do (make $), and more about how we (me, you, and the person sitting next to you) are afraid to accept the possibility that a child’s toy might be a little too real for us adults…
• If you’re a reader of the Unite to End Homeless blog, you’ll be familiar with my muted disdain for the editorial board of the Seattle Times.  I don’t always disagree with them, and I’m not the only one who does whenever I do.  But when I read this recent editorial about Councilmember Tim Burgess’ proposed panhandling ordinance, I couldn’t remember what city I lived in.  So I pose this question to you all:  have you ever felt intimidated enough by someone asking for change that you felt compelled to give it to them, short of them having a weapon of some kind (that ain’t panhandling, that’s robbery).  If you have, tell me.  I want to know!  I want to write your story!  Because in all my time here, in the thousands of times I’ve been asked for money by someone who obviously needed it more than me, I have NEVER had anyone say anything to me other than ‘thank you’, ‘God Bless you’, or ‘have a nice day’, regardless of whether or not I gave them anything more than a smile.  So let me hear it!  I want to know!  To paraphrase the last sentence of the editorial:  ‘The city has a duty to regulate–within the law, within reason–the manner in which it treats its most vulnerable citizens as they go about their daily lives.’
• And speaking of Mr. Burgess (and the Times editorial page, for that matter), it appears he had some overnight guests earlier this week.  In this particular instance, I actually find myself agreeing with the editorial writers for the most part.  Money is definitely tight, in everyone’s budget, and pulling something like this isn’t going to make someone like Mayor Nickels or the City Council open up their empty pocketbooks.  As the writers stated, it would be far more productive for us to focus on getting the housing levy passed in November and other long-term issues like working with a new city administration.
• And finally, since I’ve made it clear how I feel on Proposition 1, a few words about a few other items coming up this fall:  Initiative 1033 and Referendum 71.  While supporters of I-1033 would like you to believe that capping tax revenue makes government more accountable, all it really does is make it harder for government to fill its role as sole provider for such frivolous things as education, law enforcement, and public transportation, not to mention indispensable social services such as public health clinics and senior centers that, while also supported by nonprofits and religious organizations, would suffer immensely without government support.  Now, I know this might not be a popular stance to take, that many of us truly believe taxes are evil and government is wasteful, slothful, etc and we want our money back!  I just read the website, and it sounds wonderful.  But the fact is that this Initiative would make it more difficult for government services to be enacted during the very time that they are needed the most.  We’ll make it harder to hire more teachers, place more unemployed or underemployed people into job training and skill development programs at community colleges, or have an adequate response method in the event of a public emergency (last time I checked, we had a few active volcanoes in the region).  ALL of that, and more,  is paid for with tax revenue.
• As for Ref 71, you may not see a link between a domestic partnership law and homelessness.  But consider this:  nearly 40% of homeless people under 18 years of age identify themselves as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender (LGBT).  And if you don’t think being homeless had anything to do with their sexual orientation for these kids, just stop reading this because it’s not worth my time.  They’re kicked out, they run away, they end up on the street.  They’re called queer, fag, freak…and they are smacked in the face by laws in their own country that prevent them from growing up, falling in love, and marrying the person that they want to spend the rest of their life with.  You may not think Ref 71 is about equal rights for gays and lesbians, and that’s fine.  But passing this referendum will, at the very least, provide the residents of Washington with an opportunity to look into the faces of some of these young people and say:  You are not worthless.  You are not weird.  You and your loved ones will be treated like everyone else.

The Robinsons are like most middle-class families you know.  Bridget worked at…”

This is Yong, recently homeless in Greensboro, NC.

While it’s universally acknowledged that there is a certain irony about a homeless doll costing $95, Gwen is otherwise causing a wide variety of opinions.

Andrea Peyser of the New York Post is not pleased:

It seems obscene that a company that prides itself on teaching impressionable children about history and grooming — you can have your doll’s hair done for $20! — should engage in political preaching. What message is being sent with Gwen?

For starters, men are bad. Fathers abandon women without cause. She’s also telling me that women are helpless. And that children in this great country, where dolls sell for nearly 100 bucks a pop, are allowed to sleep in motor vehicles. But mothers don’t lose custody over this injustice. Because, you see, they are victims, too.

Shannon Moriarty of Change.org was initially disgusted.  However, after thinking it through, she came to this conclusion:

The only thing obscene about this American Girl controversy is that it takes a plastic doll and her fictional biography to have everyone up in arms. Yet, the real stories of homeless children crowding shelters and schools are accepted without an ounce of outrage. This American Girl doll’s story is not unrealistic at all. In fact, it’s a lot more common than we’d like to think.

Earlier this year, the National Center on Family Homelessness found that 1 in 50 children in America will experience homelessness. Roughly a quarter of all children in this country live with a single parent. Unemployment in the U.S. is nearly in the double-digits. Schools are struggling to maintain a sense of stability for kids dealing with very adult problems. Research has found that children who are homeless are more likely to drop out of school, get sick, and become homeless as adults.

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Perhaps American Girls may be picking up on something that the rest of society is missing. If these dolls are considered accurate, well-researched portrayal of American culture, then maybe we need to stop overreacting about how offensive, distasteful, and obscene they are, and start opening our eyes.

So what do you think? Is this exploitation or a unique way to raise awareness around a very real issue?  Take our survey and sound off through comments.

View This Poll

Have you ever wanted to go back to the carefree days of preschool? Then volunteer with the United Way of King County’s Volunteer Reader Program! Chances are you won’t get to nap and eat cookies all day, but you’ll be doing something even better; making a difference in the lives of local children.

More than half of all kindergartners in our state are entering school without the social, emotional, physical and cognitive skills they need to be successful. In fact, research shows that those who start behind often stay behind. The good news is however, that these kids can be ready for a lifetime of learning simply by spending a few short hours with our great volunteers! These people make a world of difference in children’s lives just by reading to them one-on-one for an hour each week in head start classrooms and childcare centers throughout King County!

So whether you’re looking to find another grandchild to share stories with, a way to give your children’s old books a new life, or you’d simply like an excuse to read To Give a Mouse a Cookie in the middle of a hectic day, the Volunteer Reader Program is for you!

For more information go to www.uwkc.org/readers

Following up with Patrick’s latest post, I wanted to share with you all a project that we’ve been working on and just recently released:http://unitedway.vibeglobe.comour new website on ending homelessness.

One part of the website is the video embedded on this post. The music video focuses on homelessness in our community. All the footage was taken locally and it does a great job at showing the faces of homelessness. It also going over facts that many people don’t realize. For example, did you know that a night in jail costs $96 whereas a night in supportive housing only costs $26?

Along with the video, there are ways you can take action around homelessness which includes adding to our photo mosaic.

We’re obviously really proud of this new site and video. Take a minute to check it out, tell us what you think, and share it with friends!