Our Mission

United Way of Pierce County has served our community since 1921. Our history is rooted in partnerships—bringing people from different walks of life together to improve conditions for children, families and individuals. While that will never change, our role as a community fundraiser has shifted as the United Way movement has sharpened our focus to solve key community issues that are preventing people from meeting their full potential. Today we are leading change by breaking the cycle of poverty in Pierce County.

BOLD GOAL: United, we will lift 15,000 families out of poverty by 2028

By addressing the interconnected issues affecting children and families in our community, we are ensuring that families are stronger, individuals gain stability and kids are more successful. We know one organization alone can’t solve our community's toughest problems. Moving the needle on challenging, complex issues like poverty requires individual and cross-sector collaboration that are focused on results. United Way can and does facilitate that work-- we are tackling poverty, one family at a time.

MISSION: We mobilize and unite the caring power of Pierce County to tackle our community’s toughest challenges to improve lives in measurable and lasting ways.

OUR CAUSE: We unite the community to end poverty, one family at a time.

In Pierce County, we are united to fight poverty.

  • We strategically invest in and develop programs that are aligned to address the root issues of poverty.
  • We partner with the private, public and non-profit sector to leverage resources and educate the community about interconnected issues.
  • We support those efforts with volunteer help and in-kind goods.
  • We advocate at the state and local level to make sure government resources for struggling families are available. 
  • We put every resource we have into breaking the cycle of poverty in Pierce County.

Please join us in our fight.

VISION: A just, equitable and inclusive Pierce County community where everyone has access to opportunities and the resources needed to thrive and achieve their highest potential.

VALUES: The Power of Community, Diversity and Inclusion

We believe in the power of community, in working and coming together. We believe in diversity and inclusion. We believe in integrity, fairness and respect. Firmly believing that a person’s race, level of income or geographic location should never limit their opportunity for success, we are committed to using a lens of equity for all work in which we lead, support or invest.

Our community and our society are best when we extend a hand of compassion. We foster and promote an inclusive environment that leverages the unique contributions of diverse individuals and organizations in all aspects of our work. We know that by bringing diverse individuals and viewpoints together, we can collectively and more effectively create opportunities for a better life for all.

 

United Way is committed to being an anti-racist organization with a focus on racial and social justice. We unequivocally denounce structural systemic practices that work to marginalize entire populations of people. We recognize structural racism and other forms of oppression that have perpetuated poverty and contributed to persistent disparities which United Way seeks to dismantle. Our United Way strives to engage community members, especially those whose voices have traditionally been marginalized. We work with residents and public and private partners to co-create solutions that ensure everyone has the resources, supports, opportunities and networks they need to thrive and achieve their highest potential. We commit to leveraging all of our assets (convening, strategic investments, awareness building, and advocacy) to create more equitable communities.

In order to build sustainable, inclusive, and resilient organizations, and communities and an organizational culture where each employee, and volunteer feels valued, and supported, United Way of Pierce County is committed to:

  • Developing, maintaining, and publicly post an organization position opposing all forms of racism and discrimination, including xenophobia and religious intolerance (UWW requirement)
  • Annually, providing racial equity training for all board members and staff (UWW requirement)
  • Continuing to use racial equity as one of the criteria in making community investments (UWW requirement)
  • Conducting an organizational assessment of all of our policies, practices, and programs to better reflect the values we hold of equity and justice.
  • Continuing to examine our role in advancing the end of racism, especially the systemic racism that continues to perpetuate inequities and discrimination. Promoting programming that promotes equity, advances opportunity and heals the trauma of racism, discrimination, xenophobia, and religious intolerance. 
  • Centering our work on those with lived experience of all forms of racism, ensure that their voices are heard and take action to address systems that create barriers and have a history of structural and institutional racism.
  • Working in partnership with others, build community and political will that ultimately drives systems transformation across sectors and ensures that those with lived experiences are centered in the design of policies and practices.
  • Working with our community partners, we will unapologetically work to create pathways to wealth for communities of color (Black, Indigenous and People of Color).

 

We expect staff, volunteers, and collaborative and community partners to uphold these values as we work together to build a more equitable and inclusive community. Harassment, bullying, and discrimination will not be tolerated. We consider diversity, equity, and inclusion integral to our work, our role as a community convener, and at the heart of what it means to Live United.

The past couple of weeks have been hard for our communities. We are outraged by the brutality that led to the murder of George Floyd and other senseless acts of violence against African Americans. Even in our own community, we mourn the death of Manuel Ellis. Add to this the growing protests across our country, the riots and a pandemic in which a disproportionate number of black and brown people have died from COVID-19, and we are left with a feeling of anger and despair. So much heartache and tragedy has weighed heavily on my soul. Certainly, these recent events have underscored the severity and violence of racism that our communities experience in the United States and across the world every day.

At the same time, it has deepened my resolve and commitment to the work that we do in our community. At our core, United Way of Pierce County is about mobilizing the caring power of our community to tackle the tough issues that are important to all of us. I have said it many times that we can’t do poverty reduction work without addressing the systemic racial issues and disparities that impact black and brown folks, and specifically the Black community. Everyone deserves to live in a society where they feel safe, respected, and protected, and each of us has a role to play in creating a more equitable future.

Working together, we are committed to addressing systemic challenges and inequities, healing our community and putting opportunity in the hands of all Pierce County residents.

Now, more than ever, we must LIVE UNITED.

 

dona

 

Anti-Racism is “an active way of seeing and being in the world, in order to transform it... A person who practices anti-racism is someone who works to become aware of:

How racism affects the lived experience of people of color and Indigenous people;How racism is systemic, and has been part of many foundational aspects of society throughout  history, and can be manifested in both individual attitudes and behaviors as well as formal (and "unspoken") policies and practices within institutions; How white people participate, often unknowingly, in racism” (Calgary Anti-Racism Education, 2018)

DIVERSITY

Each individual is unique, and groups of individuals reflect multiple dimensions of difference including race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexual orientation, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, and cognitive styles.

EQUITY

Is the intentional inclusion of everyone in society. Equity is achieved when systemic, institutional and historical barriers based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and other identities are dismantled and no longer predict socioeconomic, education and health outcomes.

EQUITY VS. EQUALITY

In the context of societal systems, equality, and equity refer to similar but slightly different concepts. Equality generally refers to equal opportunity and the same levels of support for all segments of society. Equity goes a step further and refers to offering varying levels of support depending upon the need to achieve greater fairness of outcomes.

EQUITY-MINDEDNESS A WILLINGNESS AND ABILITY TO:

• Call attention to patterns of inequitable outcomes.

• Take personal and institutional responsibility for the success of program participants (e.g., members, students, constituents)

• Critically reassess practices and demonstrate race- consciousness

• Understand the social and historical context of exclusionary practices in their field/area of work

INCLUSION

Authentically bringing traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into processes, activities, and decision/ policy-making in a way that shares power

INSTITUTIONAL OPPRESSION

Interpersonal sexism is what men do to women, the sexual abuse and harassment, the violence directed at women, the belittling or ignoring of women’s thinking, the sexist jokes, etc. Most people in the dominant group are not consciously oppressive. They have internalized the negative messages about other groups and consider their attitudes towards the other group quite normal.

INTERSECTIONALITY

An analysis of the connections between systems of oppression (e.g., racism and classism, racism and sexism) and how individuals experience those intersecting or compounding systems of oppression or privilege.

MICROAGGRESSIONS

Brief and commonplace verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward African Americans, Indigenous, and other people of color.

RACE

A socially constructed way of grouping people based

on skin color and other apparent physical differences, which has no genetic or scientific basis. The ideology of race has become embedded in our identities, institutions, and culture and is used as a basis for discrimination and domination.

RACIAL EQUITY

Is “the condition that would be achieved if one’s racial identity no longer predicted, in a statistical sense, how one fares? When we use this term, we are thinking about racial equity as one part of racial justice, and thus we also include root causes of inequities, not just their manifestation. This includes elimination of policies, practices, attitudes, and cultural messages that reinforce differential outcomes by race or fail to eliminate them” (from UWW Racial Equity Tools).

RACIAL JUSTICE

The systemic, fair treatment of people of all races resulting in equitable opportunities and outcomes for everyone. All people can achieve their full potential in life, regardless of race, ethnicity, or the community in which they live. A racial justice framework can move us from a reactive posture to a more powerful, proactive, and even preventative approach.

 

HOW TO TALK TO KIDS ABOUT RACE

How to talk to kids about race:

https://www.prettygooddesign.org/blog/Blog%20Post%20Title%20One-5new4fbclid=IwAR3AAUwE1fAkbSqQqC63v_J2naTtW9FqB4VzfYwOfIZRatJ_ZlYFJ-3_Pe0 

Blog with Resources for kids and social justice (how to talk to kids about race, how to raise kid activities, teaching social justice, etc): 

https://www.rebekahgienapp.com/start/

Recommended Resources from the Teach and Transform website (by a classroom teacher, social justice advocate, and anti-bias educator): 

https://www.teachandtransform.org/resources

Talking to Your Kids About Racism, Police Brutality, and Protests:

https://www.ahaparenting.com/ask-the-doctor-1/talking-with-children-about-racism-police-brutality-and-protests

Teaching Materials for Black Lives Matter at School: 

https://blacklivesmatteratschool.com/teaching-materials/

Being the Change: Lessons and Strategies to Teach Social Comprehension: 

https://www.amazon.com/Being-Change-Lessons-Strategies

Comprehension/dp/0325099707

Multiple Reading Lists for kids about race, racism, current events in the media:

-https://www.embracerace.org/resources/26-childrens-books-to-support-conversations-on-race-racism-resistance

-https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/coretta-scott-king-book-award-winners

-https://medium.com/the-open-bookshelf/a-reading-list-in-the-wake-of-the-killing-of-george-floyd-f44eb7630763

-https://feministbooksforkids.com/police-brutality-books/

 

Additional Video Resources:

CBS News Video – Difference between Antiracist and not racist

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/antiracist-not-racist-difference/

The Choice - P &G continues its series of thought-provoking films on bias and racism with “The Choice,” an invitation to the often-silent majority to become allies, advocates and activists to end racial ...

Watch Now

National Conference On Race & Equity (NCORE) Free Webinars Available Now:

Being Alive Into the Future!

Presenters: Shakti Butler and Amikaeyla Gaston 

Watch Now

Grieving NCORE in the Time of COVID: Strategies for Self-Care and Engagement

Presenters: Ajia Meux, Anthony P. Natale, and Dedrick Perkins 

Watch Now

Self-Care in the time of COVID - Strategies for Maintaining Intimacy, Physical Health and Mental Well-Being

Presenters: Stephanie Pelton-Miller, Emma Kupferman, and Victoria D. Stubbs

Watch Now

Discovering Common Ground Across Differences: An Innovative Course on Facilitating Difficult Conversations

Presenters: Sarah Beth Dempsey, Ed.D., Legacy Lee, Angela Rascon, Rachel Fuller, and Sihin Tsegay 

Watch Now

Woke Olympics and Social Justice Arrogance

Presenter: Rev. Jamie Washington, Ph.D. 

Watch Now

Navigating academia in PWCs and Universities: A guide to equip first-generation students of color to thrive in higher education 

Presenter: Krystal Cruz

Watch Now

The Struggle is Too Real: Cultivating a Spirit of Resilience for the Long Haul of Diversity Leadership

Presenter: Rahuldeep Gill, Ph.D.

Watch Now

Introduction to Social Justice Models of Disability

Presenter: Julie Alexander

Watch Now

The Intersection of Strengths and Social Identity: Using the Clifton Strengths to Engage Conversation about Difference

Presenter: Daniel Almeida, PhD

Watch Now

The Dehumanization of Indigenous Women

Presenters: Emma Allen, MA, and Stephanie Cross, MA

Watch Now

ARTICLES

BOOKS

FILMS/DOCUMENTARIES

  • Just Mercy, a film based on civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson’s work on death row in Alabama (free to stream on Amazon through June 30)
  • Let It Fall, a documentary looking at racial tensions in Los Angeles and the riots over Rodney King’s death
  • 13th, a Netflix documentary exposing racial inequality within the criminal justice system
  • I Am Not Your Negro, a documentary envisioning the book James Baldwin was never able to finish

PEOPLE TO FOLLOW

  • Rachel Cargle, a writer and lecturer who explores the intersection between race and womanhood
  • Ibram X. Kendi, the author of How To Be An Antiracist and Director of the Antiracism Center
  • Nikkolas Smith, the artist behind portraits of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and others
  • Brittany Packnett Cunningham, co-founder of Campaign Zero, a policy platform to end police violence, and a host of Pod Save The People
  • Ally Henny, a Christian commentator on race

BOOKS FOR TEENS

LINKS TO OTHER RESOURCES:

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/antiracist_resources_from_greater_good

Source: A Detailed List of Anti-Racism Resources

This document is intended to serve as a resource to white people and parents to deepen our anti-racism work. If you haven’t engaged in anti-racism work in the past, start now. Feel free to circulate this document on social media and with your friends, family, and colleagues.

Here is a shorter link: bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES

To take immediate action to fight for Breonna Taylor, please visit FightForBreonna.org.

 

Resources for white parents to raise anti-racist children:

Articles to read:

Videos to watch:

Podcasts to subscribe to:


Books to read:

Films and TV series to watch:

  • 13th (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix
  • American Son (Kenny Leon) — Netflix
  • Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 — Available to rent
  • Blindspotting (Carlos López Estrada) — Hulu with Cinemax or available to rent
  • Clemency (Chinonye Chukwu) — Available to rent
  • Dear White People (Justin Simien) — Netflix
  • Fruitvale Station (Ryan Coogler) — Available to rent
  • I Am Not Your Negro (James Baldwin doc) — Available to rent or on Kanopy
  • If Beale Street Could Talk (Barry Jenkins) — Hulu
  • Just Mercy (Destin Daniel Cretton) — Available to rent for free in June in the U.S.
  • King In The Wilderness  — HBO
  • See You Yesterday (Stefon Bristol) — Netflix
  • Selma (Ava DuVernay) — Available to rent
  • The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution — Available to rent
  • The Hate U Give (George Tillman Jr.) — Hulu with Cinemax
  • When They See Us (Ava DuVernay) — Netflix

 

Organizations to follow on social media:

 

More anti-racism resources to check out:

This document was compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein in May 2020. The original document can be accessed here.