Happy Holidays!

I am honored to be asked by Ursula Adams of United Way for Southeastern Michigan to be a guest blogger for this week. For those who might not know me, my name is Adam Harris and I am a student at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. My involvement with United Way came this past March during Alternative Spring Break 2007. Students from the University of Michigan-Dearborn as well as myself, traveled to Lake Charles, Louisiana to experience a week of service for the post devastated area of Hurricane Rita. It was a life changing experience for all of us and for me; it brought a sense of motivation to hopefully bring energy and positive change to Southeastern Michigan.

Coming back from Alternative Spring Break, I wanted to learn more about United Way and how they planned to make a difference to the Southeast region. When I began to do research on United Way for Southeastern Michigan, I realized that they are implementing a new “Agenda for Change,” that will impact the community through Educational Preparedness, Financial Stability and Basic Needs. This agenda came about after using surveys, research and participants of the community to find the true existing problems that are depriving the citizens of Southeastern Michigan. After reading the entire report and thinking about the issues that our community faces, I was convinced to believe that the “Agenda for Change” can do exactly that, bring change.

So I must say that these past few months have been very exciting for me. I have had the privilege to spend much time with many United Way representatives who have shown me that a care for your community is the one and only way that we can envision a new Detroit. Working directly with the George W. Romney Center and having an opportunity to see the 2-1-1 Center, showed me that United Way is not only visioning a new Detroit but is acting upon the belief that a new Detroit is not to far off. I am honored and blessed to be apart of a group of people who care about our community and I look forward to helping United Way make change to Southeastern Michigan.