As we come to a close on our 100th year of serving Northwest Louisiana, we have found ourselves humbled by the strides we have made as a community. Having our anniversary fall on a pandemic year is not ideal. However, it has reinforced why we’ve been doing this since 1921. Helping our neighbors through a crisis is what we do best, and COVID-19 meant it was time to put the pedal to the metal, but this wasn’t a race we could win alone.
The pandemic brought new problems to Northwest Louisiana we had never faced before as an organization and meant that we would have to remodel and adapt our way of doing things. An easy feat made possible through our community’s generous partners, donors, and volunteers. Now, we not only celebrate our organization but the impact made when you chose to LIVED UNITED. In our 2020 Annual Report, you can hear real-life stories about the hardship individuals and organizations faced throughout the pandemic and how our community helped us persevere in a vulnerable time. Real-life stories like this one:
As we come to a close on our 100th year of serving Northwest Louisiana, we have found ourselves humbled by the strides we have made as a community. Having our anniversary fall on a pandemic year is not ideal. However, it has reinforced why we’ve been doing this since 1921. Helping our neighbors through a crisis is what we do best, and COVID-19 meant it was time to put the pedal to the metal, but this wasn’t a race we could win alone.
The pandemic brought new problems to Northwest Louisiana we had never faced before as an organization and meant that we would have to remodel and adapt our way of doing things. An easy feat made possible through our community’s generous partners, donors, and volunteers. Now, we not only celebrate our organization but the impact made when you chose to LIVED UNITED. In our 2020 Annual Report, you can hear real-life stories about the hardship individuals and organizations faced throughout the pandemic and how our community helped us persevere in a vulnerable time. Real-life stories like this one:
A MESSAGE FROM VICE PRESIDENT OF DONOR RELATIONS CARLY KOEN
Meet Patricia. 2020 was a challenging year for her personally and financially. When Patricia’s partner of 24 years passed away due to an autoimmune disease, Patricia suddenly had to manage finances on her own with a reduced income.
Patricia retired in 2018. When her partner was faced with illness, they were quickly overwhelmed by hospital bills and previous debts. “To have the COVID outbreak on top of what I was already going
through made it even more difficult to receive comfort from family and friends. I felt like I was upended,” said Patricia.
Thankfully, Patricia sought help with United Way and the Shreveport Financial Empowerment Center (SFEC). The SFEC provides professional, one-on-one financial counseling free to the public, regardless of income. Patricia worked closely with Jarcelet Harris (pictured to the right), an SFEC counselor, to regain control of her finances. Patricia was able to eliminate unnecessary expenses, reduce debt, and adjust her interest rates to get her back on track. “Jarcelet made the world sit back upright and started me on the path to stability,” said Patricia.
Patricia is one of many United Way success stories. You can help United Way of Northwest Louisiana change more lives by giving today.
Thank you for your continued support and for choosing to LIVE UNITED!
A MESSAGE FROM VICE PRESIDENT OF DONOR RELATIONS CARLY KOEN
Meet Patricia. 2020 was a challenging year for her personally and financially. When Patricia’s partner of 24 years passed away due to an autoimmune disease, Patricia suddenly had to manage finances on her own with a reduced income.
Patricia retired in 2018. When her partner was faced with illness, they were quickly overwhelmed by hospital bills and previous debts. “To have the COVID outbreak on top of what I was already going through made it even more difficult to receive comfort from family and friends. I felt like I was upended,” said Patricia.
Thankfully, Patricia sought help with United Way and the Shreveport Financial Empowerment Center (SFEC). The SFEC provides professional, one-on-one financial counseling free to the public, regardless of income. Patricia worked closely with Jarcelet Harris (pictured above), an SFEC counselor, to regain control of her finances. Patricia was able to eliminate unnecessary expenses, reduce debt, and adjust her interest rates to get her back on track. “Jarcelet made the world sit back upright and started me on the path to stability,” said Patricia.
Patricia is one of many United Way success stories. You can help United Way of Northwest Louisiana change more lives by giving today.
Thank you for your continued support and for choosing to LIVE UNITED!
Modifying the way we do things at United Way of Northwest Louisiana to meet our community’s needs is something we have been doing long before COVID-19. For example, Patricia’s story (see above) was made possible because our region was seeing an increase in financially unstable individuals that were not sure where to begin when it came to managing finances. Thus, the Shreveport Financial Empowerment Center was born. We’ve hit many milestones like this one over the past 100 years which can be read about in LOLA Magazine’s 2021 holiday edition.
No matter how you dedicated your time to this organization, United Way of Northwest Louisiana thanks you for your commitment to changing lives for the better, whether it was in the past or today. Cheers to 100 years and many more!
No matter how you dedicated your time to this organization, United Way of Northwest Louisiana thanks you for your commitment to changing lives for the better, whether it was in the past or today. Cheers to 100 years and many more!