For 77 years, the United Way of Porter County has partnered with organized labor unions to ensure that they are improving the community in the best possible ways. When United Way sees an opportunity to benefit both community and AFL-CIO members, it seizes that chance. In the fall of 2017, Portage Township YMCA presented such an opportunity.
The Portage Township YMCA was in need of serious remodeling. The nonprofit organization posted the project as a volunteer opportunity on the United Way Regional Volunteer Center website hoping to enlist the aid of a charitable organization or a good Samaritan or two. United Way of Porter County AFL-CIO Coordinator, Luis Tovar, learned about the need and found the answer.
Tovar first reached out to Jeff Hall, Project Manager of the United Auto Workers/ Ford Community Service Team. Tovar and Hall asked the Chicago Community Service Team members of UAW Local 551 (Geoff Butler & Matt Reils) and Local 558 members (Steve Conner & Lance Olson)to tackle the renovation project. The team’s primary focus has been installing ramps for disabled veterans and people with mobility issues.
“For so many years, union workers were the backbone of United Way because they were the pioneers for donating to United Way through company payroll deductions,” Tovar said. “Union members contribute to the local economy by increasing the tax base, improving the housing market, and giving back to their community. This was a perfect example of how they do that.”
During a three-month window, the community service team ended up remodeling a total of five rooms at the Portage Township YMCA. Working 40 hours a week, the UAW team stained, trimmed, replaced ceiling tiles, installed paneling on walls, replaced countertops, and made small facility repairs in their designated rooms.
“We can touch a lot of families through the YMCA and United Way of Porter County,” said Hall. “It’s those member agencies that are allowing us to be able reach out to and help as many people as we can in Porter County.”
Shannon Burhans, President and CEO of the Portage Township YMCA, was thrilled to work with the UAW community service team who helped with much more than she even anticipated.
“This is the one time I would say thank you to Indiana weather for being cold and inconsistent because they got to stay with us for a long time,” Burhans laughed. “Everyone else was praying for a thaw and I was like, ‘Oh, no, no, let’s just keep the ground frozen for a while…’”
Burhans also managed to secure a special supply for the workers: recycled paint.
“I am part of the Portage Kiwanis Club, and we had the Porter County Recycling and Waste Reduction department come and do a presentation for us there,” Burhans said. “They talked about this recycled paint. It’s a great color! And so I went and got the paint which, for nonprofit organizations, is free.”
Burhans secured three 5-gallon buckets of the recycled paint, most of which was used in the remodel.
“[Before the remodel,] the walls were kind of crazy,” Burhans confided. “One room was painted in orange and green stripes and had these really awesome murals on top…Now they have a very calming look to them.”
Burhans said that the remodel has already positively impacted the Portage YMCA community, most notably in allowing for the expansion in number and variety of classes offered. Silver Sneakers members, the term for senior members at the YMCA, now uses one of the extra rooms for chair yoga.
“It’s a benefit for them because the room is really accessible to them,” Burhans said. “We have 750 Silver Sneakers members. They have their own community within the YMCA…We’re their family.”
Burhans said she can’t thank the UAW team or United Way enough.
“We so appreciate United Way in helping connect us to the UAW community service team,” Burhans said. “There are no words really to express how grateful we are to that team. The amount of hours they spent here and the transformation they made in this building is amazing.”
“It’s the strong support of the UAW National Ford Department’s Vice President Jimmy Settles and Ford Motor Company Vice President Bill Dirkson along with the UAW National Programs Center Community Service Coordinator Tom Kanitz that allows us to be able to give back to the communities where our union brothers and sisters live,” Hall said.
Like Tovar said, this project is a great example of the beneficial partnership between United Way and organized unions, as well as nonprofit organizations such as the YMCA.
“When our people work on this kind of project, we do it from the heart,” Tovar said. “We know that, really, it’s going to change peoples’ lives to a certain degree. They’re going to feel much better and happier.”