Page 8 - BusinessWest January 6, 2021

those seeking help in those days. He also noted that the language regarding charitable efforts has long since changed, with those involved no lon- ger making any references to the ‘shiftless’ or the ‘lazy,’ for obvious reasons.
But the rest of the ad could almost run today, he said, noting phrases like these with
regard to charity: “Its prime func-
tion is to relieve distress. Always
has been and always will be. Yet, while giving relief in deserving cases, it does far more than that.” And also: “Its main
object is to prevent the cause, thereby vitally affecting you
and me and everybody. Dis-
tress does not always mean poverty. It may mean misfor- tune, sickness, or the suffering
of innocents from wrongdoing of others. All of these charity tries to prevent.”
Again, some of the language has obvi-
ously changed over the years, but those senti- ments expressed back at the height of World War I are those that still define the United Way today. As Mina noted, it’s not a handout, but a helping hand, and it has been this way through a host of name changes, affiliations, and partnerships.
Tracing the history of all those names the agency has used, Mina said the organization got its start as the Springfield Community Chest. Later, it became the Springfield Community Chest Red Feather Drive (he still has a red feather mounted in a large frame), with the feather being a symbol of charitable giving for more than 150 years. In fact, he noted, the Red Cross and the Red
Feather ran an annual appeal together, before the two organizations separated.
Later, the organization was known under the names United Appeal and United Fund, before United Way came into use in the late 1960s.
Regardless of the name on the door, the orga- nization has been carrying out the same essential mission, said Mina, adding
that the agency’s programmatic niche, if that’s the proper phrase for
it, can be summed up with three simple words: basic human
needs.
Elaborating, he said these
include food, clothing, shel- ter, and programs for children
and seniors. “These are the things we focus on for a reason, because these are the things that
resonate with people. These are the things, whether people are black, white, no matter what ethnicity or color,
people in need are in need. Period. That’s the way it’s always been here, and I’m proud to say that it continues to be that way.”
To put the mission and its importance in per- spective, Mina rewound the tape on a phone call he received only a half-hour before he talked with BusinessWest from a woman now living in New Mexico after relocating from this region.
“We helped her and her family when they were very much in need about 10 years ago,” he said. “And she called me to say, ‘I don’t know if you remember me or not ... but I’m so and so, and I moved from the Pioneer Valley down to New Mexico, and a friend of mine who still lives there needs a helping hand right now — she’s got
it very tough, she’s unemployed. I told her that I would call you because I was treated so well by the United Way back then that I wanted her to know that there was someone they could call that would treat them with dignity and respect and do the best they can for you. They’re not going to promise you the moon, but they’ll do the best to help you.’
“That’s a nice compliment she paid us there,” he went on, “because that’s the goal; that’s the whole goal.”
“I look for a golden thread throughout the narrative. And through all of that narrative, all of that archival material ... the golden thread that links 1921 to 2021 is helping to improve people’s lives; that’s the endgame.”
Where There’s a Will ...
Carrying out these goals has never been any- thing approaching easy, but in recent years, it has become much more difficult, for a number of reasons.
For starters, the way individuals undertake charitable giving has changed, with many now choosing to give directly to specific groups, rather than to larger umbrella agencies like the United Way that funnel money to other nonprofits, said Mina. Meanwhile, the business landscape has changed dramatically through mergers and con- solidations, especially in the financial-services
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