This past Tuesday (Oct. 18) United Way, the Oakland Raiders and UPS teamed up for Hometown Huddle at Oakland’s Garfield Elementary School.

Oakland Raiders Rock Cartwright and De Marcus Van Dyke joined UPS volunteers to promote active and healthy living among Garfield students.

Rock and De Marcus lead the students in a series of fun exercises, games, and storytelling. At the close of the day, each student received a bag of healthy food to share with their families. As you’ll see in the photos below, the kids who attended the event had a wonderful time!

Thanks to our partners at East Bay Asian Youth Center, who were the perfect hosts.

This month, NFL teams across the country are working with their regional United Ways to drive home the importance of community involvement by participating in hands-on volunteer projects in their communities. For the last eight years, NFL players and their families have participated in a variety of activities, ranging from building playgrounds for toddlers, to conducting skill-building sessions for teens, to serving lunch to senior citizens.

On September 27 and 28, United Way‘s 211 helpline was joined by more than 50 professional financial experts to provide free financial advice to Bay Area residents during the first-ever San Francisco Financial Advice Line in partnership with the San Francisco Office of the Treasurer

Jose Cisneros, Treasurer-Tax Collector for the city and county of San Francisco (left), spearheaded the 211 Financial Advice Phone-a-Thon. He is pictured with United Way CEO Anne Wilson and his staff member, Leigh Phillips.

More than 230 calls were answered on topics that ranged from bankruptcy to retirement planning.  Callers were able to speak directly to certified financial planners from the San Francisco Financial Planning Association and consumer credit counselors at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of San Francisco to help get the financial assistance that they need.

Jose Cisneros, Treasurer-Tax Collector for the city and county of San Francisco, spearheaded the event though his Office of Financial Empowerment.  He commented, “Our success this week comes from the strong partners we’ve worked with to make the phone-a-thon happen –211, United Way, Consumer Credit Counseling San Francisco, and the Financial Planning Association.  That all these folks are willing to donate their services is tremendous.”

The advice line was covered live by KPIX (Channel 5) News as well as by ABC-7 consumer advocate Michael Finney.

Ralph Latza, President of the San Francisco Financial Planning Association, which recruited financial experts for the advice line, said, “In this environment, people want to know where to turn.  With this inaugural event, we are creating doors and opening them so people at every level have access.”

If you missed the 211-advice line, you are encouraged to attend upcoming Financial Planning Days in the Bay Area (http://www.financialplanningdays.org) near you.  For example, San Francisco’s Financial Planning Day will be held on October 22.

KPIX interviews a volunteer. Click on the links in this blog post to see TV news coverage from KPIX and ABC-7.

The San Francisco Financial Advice Line was made possible through the partnership of:

• United Way’s 211 Helpline
• Charles Schwab
• Consumer Credit Counseling Service of San Francisco
• San Francisco Financial Planning Association
• San Francisco Smart Money Network
• San Francisco Office of Financial Empowerment
• San Francisco Office of the Treasurer
• San Francisco Mayor’s Office
• Wells Fargo

To learn more about 211, dial 211 or visit www.211bayarea.org

How many lawyers in gorilla suits does it take to tackle poverty? It might sound like joke, but to the 31 Bay Area law firms competing in United Way’s Koko Challenge this year, fighting poverty is something they all take very seriously.

Every year, the legal community comes together to raise money to fight poverty. Competition is fierce, and top winners receive stuffed gorillas as a prize. Law firms have been known to station their gorillas proudly in their lobbies, symbolizing their dedication to the community.

On September 22, we kicked-off the 24th annual Koko Challenge, Last year, 21 participating firms raised $1.5 million. With 10 new firms joining the Challenge this year, we’re excited to see the legal community once again raise the bar for philanthropy in the Bay Area.

The theme of this year’s challenge is “Class action against poverty,” to align with United Way’s community effort to cut in half the number of local families who live in poverty by the year 2020.

Gap, Inc. General Counsel Michelle Banks, chair of this year’s Koko Cabinet, announced this year’s goal to raise $1.8 million, with $700,000 directed to United Way.

The Fremont Group General Counsel Rick Kopf chimed in, urging everyone to increase their gifts by 20% and direct it to United Way programs: SparkPoint, Community Schools, MatchBridge, 211 and Earn It! Keep It! Save It! This collective increase would raise an additional $300,000 for United Way, and enable us to continue to operate and expand our poverty fighting programs.

Shook, Hardy and Bacon LLP Partner Kevin Haroff offered to wear his new gorilla suit to any Koko Challenge event hosted by the 10 new participating firms.

The spirit and enthusiasm of Shook, Hardy and Bacon LLP Partner Kevin Haroff was hard to match as he had already purchased his own gorilla suit. To help raise spirits – as well as funds – during this year’s Challenge, he offered to wear the gorilla suit to any event hosted by the 10 new participating firms.

Many thanks to Shook, Hardy and Bacon LLP, winner of last year’s Baby Koko award and host of our kick-off event. And, thank you to the Koko Koko Cabinet, a volunteer committee that oversees the Challenge (listed below). The Challenge would not be possible without your support and enthusiasm.

For more information about how you can join the 2010-2011 Koko Challenge please contact Danielle Cohen (415) 808-4322 or dcohen@uwba.org.

2011 – 2012 Koko Cabinet

• Michelle Banks, EVP, General Counsel, Gap, Inc. – Chair
• Charles S. Custer, Partner, Gordon & Rees LLP
• Nancy Greenan Hamill,  Campus Counsel, UC Santa Barbara
• Kevin Haroff, Partner, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, LLP
• David A. Hearth, Partner, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker
• Michael W. Kelly, Partner, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey LLP
• Rick Kopf, Managing Director, Operations & General Counsel, The Fremont Group
• R. Hewitt Pate, VP, General Counsel, Chevron Corporation
• James Potter, SVP, General Counsel, Del Monte Foods
• Jay J. Price, Assistant General Counsel, Bank of America
• Bill Sawyers, EVP, CAO & General Counsel, Ernst Gallo Clinic and Research Center
• Jim Strother, EVP, General Counsel, Wells Fargo & Co.
• Vanessa Washington, Senior EVP, General Counsel & Secretary, Bank of the West

View a photo slideshow from the event:

211 is partnering with the San Francisco Treasurer’s Office to ensure more low-income families in the city participate in the Kindergarten to College (K2C) program.  Our 211 call center specialists will make calls to 1,135 San Francisco families during the next few weeks to encourage them particpate in the program, activate their accounts and start savings for their children’s future. 

“Most people know 211 as the number to call when they need help.  But we also partner with programs like Kindergarten to College to boost outreach efforts by making outgoing calls,” said Helen Rosen, director of United Way’s 211.  “We are pleased to partner with Treasurer Cisneros’ office to help spread the word about this important program. Our goal is to get as many parents as possible to activate their children’s accounts and start saving.”

K2C is a college savings initiative for kindergartners entering the San Francisco Unified School District. Each eligible child starts kindergarten with a savings account.  To jump-start their savings, qualifying families receive $50 in their new accounts from the City and County of San Francisco.  Additionally, the first $100 saved will be matched with an additional $100. The children, and their families, are encouraged to contribute to the account throughout grade school and high school. 

“Savings has a significantly positive effect on children and families — research has shown that a child with a college savings account held in his or her name is seven times more likely to attend college than one without, regardless of income, race or academic achievement,” said Leigh Phillips, Manager, Office of Financial Empowerment, Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector, City and County of San Francisco. ”We believe that K2C will increase academic aspirations by making college a reality from the first day of school. As the program motto says, ‘Save Steady, Dream Huge.’”

Learn more about Kindergarten to College at www.mysavingsaccount.com/K2C.

This year’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It! program kicked off in a big way last Saturday at the Mission Street Goodwill facility, as a team of more than 30 volunteers came together to provide free tax preparation services to 87 lower-income taxpayers from around the Bay Area.

The event – one of several county kickoffs held throughout the region – officially launched United Way’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It! tax assistance program, which is operating more than 200 free tax assistance sites across the Bay Area through April 18. To find a tax site near you, visit www.EarnItKeepItSaveIt.org.

The kickoff also coincided with the National Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Awareness Day. The EITC is a federal tax credit available to lower-income individuals and families. Depending on income and family size, claiming the EITC could help families get as much as $5,666 back from the IRS this year. Yet, many taxpayers are unaware of the EITC. In 2009, an estimated 800,000 Californians – about one in five who are eligible – failed to claim $1.2 billion in EITC refunds. On average, families that did not claim the credit would receive $1,400 more in their refund.

Keynote speaker, San Francisco Treasurer José Cisneros, gave a warm welcome to tax payers and volunteers at the kickoff. Click to see a 90-second video of Treasurer Cisneros explaining the importance of the EITC.

Louise Carroll, executive director of Tax-Aid, which coordinates Earn It! Keep It! Save It! in San Francisco and San Mateo Counties, said, “It’s a real pity that almost $80 million of tax credits went unclaimed in the Bay Area last year. That money could have been used by taxpayers for their savings or used for groceries or gas. We want to make sure low and moderate income families get a full refund this year!”

In addition to free tax preparation, families and individuals were able to visit a financial empowerment resource fair to learn about more programs and services that can boost their financial health. The resource fair included WE Connect, SF Works, San Francisco College Access, Bank on San Francisco, One Economy and the Financial Planning Association.

Event sponsors included Tax-Aid, United Way, Golden Gate University, Goodwill Industries, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) and Intuit Financial Freedom Foundation.

Click on the photo gallery below to view a slide show from the event.