Little Things Make A Big Difference For Our Community

March's United Way: Families Amabassdor is Rebecca Decker. Rebecca chooses to give back in a lot of different ways over the course of the year. We asked her how little things can make a big difference for families in our community.

I am lucky to have the resources to spend time on a couple “little” projects throughout the year to support families in our community. Leading up to the YMCA Turkey Trot, I sell turkey hand gloves for folks to wear on race day. Each pair is ten dollars and 100% of the donations go to the Food Bank of WNY. Some of the folks who purchase donate over ten bucks for each pair, so last year we donated $280 to the Food Bank to help provide food to families in need. On my own, I couldn’t afford to donate that lump sum. But by using a little creative energy and tapping into my own community of friends and family, I’m able to raise more money to make a positive impact.

For the past four years, I have organized a charity cookie exchange in the month of December. I love cooking and baking, and the holiday season is the perfect time to bake and share with others. The exchange invites folks to come to a local brewery (thanks, Flying Bison!) and bring $10, or $5 and 3 dozen cookies to share. Then the real fun happens – everyone gets to fill up a box of homemade cookies to take home! All the proceeds from this event support the Matt Urban Hope House, which provides emergency shelter for women and children in our area. Several volunteers from social clubs I’m in, along with folks from the Matt Urban organization help me make this event possible. Each year we have grown and I’ve gotten more organized, but it is always a joy to put together the “cookie party”.

The greatest reward is taking my skills (baking cookies, cutting out felt…) and using them to fundraise for people in our community who are struggling. It feels good to use my privilege and energy to put back something into the WNY region. I hope that each year I can make these efforts a little bigger and a little better, while thinking of new ways I can try to make a difference.

Learn more about United Way: Families here.