Thank you for participating in the Office of Community Engagement's Poverty Awareness Egg Hunt! For those of you who missed it, here's what happened:
200 brightly colored eggs were scattered around campus with information about poverty in the Ripon area inside them. Students were invited to pick up an egg, read the information inside, and return the enclosed entry form and egg to a box in the mailroom for a chance to win a pair of Coby Digital Stereo Headphones. For every egg students dropped in the the box in the mailroom, an anonymous donor has donated 25 cents to the Ripon Area United Way. Now that's a valuable egg!
If you didn't get a chance to find an egg, no need to worry...you can read the information included in the eggs below:
Why United Way?
- United Way envisions a world where all individuals and families achieve their human potential through education, income stability, and healthy lives.
- As many as one-third of working Americans do not earn enough money to meet their basic needs. Wages have not kept pace with the rising cost of housing, healthcare, and education and currently, 40 million Americans are working in low-paying jobs without basic health and retirement benefits. For families walking a financial tightrope, unable to save for college, a home, or retirement, United Way is here to help.
- The Ripon Area United Way is proud to support 21 fantastic organizations within the Ripon Community.
- The money collected for the Ripon Area United Way benefits Ripon Area residents. Each organization that we fund provides services to the Ripon Area.
- Information taken from the United Way of America website.
MODELS OF POVERTY
Absolute Poverty is a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to social services.
Relative Poverty refers to deprivation that is relative to the standard of living enjoyed by other members of society. Even if basic needs are met, a segment of the population may still reconsidered "poor" if they possess fewer resources, opportunities or goods than other citizens.
DID YOU KNOW?
In 2008 Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services--one of Ripon College's valued community partners--served 271 shelter clients equaling 9,334 days of care. They received 12, 426 helpline calls and assisted 622 clients in completing safety plans--which includes a safe housing plan. It is estimated that one in four women will experience domestic violence at some point in their lifetime, which means that adding extenuating circumstances like poverty, housing insecurity, and unemployment means the Ripon area has a great need for assistance.
DID YOU KNOW?
In Fond du Lac Co. 8.2% of people are living below the federal poverty line. With a consistent 4.6% unemployment rate from 2006-2008 the average rate base steadily increased to 8.1% in some areas. The median home value hovers at $141,000. However 64% of homeowners and renters have housing costs that are more than 20% of their household income--an indicator of losing one's place of residence.
DID YOU KNOW?
Food insecurity is one dimension of the multi-dimensional issue of poverty. The Ripon area is not immune to food insecurity but the innovative ways in which it is looking to solve the problem prove to be unique. In Ripon, the average household income is 16% below the state average ($35,630 vs. $42,371) with 9.2% of families living below the federal poverty one and 12.4% of individuals living below the federal poverty line. In Fond du Lac Co. it is estimated that 11.9% are single-mother households. The research also confirms that food insecurity is not limited to the unemployed.
POVERTY ISN'T COOL. WHAT CAN I DO?
- Volunteer! Contact the Office of Community Engagement at ice@ripon.edu for more information about volunteer opportunities that will help you build skills and utilize your knowledge and talents while addressing poverty in the Ripon area and around the world.
- Talk about poverty issues. There are some pretty hot button conversations going on in Congress that affect everyone's financial futures. What's YOUR take?
- Educate yourself on the issues. Check out doingmoretogether.blogspot.com for a place to start.
