Bobbi Watt Geer: President and CEO of United Way of Southwestern, PA Shares Mission and Accomplishments of Nonprofit Organization

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Well, hello everyone! I hope you're having a great day. Thank you, thank you. Thank you for being such wonderful listeners. I say this on every show, but like, I cannot believe I have been on for 22 years. How is that possible? And Highmark is the sponsor. Thank you so much, Highmark. I wanted to tell you though, last year, If you haven't heard me talk about it, I had my 1,000th episode. And I owe this to you. I owe you to these great listeners wherever you are. I'm not kidding. You mean so much to me. And if you are a listener, please share the show. Tell other people about it. You know, you want to be a disability rights advocate? Tell people about the show. And now I have to thank all of my listeners around the world. Wow. Number 2, that is after the United States, number 2 most listeners in a country is Singapore. So Singapore, I don't know what's going on there, but thank you so much. For being such a great listener, following up. So great you are. All of you from Russia to, you know, Estwani, thank you. Thank you so much. And hey, Yoshiko. Yoshiko Dark, shout out to you, Yoshiko. I hope you have a great holiday and you know I love you. Wow. I don't know. Have I been doing this for Maybe 7 years. I always will, Yoshiko. Wife of the late, great Justin Dart Jr. A legend. And Yoshiko carries it on. Thank you so much, Yoshiko. Well, I'm very excited. I always love it when we have a Pittsburgher on the show. And today we have Bobbi Wettgeier, the president of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and really a very well-known, powerful woman in Western Pennsylvania. And it's just such a pleasure. Bobbi, welcome.

Thank you so much, Joyce. It's great to be here with you today.

Well, um, as I said, you're a powerhouse in Western PA, but you know, as you just heard me say, I have listeners throughout United States, but also throughout the world. And you know, they want to know about my guest. They always want to know more about my guest. So how about you? Could you just tell us a little bit about your journey? You know, like where you grew up, went on to school, and what happened after that to get you where you are today?

Well, I, I can't really tell a broad story of— I have had a lot of travels throughout my life because I've been pretty lucky to be a kid who grew up in southwestern Pennsylvania here in the Pittsburgh region. So I grew up in a little town called Apollo, and it is about 35 miles east of Pittsburgh, and a small town. My dad was a truck driver. He drove steel across the country, and my mother was a homemaker, and I was a first-generation college student, and it was a big stretch for me to get to college. And I was fortunate enough to attend the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. I, at the time, really didn't want to attend a big school, so the Johnstown campus was perfect for me at that stage of my life. And I wasn't really quite sure what I wanted to do. After college. And I think the nonprofit sector really picked me. That I finished my undergraduate degree, and it was the late 1980s in Pittsburgh. And for anyone who knows local history, you know, the steel industry was really collapsing at that point. And there was a lot of unemployment. So it was difficult to get a job and stay closer to home. And I ended up getting a job in the nonprofit sector for the American Heart Association and working in Johnstown. So I finished school in Johnstown. I had my first professional job in Johnstown. And what that job really sparked for me was a love of working with community leaders and working in communities in mission-based organizations. And so, you know, The American Heart Association, of course, is dedicated to reducing and preventing cardiovascular diseases and stroke. And I got to work with community leaders across 4 counties to be able to tackle that mission. And it just really has led to a career that I've built from there of working in a variety of nonprofit organizations in communities to really help people improve their lives. And that has led me— I'm now My goodness, coming up on 20 years with United Way.

Wow. I mean, it seems like you just joined. I would never have guessed that. Oh, you mean 20 years with the organization, right?

And so you've known me as the CEO here at United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, but I started my career in United Way of Westmoreland County. A little bit east of here. And so I've had 6 different positions across that 20 years with a couple of different United Ways. And what's really— what I really love about working with United Way is that we tackle a really a broad swath of human service issues in partnership with the business community, with nonprofit organizations, and with government. As well.

You know, Bobbi, I had the great honor and pleasure of meeting Mrs. Shapiro, not Cindy, David's first wife who passed away. And it was at a United Way event. And I must tell you, that was, phew, maybe I don't know, 28 years ago. Do you know, she said something that stuck with me. And if you hear me meet, like, somewhere I go where it's all blue, one of the blues, I always say this, and that is, even if I don't know you, I know I like you. And that's what she— that's really when I started, she said, I thought, wow, is that nice of her? It was about the people supporting the United Way. And that's really how Pittsburgh is. This is a city that gives back. And, you know, I think it was the United Way that had that haunted house at Bear.

It could be. That might predate me, but it, you know, Bayer is a cert— Bayer is certainly a longtime supporter. So that absolutely could be.

Yeah, they did. Yeah. Yeah. What a great company and what a great supporter. Would you say, Bobbi, that it's still like that in corporate America? I mean, I remember as I grew up, even 32, 31 years ago is when I founded Bender Consulting Services. But prior to that, I was in executive search, and when I would go to different corporations, they had everywhere about United Way and Day of Caring, you know, all of it. Do they still do that? Do you still see that happen a lot?

You know, so I think everyone can kind of trace, especially over the last 5 years, a lot of changes in the way people interact with work and whether or not they actually go to physical offices anymore. There's a lot more hybrid work. And so the, the nature of the types of support that we receive from our corporate partners has shifted a little bit. The ways that we go about garnering that support has changed over the last number of years. But here's what I will say. Is that in this region, our corporate partners, our individual donors, and our foundation partners are as strong as ever, that they are really incredibly— you said this already— we live in a region that cares about its neighbors, right? And we show up. And so while our strategies over the last couple of decades have had to evolve to reflect the way people want to be involved with philanthropy now, that philanthropy in this region is still very, very strong.

Yeah, 100%. 100%. And, you know, we've had someone from the United Way speak at our staff meetings for years. And why we do that, why we do that is because we also have other companies there. You know, we want them to know about the United Way. But yeah, it is great. So we know you're the CEO, but why don't you tell us a little bit about United Way's mission and the type of programs you offer?

Sure. So first of all, and I say this for your listeners, you know, locally as well as around the world, that United Way is a global organization. So not only do we have United Ways in the US, we have United Ways around the world. And more or less, most United Ways are really focused on helping to resolve the human services, the human services challenges that their communities face. So here in Pittsburgh, we really focus on improving lives by creating more opportunity. And we do that by helping people tap into services and programs that help them meet their basic needs. Like housing and food and utility support, help them move to greater financial stability, get connected to meaningful work, and then help them also build for success in school and in life. And so we focus on funding programs and services that focus on those really key elements to helping people be able to thrive. And we believe that a community that has the ability, that all people have the ability to thrive is a stronger community. So we fund, right now we're funding hundreds of nonprofit organizations who focus on those 3 key investment areas here in our region.

And what are they again, your key areas?

Meeting basic needs, moving to greater financial stability, and building for success in school and in life. So we really focus on education, financial stability, and helping people meet their basic needs.

Wow, those are 3 great pillars. And one thing I, well, I wanted to ask you, right here in Pittsburgh, what kind of programs do you have in the city?

Well, we fund a wide variety again, so 150 programs we're currently funding, everything from, you know, housing programs and programs that help support people who have experienced intimate partner violence, programs that connect people to job training and workforce programs. We fund a lot of out-of-school-time programs. We fund programs that support people with disabilities so that they can meaningfully engage in work if they so choose. So just a really wide range from birth all the way through end of life, the types of programs that we support.

Well, you're listening to Bobbi Gere, the president of United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, and we're going to go to a quick break. We'll be right back with Bobbi. Don't go away.

At Highmark Health, we believe what makes us unique makes us better. Our differences broaden our perspectives and foster a variety of skills to complement each other, creating a stronger and more vibrant workforce. It's this belief that earned us recognition as the Best Place to Work for the 10th year for individuals with disabilities in a survey by the American Association of People with Disabilities and Disability:IN. We'll continue to celebrate and benefit from the inclusion of all people. To find out more, visit highmarkhealth.org.

Are you currently receiving SSDI or SSI and wanting to work? Did you know there is a free Social Security program called Ticket to Work to help you try work without risking your benefits? My Employment Options is an authorized SSA Employment Network specializing in work-at-home and local job placement in 47 states. All clients receive a personal counselor to help find the best job fit and a staff-certified benefits counselor for help with Ticket to Work protections. Ready to try working? Apply for free job placement help at myemploymentoptions.com. Everyone has unique abilities, and with ABLE NOW, individuals with disabilities are able to save money while maintaining certain benefits such as Medicaid. ABLE NOW is a tax-advantaged savings program program specifically designed for people with disabilities. Open an account online today and start saving for the things that are important to you. To learn if you or someone you know is eligible, visit ablenow.com. ABLE NOW is administered by Virginia529. Since 1985, Bender Consulting Services has served as a national leader in advancing employment of people with disabilities, including veterans with disabilities, with private sector companies and federal government agencies. Bender assists customers with achieving their diversity and workforce inclusion initiatives by tapping into a talent pool of individuals seeking professional positions, including those in the STEM fields. In addition, Bender services include disability employment consulting, training in technology accessibility through their HI-TESS line of service. For more information, please visit www.bender.com.

Benderconsult.com.

Follow Voice America at facebook.com/voiceamerica for juicy updates from your favorite radio shows and podcasts.

You're listening to Disability Matters. Now please welcome back the host of Disability Matters. Here's Joyce Bender.

Welcome back. This is Joyce Bender, Disability Matters, the CEO of Bender Consulting Services, Chair of the Bender Leadership Academy, and a woman living with epilepsy. And isn't it all about helping people with disabilities? But I want to get back to our dynamo, Bobby Wattgear, who's the President of very impressive United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania. And, you know, Bobbi, if someone is listening and they're saying, wow, this really impacts me, how do they make a donation?

Well, there are many ways to make a contribution, but probably the easiest is to visit us at unitedwayswpa.org. And there's a big Donate Now button at the top of that website, and we would be happy to acknowledge your support and direct it where you'd like to see it make the most impact.

Mm-hmm. And you know, whether you're celebrating Passover or Easter, uh, it's this time that, you know, we are grateful, and not everyone can be grateful because they're not receiving any help, but they would be grateful for any help. So I don't care if it's $5. I don't care what it is. Make no mistake about it. Your donation makes a difference. United Way. Is it WPA?

Unitedwayswpa.org. So it's United Way Southwestern.

SWPA.org. Okay. Yes. Well, I'm all about disabilities. I am a woman living with disabilities, and I so appreciate that you work to help people with disabilities with quality of life support. Would you mind talking about that a little bit? I'm sure our listeners will be excited to hear this.

Sure, happy to. You know, first, for a little context, our United Way raises somewhere $35 and $40 million a year to support human services in our community. And last year, that support reached 1.48 million people. So it's a significant scale. And what we believe at our United Way is that we really want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to thrive. And of course, that includes people with disabilities. And we've had a longstanding commitment to serving people with disabilities and supporting programs that serve people with disabilities, advocacy for people with disabilities, our volunteer activities to be inclusive as well. But maybe just a couple of quick examples for you. We, over a number of years, really advocated at the state level for policy that essentially helps young people transition from high school into employment opportunities. So that was PA House Bill 400, and it was work experience for high school students with disabilities. And so we spent a lot of time visiting with our legislators and encouraging them to pass that bill, which they did. And a second bill that we were very active in was Act 89, which was signed into law in 2021., and it is Medical Assistance for Workers with Disabilities. The shorthand for that one is MAWD, M-A-W-D, and basically what this legislation does is it lifts the limit that people with disabilities can earn without risking their benefits, their medical benefits that they rely upon to be able to go and live in community and work. And so that was really important, another really important piece of legislation.

Where all does that cover?

That's for the state of Pennsylvania. So those are both state-level pieces of legislation.

For the state of Pennsylvania, if you have a disability and you find employment, you are able to make more than a specific amount.

And so previously it was capped, and that created issues that people were not able to take promotions or advance in their work work because they were worried about losing Medicaid benefits that helped them maintain their health and well-being so that they could participate in the workforce. And so those were two pieces of legislation that I believe we spent probably 3 to 5 years advocating with legislators to get them over the finish line.

You know what, Bobbi, that is so big and so wonderful. I want you to send me something about that so that I can send that out far and wide and talk about it because I had an employee with quadriplegia, brilliant, engineering degree. I placed him at a corporation in Connecticut. He did so well that they said, to him, listen, we're paying you $80,000 a year. I mean, we're paying you $60,000 a year. We want to move it up to $80,000. And he said, no, I can't accept that. He said, what? He said, I can't accept that. They said, we've never heard of this. That actually says it all right there. And it's a work, it's not an incentive, it's an obstacle. It actually causes you to say, I can't work this much. So I mean, you are a trailblazer. Let me tell you, that is really a big deal. That should be broadcast everywhere. That is tremendous. Thank you. So much.

Well, absolutely, and I will say that we accomplish things like this because United Way works in partnership with so many in the community. So this is an effort of board members and corporate leaders who advocated with us, nonprofit leaders who advocated with us, so this was not something that just, you know, United Way staff went out to Harrisburg and talked with policymakers about people who were impacted by this limit. We went with them and helped them tell their stories as well. And so I think the point that I want to make is that United Way doesn't do this work in isolation, that we really rely upon partners and stakeholders and people who really want to work with us to be able to make this kind of change.

And when did that pass?

That was in 2021.

And I have to tell you, I did not think it passed in all parts of Pennsylvania. So I see that is incorrect. Yeah. Thank you so much. Sometimes the information you get is not right on target, but I'm not surprised that with our governor, So much can happen, so much good.

So the, the other thing that I would say about the work that we do to support people with disabilities, we fund— I had previously mentioned that we fund 150 programs in our service region, and a number of those programs specifically serve people with disabilities, whether it's, you know, hearing and deaf services or Achieva, or the Peel Center, or Life Steps across our footprint. We're funding agencies that help provide programs and services that afford people with disabilities to live their best lives. The other thing that I would mention that I was excited about this year, I don't know if you know, we do a free tax preparation program in the region. Joyce Bender: And last year we did, uh, over 9,000 tax returns. We mobilize over 400 volunteers and a number of agencies where people can make appointments to get their taxes done for free. And we wanted our tax sites, our free tax prep sites, to be more accessible for people with disabilities. So we were able to make some grants this year to those tax sites to improve their lighting, to install automatic door openers, to purchase magnifying glasses, to think about what are the things that are obstacles or barriers for people with disabilities to fully participate and come in and get their taxes done for free as well. So we're excited about that this year.

Thank you so much. Once again, thank you very much. A lot of people don't think about that. They don't think about the accessibility component. I'm sorry to say that 98% of websites in this country are not accessible. 98%. So that you'll talk to people and they'll say, "Oh no, I'm pretty sure that we are acceptable." And Jenny Lay-Flurry, the famous Chief Diversity Officer at Microsoft, always said to me, if they tell you they're pretty sure they're accessible, you can be sure they're not accessible. And that is terrible. You know, you're excluding people, 10% of the population, people with disabilities.

So if I could add one more, could I add one more example before we move on from this, is that, you know, Volunteering is a big part of what we do at United Way. We engage thousands of volunteers every year to help support the programs to improve people's lives, and we're also really committed to and cognizant of how our volunteer activities can be accessible. And so for every and all of our planning of volunteer engagement, we have an accessibility checklist that we run through internally to make sure that we're as welcoming and as accessible as we can be in terms of our volunteer activities as well.

That is absolutely awesome. I hope you are all listening and know why you should make a donation to the United Way, uh, no matter who you are, but especially I always say about people with disabilities, we buy from companies that hire us, And we contribute to companies that support us. And that one thing. Wow. So I'm going to let you again tell us how to donate to the United Way.

You can just go to our website at unitedwayswpa.org and hit the Donate Now button, and we'll be happy to acknowledge your contribution.

Well, it is time for our news break with Mathis on the mic. Hello, Jennifer Mathis. How are you?

Hi. Good. Glad to be here.

I bet, did you have a hard time thinking of something to talk to us about, Jennifer?

These days, it's never hard to find something to talk about. It's hard to decide which thing to talk about.

Well, what do you have? What do you have for us today, Jennifer?

Well, I, I have two things, and I think I'm just gonna preview one, and we can talk about that one next week. So I want to give an update about something we talked about last week though, which is the ADA Notice and Cure Bill that was called the ADA 30 Days to Comply Act. And last week I talked about that because there was a markup in the House Judiciary Committee of this bill, and nobody was expecting that to happen. So it caught us all a little bit by surprise. It was not a bill that seemed like it was going to be moving. It was attracting no support. But for various reasons, the House Judiciary Committee decided to move it. And what this bill was, I explained last week, is a, a bill that would make it much harder for people with disabilities to enforce their rights under the ADA's public accommodation provisions. Those are the provisions that apply to things like stores, hotels, movie theaters, private schools, um, all social service establishments, doctor's offices, homeless shelters, all kinds of privately operated places of public accommodation. And Right now, people can bring a lawsuit. Typically, that's not the first step. Usually people try to work out a problem if they encounter barriers with, like, architectural barriers. And that's what this bill is about, specifically architectural barriers in public accommodations. Some version of this bill has been introduced for a long time in Congress. The disability community has always managed to defeat these bills. That is because these bills really are, I think, far more damaging than people may initially realize. What they do, and what this bill does in particular, is say you lose your right to bring a lawsuit if you are excluded from business or you have great difficulty accessing a business because of you have a disability and there's architectural barriers that violate the law, you lose your right to bring a lawsuit unless you first go through this process. You figure out, you person with a disability, who the owner or operator of the business is, which is often quite difficult to do, and you write a very detailed notice to the owner or operator of that business explaining why they are violating the law and explaining the barrier that you encountered and educating the business about their legal obligations. Because the theory behind this bill is 36 years after the ADA became law, it is still too difficult for businesses to understand their obligations, and we shouldn't expect them to. We should expect the person with a disability to be the one that educates the business about their obligations to comply with the law. That seems wrong for obvious reasons, but— and that's why these bills have always been defeated. But this bill said, um, you have to give a notice to the owner or operator and you have to give them 30 days to comply. And if they think that there are factors beyond their control, then they can, um, just say they're making substantial progress if that's the case over those 30 days. And only then can you bring a lawsuit. And I think the biggest problem with these bills that people don't understand if they're not kind of ADA wonks, if you will, is that that part of the ADA has remedies that are entirely forward-looking. There's no money damages for things that happen in the past. It's only forward-looking. What you can do if you bring a lawsuit is get a court to say, fix the problem. And so what happens with a law like that is if people lose their right to enforce the law unless and until they go through this whole onerous notification process is that there's no reason anymore for a covered entity, for a business, etc., to comply proactively. If they just do nothing, then they're not going to suffer any consequences if suddenly somebody finally figures out how to do the requisite notice and sends a notice to the owner or operator identifying in sufficient detail what the barrier is and notifying the business of their obligations, and then they take 30 days. They can fix the problem then, and it goes away. And so Why is anybody going to comply unless and until they get such a notice? Because there's no consequence. Usually if there's money damages involved, then there's a reason for people to comply proactively. But that is the, the great difficulty with these laws, and they really, because of that, would make the country much less accessible. And so that is why the disability community has always, always fought back against these kinds of efforts that would really gut the protections of Title III of the ADA. So I talked about this last week. It passed the committee. It was 16 to 8. There were no Democ— well, there was one Democrat because there is a Democrat and a Republican who are co-sponsoring this bill. And that Democrat is on the committee, voted for it. No other Democrat voted for it. The Republicans voted for it, and some Democrats did not vote or were not there. And that's where we are at this point. And so I wanted to just update people because we talked about it just before the markup happened, and I think it's important for folks to let their members of Congress know on the House side. It's not on the Senate side at this point, but your representative in the House. If you have a problem or concern about this bill, it's important to tell your member of Congress in the House that you oppose this bill. It's called the ADA 30 Days to Comply Act. The number is HR 6453. Um, Congress is out, right now, but it doesn't matter. You can just register your concern. There will be plenty of time going forward. This thing will potentially move at some point in the future. And so I think it's important for people to start registering their concern. This caught us by surprise. We didn't think it was going to move. It did. We don't want to be caught by surprise again. So Now that there is time, I think folks can start educating their member of Congress about why this is important. You can find this, a letter from CCD, the Consortium of Constituents with Disabilities. You can find it on the CCD website, the CCD Rights Task Force, or it might be easier to find it on the Bazelon Center's webpage. It's on our homepage.

Bazelon.org.

Jennifer, I'm so glad you went over this because this is so important. Yeah, this is like me saying to someone, oh yeah, I'll meet you at my office. First you have to swim up the Monongahela River, and then after that you have to run, you know, X amount of miles. In other words, they're not going to do it, right? People aren't going to be able to go through all that. They're going to be able to find who's the owners, who's this, and, uh, when will that be voted on?

So we don't know. Um, it just passed out of the committee, so we would like to keep it from going to the floor, but, um, we will see.

Should the listeners do something now?

Well, yes, I think it's important to start now and just start registering people's concern with their member of Congress, with the House, and say, "I oppose this bill because it would make it much harder for people with disabilities to enforce their rights under the ADA, and people with disabilities shouldn't have to educate the businesses 36 years after the law was passed." It's time.

Well, I will tell you, obligations— you listeners have supported the show and Jennifer Mathis by going out voting, calling, you know, calling in, showing your opinion, and it has made a difference. So Jennifer will be ready next week to see if you've heard anything else.

Yes. And just quickly, the thing I was going to preview for next week is the Save America Act, which we have not talked about because there are too many other things going on. It, it would enact restrictions with respect to voting, with respect to who can register and who can vote. I think it has significant implications similarly for people with disabilities. Um, it is in the Senate, it hasn't passed. We can talk about it next week. The Senate is out won't be back for a couple of weeks.

But again, Jennifer, could you actually send me something about a preview and ad so that everyone knows we're going to talk about it? Yep. All right. Hey, Jennifer, you have a wonderful holiday.

Thank you.

You too.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye. Well, everyone knows Jennifer Mathis is really known internationally, but is always in the New York Times when they need to interview an expert on any mental health issue. So she's got the creds, she's got the credibility. Uh, Bobbi, I wanted— I want to make sure before the show ends today that we get to talk about the 211 Human Services Contact Center. Would you mind sharing with our listeners about 2-1-1?

I'm happy to, Joyce. Uh, 2-1-1 is available across the country. Our 2-1-1 here in southwestern Pennsylvania, our contact center actually covers about 70% of the population of the state because we have such a robust contact center. But what 2-1-1 is, is a free, confidential, anonymous service that connects people who have human services needs to help in their local communities. It's available 24/7, 365. And what really distinguishes 211 from, let's say, you know, an online database or a ChatGPT or other AI that you might turn to for help is that you get a human being. You can call us, and generally people are calling us when they're having a really difficult time paying their utility bills, seeking out affordable housing, looking for food resources, and they can connect with a compassionate human being on the other end of the phone who will connect them with resources that can potentially help them. Last year we helped over 600,000 people through 2-1-1. Wow. Now that's a combination of over 150,000 live calls, plus people accessing our online resources for 2-1-1. But it's just, it's an indicator of how people are struggling in community that we would have that volume of calls in texts and chats and web self-service to 211. It's free, it's anonymous, it's available all the time.

Would they be able to find out more about this by going to the website?

Absolutely. They can go to the website, learn more about 211, and we encourage anyone who is having a need— now, of course, if it's an emergency, a medical emergency, you call 911. But if it's a human service issue where you're, you're just not sure where to turn for help, contact 2-1-1 and we will do our level best to get you the help you need.

Well, that's a wonderful program, absolutely wonderful. What about the ALICE program? What is that?

So ALICE actually is an acronym that stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed. And it's actually the reason why we get so many contacts at 211 is this, that so many hardworking individuals and families are not earning enough to be able to afford daily life. And in southwestern Pennsylvania, that's about 38% of our local population. They're not earning enough to pay rent, utilities, pay for food, childcare, healthcare. And I will tell you this, that in the state of Pennsylvania, 51% of people with disabilities live at or beneath that ALICE threshold. So disproportionately impacted by the affordability of daily life. And so that's why we get so many calls and contacts to 211 is because people are struggling to be able to meet their obligations, get connected to resources that help them. Be able to manage daily life.

Yeah, that's why the late Marcia Bristow used to say disability and poverty often go hand in hand. And 1 in 4 people live with a disability. So, but 38%, is that below the poverty line?

So the poverty— the difference between the poverty guideline and the ALICE threshold is this. The poverty guideline is really the same across the United States, and it's only based on your ability to purchase food. The ALICE guideline looks at what's the rent in Pittsburgh, what does it cost to buy groceries, what does it cost to provide childcare, and it looks at it based on your family size and your geography. So if you think about it, it's a much more realistic measure to understand how someone is doing. You've got to be able to do more than buy food to be able to thrive in your community.

Yes. And that has been hard, you know, thank God for the food bank. I mean, that has been hard for so many people, even things you wouldn't think of like diapers. So hard for so many.

Knowing that, so, you know, we've lived through last fall, government shutdowns and a state budget impasse here in Pennsylvania, and I think some people didn't realize how many people rely on SNAP benefits to be able to get by, and that the fact is that SNAP benefits only cover food. They don't cover paper products and diapers and soaps and deodorants, all things people need. And so that, that is another struggle that I think a lot of folks don't understand, that those benefits are important to, to continue.

Yeah, that's why, as you know, what I do for a living at Bender is we're a national company that focuses on the employment of people with disabilities, and our motto is Competitive jobs mean freedom because you are really never free in a country until you have employment that covers everything you just talked about because it's a terrible swirl that can occur. And that's why, thank God, we have organizations like yours. You know what I love too is what you were talking about before. In that when you're asking someone, you know, when you're putting out a request for a proposal, how you include things about disability and other groups. I think that is really great that you do that. And I know that you have, besides your multi-year grants, you have other funding available to organizations. Could you share that with us?

Sure. So I had referenced a couple of times that we fund over 100 nonprofit organizations that focus on meeting basic needs and financial stability and education. And we also fund those organizations for 3 years. And so think about the stability that having 3-year funding means for nonprofit organizations, especially in today's environment. But we also know that things happen in between 3 years, right? And so emergencies happen, you know, unanticipated needs happen. And so we have a variety of other funding mechanisms that we can fund more emergency needs or more targeted needs as they arise within those 3-year periods. So United Ways used to always be, we fund for 3 years and then, you know, come back in 3 years, and that's the only funding that we had available. But we've been a lot more, I would say, nimble in terms of developing other resources to be able to meet the needs in the moment.

Bobbi, is there anything else you would like to share with our listeners?

Well, I would just say that thousands of people work with United Ways across the country and around the world every day. With really the goal of creating more opportunity. And whether or not that you're, you know, local to southwestern Pennsylvania, we would love to have you connect with us, engage with us, and support us. But if you're listening from somewhere else in the world, look up your United Way, find out what they're doing, and if you're so inclined, volunteer with them, because it is really this collective action that really creates greater opportunity in every community.

I do have one last question. Who, who is your role model? I mean, you're such a nice person, kind and caring. Someone had to impact you.

A lot of people have impacted me. You know, the teachers— I told you I was a first-generation college student. I had wonderful teachers. I have fantastic coworkers who, you know, every day put it all out on the field. I get to work with community leaders. So many of them have been role models for me. I will say that my spouse is an incredible role model for me, making sure that I pay attention to connection. And I see that in my kids too, that they, they use their gifts for beyond their own needs for the community. So, it's hard for me to answer that question with one person because I see role models everywhere, every day that I look up to and that help shape my approach to my career and my service.

Well, Bobbi, I am sure you are a role model to many, many, many, many people. I want to thank you so much for joining us today. I want to say to everyone listening, although this is live, if you're watching right now, this show is on demand. You can watch it again on YouTube or Spotify. You can listen to it on Spotify, Amazon, Apple, benderconsult.com, Voice America. You can find all the old shows, really almost every every social media platform. Please share this show with someone. Well, I hope you have a wonderful Passover and/or Easter this weekend, you and your family. And you know I end every show with a quote. So today the quote is, "Life isn't a matter of milestones." It's a matter of moments, said Rose Kennedy. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. And in the words of Mary Brooker, when you get up tomorrow, remember, choose joy. Talk to you all next week. Thanks for listening.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific time and 2 PM Eastern time for another installment of Disability Matters right here on the Voice America Variety Channel. We are the leader in live internet talk radio. VoiceAmerica.com.