JUST, LOVE PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE

Kayley Cox • March 28, 2023

KINDNESS COSTS NOTHING BUT MEANS EVERYTHING

In March 2023, our CEO and I attended the United Way Great Rivers conference. This conference typically gathers varying-sized UWs from all over the Midwest. The conference location changes yearly, but ultimately must be able to hold a significant number of attendees, presenters, and vendors for the four-day conference. This year, Great Rivers was held in Rochester, MN. Rochester is known for many things, but its most significant notoriety comes from being the home to the Number 1 hospital in the USA, Mayo Clinic. I had never been to Minnesota before and knew nothing about Rochester. I’m from Wooster, Ohio. And although we knew some about the conference’s location, it was very different arriving at our hotel and seeing that our staff wasn’t just staying “near” the Mayo Clinic; we were staying AT the Mayo Clinic. 

 

To be honest, I felt a little nervous about the conference location. While the city was beautiful and the Skywalk was incredible, I just kept feeling a sense of guilt for being there and feeling this way. We met people from all over during our time at the Great Rivers conference, and it typically was either because they attended the UW conference or were there for services at Mayo Clinic. So many people we met were there specifically for medical needs. I felt guilty for being there for something “fun,” guilty when passing individuals in rollators as I hustled to my next conference session, and generally guilty anywhere outside of the typical conference space. I couldn’t stop thinking, “What if I am passing by someone who just heard the worst news of their life? I’m just walking by as if nothing happened.” Now, because I am from the Midwest, I am always smiling at whomever I pass, but it still doesn’t change the fact that I feel guilty.

 

As part of my week-long conference journey, I decided to make a fun social media video. A current social trend is taking a children’s toy on your trip and video documenting its journey. It's a fun way to see how creative we can get when documenting the trip, and honestly a great way to pass the time. Buttons, an adorably soft stress bear (see picture), went on our trip to Great Rivers with us. From the airport to the Mall of America®, to conference sessions and choir practice, we documented the teddy bear’s journey. I had so many video clips and pictures, and by Thursday afternoon had already started compiling a social video to share his journey. Friday morning would be the last day of the conference, so I wanted to get as much as I could done before the conference was complete. The cutest part about Buttons is that he has our campaign theme on his belly, “Just, Love”. We launched our local United Way campaign in 2022 to be a 3-year long theme. The “Just, Love campaign” was birthed in response to the societal need for pure, unconditional love. The comma is significant, as it represents a pause. A pause to stop to smell the roses, a pause to stop and love one another. So everywhere we took Buttons, we also had a reminder to “Just, Love”.

 

On Thursday afternoon, our CEO was in a session while I had some free time. I headed to our hotel room to freshen up before the start of the evening conference itinerary. As I walked down the hall to the elevator, there was a cute little family on the elevator: it appeared to look like a dad, mom, and daughter. I wasn’t sure if they were visiting or if there was a reason that brought them to Rochester. Still, considering they didn’t have conference name tags on, I could most likely assume the family was there visiting the Mayo Clinic.

 

I wanted so badly at that moment to create small talk with the family but did not know how to break the ice. I thought to myself, “What if they think I’m trying to pry? What if they just had a really awful day and didn’t want to talk to a perky stranger?” While all these thoughts went through my mind, my mouth began to speak, and before I knew it, I said, “Hey, do you like teddy bears?” and pulled out Buttons from my purse. The little girl lit up! She was so excited and even began showing me another “squishy” type toy she held in her precious hands. Then, I explained to the parents that I worked at United Way and wanted their daughter to have this bear. They thanked me, and by that time, I was walking off the elevator headed to my room, and that’s when I heard her mother say, “Awe, look, it says Just, Love.”

 

What just happened? I had just spent over an hour on my conference break drafting a “Buttons Takes Great Rivers” video montage, and then I gave away Buttons less than a half hour later. I couldn’t finish the video, which bummed me out. But then I immediately caught myself and thought, “you just made this little girl’s day. I don’t know for sure if she was visiting at Mayo Clinic, but what does it matter? It made her day by giving Buttons away to her! That was his purpose!” I can still hear her mother’s voice commenting on the campaign slogan. Just, Love. I think I may never forget that moment. I knew nothing about this family, but I knew in that moment, that THIS was Buttons’ purpose. THIS was his journey. THIS is what those of us in the nonprofit world coin “community impact.” It may not seem like much, but it starts small. Little gestures make incredible impacts in our world, and it begins by just loving people where they are. The unconditional love that so often is missing from our day-to-day. 

 

This moment made me think back to arriving on Monday for the conference. While I felt guilty in many ways for being there, I had a different perspective after that interaction. What if having me there was a breath of fresh air? What if seeing people bebop through the skywalk halls brought joy to someone’s face? What if meeting someone and having a conversation about my line of work and not conversation about medical diagnoses was just what the doctor ordered? They say energy transfers, and I know for a fact our conference goers have A LOT of energy, positive energy.

 

Throughout the conference, the buzzword “community impact” was constantly thrown around. I honestly had no idea what “community impact” meant when I was attending the various sessions. But through many of my interactions during and outside of this conference, I realized that my being there and staying at Mayo Clinic is what community impact is all about. It wasn’t just the little girl and her parents. It was the kind words and smiles made to the hard-working waitstaff and staff members of our hotel, the hour-long conversations and laughter had with Mayo Clinic patients while eating dinner, it was singing karaoke with 60+ United Way people at the tavern with locals telling our group this was “truly the best night of our lives.” It’s those interactions that made me realize that community impact simply means to Just, Love. Love people where they are. We never know the struggles someone is going through, and we don’t have to in order to show love and kindness. 

 

Kindness costs nothing but means everything. Just, Love.


Celebrating 30 Years of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

By Kayley Cox • July 1, 2025
Celebrating 30 Years of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library This year, I was honored to attend the virtual Homecoming Conference celebrating the 30th anniversary of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library . As the Local Program Partner that fundraises for our program in Holmes and Wayne Counties, I was excited to participate—even if I was a little disappointed the event wasn’t held in person at Dollywood. Still, I committed to making the most of the experience by actively engaging in sessions and discussions throughout the event. The conference offered a wide range of sessions, from strategies to strengthen relationships with local public libraries to creative ways to boost enrollment. One of the highlights for me was connecting with fellow program partners not only from across the U.S. but also from the UK, Canada, Scotland, and Australia. It was both inspiring and energizing to share stories and best practices with peers from around the globe, all united by the same mission: to get books into the hands of children. One of the biggest takeaways from the three-day virtual event was the importance of celebrating how far we’ve come. When our United Way launched the Imagination Library in 2019, Holmes County had zero children enrolled. Today, we have 1,629 current participants and 1,362 graduates. Wayne County shows similar success, with 3,924 children currently enrolled and more than 4,100 graduates. That’s over 11,000 children who’ve been directly impacted by this program! Those numbers are impressive, but the real question is: what do they mean for our children and our community? Cincinnati Children’s Hospital reminds us that children aren’t born with a reading network—it must be built through exposure and practice. Reading aloud to young children strengthens their language development and cognitive growth. By age three, a child’s brain is already 80% developed. Imagination Library provides families with the tools to support this crucial development—at no cost to them. That’s nothing short of amazing. As the conference wrapped up, I felt refreshed, motivated, and more enthusiastic than ever about the work we’re doing. The connections I’ve made through the network of Local Program Partners have deepened my sense of support and community. This work matters. I see it in my own children who are enrolled in Imagination Library. I hear it from families across Holmes and Wayne Counties. And it’s reflected in the data for the young readers who participate in this program across the world. So, if you have a child under 5 in your life, check today that they are enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. And if they aren’t enrolled, sign them up today! Go to www.uwwh.org/get-books It’s free, fulfilling, and most importantly, it’s fun 😊.

From Grandma to Goal-Getter: My goal setting journey, part 2

By Katie Koglman • June 2, 2025
From Grandma to Goal-Getter: My goal setting journey, Part 2

Books and Balance: Cultivating Mental Well-being Through Reading

By Kayley Cox • May 12, 2025
Growing up, I had a complicated relationship with reading. I thoroughly enjoyed reading various chapter books or series, ranging from the Arthur to The Baby Sitter’s Club to A Child Called “It” series. But once I reached middle school, many of the English classes I attended had required reading for the course, and the requirement meant reading was no longer an option, but rather it was mandatory, and to take notes, and to be tested on the material! The required reading lists often burned me out, leaving me disinterested in picking up a book for pleasure. I would go through phases of wanting to read more, but the enthusiasm was often short-lived. As an adult I have really tried to be intentional with reading. As someone who has made a New Year’s Resolution to “read more” the last 6 years, I have really tried to focus on finding what genres interest me because when I do, I do in fact “read more,” and I like it! It also makes me happy. I feel like I have more to talk about in conversations and enjoy the dialogue reading a book brings, along with the mental break it provides me from daily life. As a parent of two young children, I have really tried to make it a priority to foster a love of reading in my kids. I encourage them to choose the books we read, and to take it a step further, I have also been intentional that my children also SEE me reading. Reading books for my own enjoyment. I want them to remember that reading isn't just something we do together, but also something we can do for ourselves. It’s a form of self-care and can really help our health-our MENTAL health. Literacy plays a critical role in children's mental well-being. Research from Scholastic and the Yale Child Study Center-Scholastic Collaborative for Child & Family Resilience highlights the powerful influence of books and literacy on mental health. It shows that a love of reading can boost self-esteem, increase empathy, and mitigate anxiety and depression. Reading can introduce children to different types of people from all walks of life, and not only that, introducing children to different points of view, perspectives, ideas and ways of life. This exploration can foster creativity and imagination and innovation – traits that are needed for our community to evolve and grow. And this exploration can provide an opportunity to show that no matter your thoughts, you are not alone in them. By modeling reading, I hope to instill in my children the understanding that books, while educational tools, are also powerful allies in maintaining mental health. Our brain, just like anything else in the body, needs exercise. And we have the power to put the book down or keep turning the page. Whether it’s going to library to pick out our selections, or borrowing books through the Libby app, I challenge you to give yourself a moment of escape with a side of perspective that a good book can bring. Then, track your progress through Wayne County Public Library’s Beanstack app to follow your book journey. This action has truly helped me prioritize reading for my mental well-being while also instilling the love of reading in my children so they too can create a balance for their own mental health.
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