Inside Mesa

As Mesa moves into 2006, I am very concerned by one very glaring statistic; Mesa has the fewest college graduates of any major city in the valley. Changes in technology and how firms operate have resulted in increased demand for skilled workers. And, at the same time we know that jobs requiring a college education are outpacing the supply of workers with undergraduate degrees. How does Mesa as a community address this skills gap? Left unaddressed, this skills gap in Mesa may have significant consequences on our per capita income and our economic growth. I definitely think that we have to focus on K-12 system, but we also need to push for the upgrading of skills of youths and adults that are currently in the workforce to ensure that we have an adequate pool of skilled labor. This is the only way that we can ensure Mesa

It seems to be an American tradition-in-the-making: count to ten after a natural disaster, and Congress will begin investigating the Red Cross. This time around, the mega-relief agency is being questioned about its slow reaction to needs created by Hurricane Katrina, and its failure to spend a good portion of the funds it raised after the disaster. The grilling is practically a rerun of questions asked about their mess-ups after the attacks of 9/11/2001.I’m not trying to apologize for them, but one does have to wonder how such a gargantuan, largely decentralized organization could be expected to be that buttoned up in a disaster situation. Frankly, I wouldn’t want their job, and fortunately, I don’t have it — My life as a staff person at Mesa United Way is infinitely more serene. Obviously, part of the reason is because our mission doesn’t involve disaster response. United Way’s role is to help communities take care of themselves. If the community were to suffer a disaster, we’d be there to help put the pieces back together after the initial mayhem was over. Normally, we can go about our task of building a stronger, more responsive community in a paced, organized fashion.That’s exactly what we’re about to do, and we need your help to do it. Now that Mesa United Way’s campaign season is beginning to wind down, it’s time to begin our investment process. Unlike some non-profits, our investments are not in real estate or large stock portfolios. They’re in our community: the children; the seniors; the people who face unforseen hardships; and the neighborhoods of Mesa. And we believe that people who live or work in our community are best suited to make these critical investment decisions.So, we’re calling on you, as a Mesa resident, employee or business owner, to spend about 20 hours of your time between February and May serving as a Community Investment Volunteer. You’ll have an opportunity to choose a team that most closely matches your area of interest and time availability. You’ll meet with other volunteers on your team, review agency applications, visit agencies and ultimately make funding recommendations to the Mesa United Way Board of Directors. All meetings and visits are made either before or after normal business hours.Participating in the Community Investment Process begins by completing our online application. It’s your best way of influencing how the dollars you contribute to Mesa United Way are spent. It also helps assure that the many competing needs in our community are prioritized and met in an un-biased fashion. Plus, it helps keep my life and the lives of my co-workers organized, prioritized