OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — When 3 News Now's Mary Nelson sat down with Angela Williams, the president and chief executive officer of United Way Worldwide had just visited South Korea and was planning her next international trip to Australia.
The organization serves people in about three dozen countries, but in its 137 years, never before had its head visited Omaha.
- "Omaha is an incredible city and our United Way here, United Way of the Midlands, is one of our top United Ways in our network," Williams said.
- Nelson asked how that's determined. "It's determined one... by how well that United Way raises funds, innovates with respect to programs that have an impact in the community and make a difference," Williams replied.
- Related to needs as seen through the 211 hotline, Williams explained, "I will tell you the top three areas that we see calls in. Number one is housing. People need a place to live. They're being evicted. They're homeless, etcetera. Number two is utilities. People need assistance in paying their utility bills. The third highest request for support is around food."
Continue reading for the broadcast transcript of this story.
"Omaha is an incredible city and our United Way here, United Way of the Midlands, is one of our top United Ways in our network," Angela Williams, president and chief executive officer of United Way Worldwide beamed.
"Explain that. Explain how that's determined," 3 News Now's Mary Nelson inquired.
"It's determined one... by how well that United Way raises funds, innovates with respect to programs that have an impact in the community and make a difference," Williams explained.
She sees room in that for different means which are specific to an area.
Like JAG, or Jobs for America's Graduates, which provides in-school support for students to develop skills.
Then, there's the unforeseen.
Last summer, the Nebraska and Iowa Tornado Relief Fund raised nearly $1.5 million to help cover household losses and fill immediate gaps.
Williams herself was part of the nation's response to the most costly natural disaster in United States history.
"It was such an honor to work for President Bush and President Clinton on their Hurricane Katrina Fund," she remarked.
An ordained Baptist minister, Williams was named interfaith liaison to help churches rebuild.
Beyond major events, she and Nelson talked about what's affecting so many night now.
"I will tell you the top three areas that we see calls in. Number one is housing. People need a place to live. They're being evicted. They're homeless, etcetera. Number two is utilities. People need assistance in paying their utility bills. The third highest request for support is around food," she listed - citing calls in to the 211 hotline.
Williams' want to make things better formed early, shaped in part by her father - a Baptist preacher who was part of the civil rights movement.
He wrote a letter in 1957, which Nelson asked Williams to apply today.
"If there's an issue in your community, it's not the other person's responsibility to solve it. You have to be bold and courageous to step up - to say, 'Here I am. I'm going to help solve it, too.' And that's the message for 2025. Neighbors should love neighbors. You asked me a question about faith a moment ago and I apply this biblical principle all the time, and that commandment is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. And when we do that, all of us become the Good Samaritans."
United Way of the Midlands launched the United Housing Network to help provide stability, where they estimate that 70% of families who go through the program remain housed. Learn more about its facets here.
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