Union Tribune & United Way Partner on Education Volunteers

Sept. 15, 2011 - PRLog -- To impact academic achievement, The San Diego Union-Tribune, United Way of San Diego County and the San Diego County Office of Education are introducing an unprecedented campaign to mobilize 4,500 San Diego County residents to pledge to volunteer with K-12 students.
     Dubbed the “U-T Volunteer for Education” campaign, the effort kicked off today, and will go through the 2011-12 academic school year. The effort offers many ways to get involved, and encourages San Diegans to volunteer as readers, tutors and mentors, or use their individual skill set in a way that benefits a local educational setting. Whether reading a favorite story to school children or acting as a life, career or sports mentor or coach, individual skill sets can also be tailored to specific volunteer opportunities.
     Volunteers should visit www.LiveUnitedSD.org and click “Volunteer” to sign-up, or, call (858) 636-4111 to speak with a United Way coordinator about personalized opportunities.? The U-T Volunteer for Education campaign will track the total number of volunteer pledges through June 2012.
     “This campaign reflects our long-standing mission to help foster strong communities and history of supporting youth, family and literacy causes in our region,” said Ed Moss, president and publisher of the Union-Tribune.  
“We are thrilled to use our resources and large reach to encourage community involvement with this effort. We also recognize and applaud San Diego County teachers, administrators and staff for their dedication to our region’s youth.”
     The U-T Volunteer for Education campaign and its partnership with United Way of San Diego County is part of United Way’s regional challenge to mobilize 10,000 San Diegans, and nationally one million Americans, to volunteer within an educational setting.
     “We’re so pleased that the Union-Tribune has taken up the challenge by creating the U-T Volunteer for Education Campaign,” said Doug Sawyer, president and CEO, United Way of San Diego County. “This initiative will help us recruit 4,500 volunteers – nearly half of our overall goal.”
     According to a recent United Way of San Diego County report, people see community as playing a vital role in the success of our local schools and are willing to volunteer as part of the solution. Engaging students while learning in school, and connecting students with the resources they need outside of school, can have a positive effect on education.
     “Volunteers can make a difference,” said County Superintendent of Schools Randy Ward. “They can support academic achievement, physical fitness, the importance of study skills, and the value of good attendance and behavior. They also show school personnel that the greater community supports the efforts of teachers and schools, and that’s a valuable message.”
     For more information on the U-T Volunteer for Education campaign, and to read about local volunteer stories throughout the campaign, visit www.Volunteer4Ed.UnionTrib.com.

About United Way of San Diego County
Celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, United Way of San Diego County (UWSD) is a nonprofit organization that improves lives and creates long-lasting change. The United Way movement addresses the underlying causes of problems and mobilizes the community to solve education, income and health issues. LIVE UNITED is a call to action for everyone to become part of the change. UWSD’s 90th anniversary celebration will include a variety of events to celebrate the spirit of Living United and advancing the common good in San Diego. To learn more or to donate, visit www.uwsd.org.

About The San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC, owned by an affiliate of Platinum Equity, is San Diego County’s leading local media company, with products covering 98 percent of all San Diego County households in a given week. The San Diego Union-Tribune and its website, SignOnSanDiego.com, are the leading local sources for news, entertainment, information and classifieds in San Diego County. Together, they reach nearly 1.3 million San Diegans each week. In 2009, The San Diego Union-Tribune won its second Pulitzer Prize, which was awarded to Steve Breen for his editorial cartoons.  The newspaper has a late week circulation of 261,298, with nearly 598,000 daily readers; Sunday circulation is 293,332, with readership of nearly 815,000. The newspaper’s Web site, SignOn SanDiego.com, is the leading local online source for news, entertainment information and classifieds in San Diego, with nearly 27 million page views and nearly 3.54 million unique users in a typical month. Other Union-Tribune products include Enlace, which has the largest distribution of any Spanish-language publication in the County.

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United Way of San Diego County is a nonprofit organization that improves lives and creates lasting change by raising money and mobilizing the community to solve education, income and health issues. To learn more or to donate, please visit www.uwsd.org