South Wedge at work~

It was Friday evening after work, - it was a time to, as one my colleagues so aptly put it, “put on your snugglies and STAY HOME”. Instead, my family & I were headed back in town to see a show at the German House, in the heart of the South Wedge neighborhood. I was wondering “were we crazy?” There were lots of signs that it was a bad plan: it was end of a long work week, it was snowing sideways, it was 20 degrees & we were headed for a City neighborhood that has had more than its fair share of vacant commercial space & crime over the last decade. Would there be other folks who would be willing to brave the elements to enjoy the show? Would we have fun?

My worries were for nothing. We arrived an hour before the show (I hate being late) & the neighborhood was absolutely hopping – sweat-shirt clad teens engaged in a friendly snowball fight, folks enjoying neighborhood restaurants, drivers vying for precious parking spots. We had an amazing evening & the show was so good that I laughed until I cried.

Why should UW donors care? Because this is clearly a neighborhood that is working & my experience tells me that it hasn’t happened by accident – it has taken countless hours of focused, creative thinking on the part of neighborhood folks to foster a place where residents, businesses and visitors work and thrive. United Way has been working with the South Wedge Planning Committee for the last 4 years or so, funding programs that support neighborhood revitalization – small business development, home repair, etc. Clearly it’s paying off & I couldn’t be happier.