Community Awareness
Thelma Sias works tirelessly to improve the community she loves
Thelma Sias is known throughout Milwaukee for bringing people together to build a stronger community.
So it’s no surprise that this year, in addition to the many boards she serves on, Sias took on the critical role of co-chair for United Way of Greater Milwaukee’s annual community campaign.
In a recent interview, Sias talked about why this particular commitment is so important to her.
Why United Way?
That’s a very simple question for me to answer. United Way has done an extraordinary job of making a difference in the lives of men, women and children throughout this community.
United Way makes it possible for men and women to be able to say, “I care about this community.
I’d like to give back, to give opportunity and hope for others.”
Most importantly, United Way makes it possible for social service agencies to be there to make a difference in the lives of so many.
Why should your neighbors in the central city be aware of United Way?
I think it’s important for us all over this community, including the Milwaukee central city community where I live, to understand how people are making a difference on behalf of those in need.
We are making it possible for all, not just some, but for all. It’s important for members of the central city neighborhoods of Milwaukee to understand we have a reliable support in the dollars and efforts that the United Way has made possible.
United Way is providing the leadership to make certain that we can indeed bring an end to critical issues in the community.
Every day, United Way is driving us towards long term outcomes.
This is personal for you, isn’t it?
This is personal for me. I see day in and day out how United Way-funded programs at agencies all over this city make a difference for people.
I look in the eye; I hear the sounds of voices of people that benefit from the care and the way in which these local agencies provide opportunity for them.
So it’s very personal for me, as it should be for all of us in the Greater Milwaukee community, to care about the ability for everyone to have opportunity.
Anything else?
I think it’s important for all of us to figure out how we can make a gift to make a difference in our community.
Every gift is an important gift, be it a small gift, a medium gift, a large gift – every dollar is what agencies need to continue to make this opportunity possible.
So I say to everyone, “You, too, can give a gift to United Way of Greater Milwaukee.”
Paul E. Purcell, Chairman & CEO of Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, and Scott Wrobbel, the Managing Partner of the Deloitte LLP practice in Wisconsin, are also serving as co-chairs for the 2014 United Way Community Campaign.
