S4,E14 - Carrie Large

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This is Talk CNY, a semi-monthly podcast by CenterState CEO recording in the production studio at CenterState's INSPYRE Innovation Hub. CenterState CEO is Central New York's premier leadership and economic development organization. Join us as we meet the people and explore the projects driving the regional economy forward. This is Talk CNY, presented by NBT Bank. I'm Katie Zilcosky, Director of Communications at CenterState CEO and your host for Talk CNY. From connecting Central New Yorkers to essential services and preventing lead poisoning, to fostering a love of reading among our region students and empowering workers to build strong financial futures, the United Way of Central New York is helping to create more opportunities for all people to thrive. With a new president and CEO, the organization continues its tradition of caring for the community and finding new ways to create opportunities for all. On this episode of Talk CNY, presented by NBT Bank, we're joined by United Way of Central New York President and CEO Carrie Large.

Carrie, thank you so much for joining us here today.

Thank you for having me.

So we are coming up on the United Way's Day of Caring. It is just around the corner. Can you start by telling me a little bit about what that initiative is and the impact it has on the community?

Well, first of all, thanks for having me.

And

A Day of Caring is the best day ever.

Yes.

It literally is activating our whole community to give back to the nonprofits. And often sometimes when you think about nonprofits, you're like, oh, funding, fundraising, money. This is a way of actually using your expertise, your abilities, and putting it in action. So what we do is companies, organizations sign up, and we pair you up with a nonprofit that has something that they need help with. Our nonprofits are working hard, tirelessly every single day to help our neighbors. So what great way. I mean, I would love if one day someone came over and helped me with landscaping. So let's help our nonprofits out where they're focusing on delivering their programs. They're focusing on the people aspect. And then we can activate a bunch of community members to go there, maybe do some landscaping, maybe do some painting, even writing letters to our elders and support letters to them.

We have abilities for, things for all abilities and our nonprofits need our help.

Yeah. I mean, CenterState, we are putting some teams together. We're really excited to be a part of it. I'm

So

Excited. Yes. And we're working on which sites we will be at, but what are some of this year's volunteer opportunities? Who are some of the organizations that businesses or individuals who sign up can be paired with, and what will they be doing on the day?

So there are about 70 nonprofits that are signed up and probably about over a hundred, plus projects that they have out there. One thing that's been great is Southside Community Growth had a beautiful barbecue. So we kind of did one ahead of time, ahead a schedule, test it out. And Community Bank actually went there, volunteered on their barbecue day. It was the hottest day out.

So I love the fact that they still had that picnic. The community members and neighbors, they can't hide from the heat. They still had that event. Community Bank still had a great team come out. Everyone was sweating together. It was okay. And they still had a beautiful barbecue where kids were getting swimsuits, towels, sunscreen, maybe a basketball, maybe a football, and having a picnic together, enjoying each other's company. Those are the types of things that you walk away and think, wow, that was a great day. As an organization, as United Way, we're starting to go out in our community and volunteer. We're starting to talk our talk, walk or talk, whatever that saying is. We're out there volunteering too. And we just did last week, Friday, we went to Huntington and helped them with their barbecue. Being in our community is something different than trying just to support from a distance.

Being in there with the neighbors, you're going to receive a lot from that day. And just organizations, companies, bringing your team together to do something impactful and something meaningful, it's so important to do. Your team is going to connect. I was talking to another group that had volunteered in the past before. They're still talking about that day. That means that there was an impactful moment during that time. So there really is a variety of things that you can do. We also lean into some of the trades. IBEW is going to hopefully help out another organization with electricity, wiring. That's costly for our nonprofits to do. And if we can bring some expertise into the nonprofit and have their expertise help that nonprofit and cut their cost of something that's wiring, electrical, that could cause fires. That's a risky thing. So let's have that expertise in there and help that organization have a great space and a safe space for them.

This is your first Day of Caring as the president and CEO, which is exciting. That is really great. How are you feeling about it? What are some of the things that you hope to see throughout this day?

So the best part, like I said, is just getting out from behind the desk. When I was younger, I grew up with a father that volunteered constantly. I grew up with a grandmother that was out there volunteering constantly. Way back when you go to the hospitals, it was like the candy strapper. They go and deliver things. I was alongside my grandma doing that on the summers. My dad, he was a Rotarian, always doing the volunteer work. It's embedded in who I am. So to be a part of a whole community activating and getting out there and putting their love into action and getting out there and helping, it's going to be amazing. I was fortunate. My previous job was at the zoo, and we were a recipient of Day of Caring. Having organizations that can bring about 100, 150 people from their organization out to do something as a recipient of it, it was phenomenal.

It helped our team tremendously. But now to be a part of the cheerleading squad, if you will, from United Way, helping the community come together that way, it's a great honor.

Why is volunteering so important and impactful? I mean, of course ,for the organizations, like you said, it can help a nonprofit fix some wiring that could otherwise put their facility at risk or even just help spruce up their front yard to make it a more welcoming space. But for the individuals taking part in that day, for you, for your father, for your grandmother, why was it so important to them to give back to the community?

Yeah. I think it depends on your values. If you value giving back, if you value your community and you value your neighbors, it's important to do these things. It's important to be a part of your community. Things are happening all around us right now, and it's important for us to be part of the solution. There's a lot of struggles that are happening. We know, we hear it in the news every day. Why wouldn't I want to take a minute, an hour of my time and give back? I mean, it's the least I can do. And the beautiful thing is everyone can do it. It doesn't matter what level of income that you have. Giving time is something everyone can do. And having that be an opportunity for us all to come together as a community, it's a perfect way to spend a day.

There's still time to register. Absolutely. So for somebody who is listening and they are interested in taking part, who should they contact? Where should they go for more information?

Yeah, just visit our website, unitedwaycny.org. You can get connected on Day of Caring. You can see all the opportunities. It will show you a vast list of opportunities. I know they're going quickly though, and that's a beautiful thing to see as being first time behind the scenes. I've been pretty impressed with how many nonprofits are asking for help and impressed with how many organizations are coming out. I think last year we had about over 1300 volunteers. That's an impactful day. And so you'll see a lot of landscaping and beautification around our community.

Well, it's definitely something to look forward to. I know that we are very excited for it here at CenterState. So we are going to shift a little bit away from Day of Caring onto you a bit.

Oh geez.

You're just about six months into this new role, which is probably both overwhelming and rewarding in all of the different ways. Can you take a moment to reflect on it? What have you learned in the last six months? What has this role taught you so far?

Gosh, that's a big question. So much. First of all, United Way does a ton. And I think coming in, I knew United Way. Before I did a workplace campaign, I organized it. I was the cheerleader internally, but I didn't know how much the United Way did even in programs that we have. So it's been great to see that. But I think the most beautiful surprise for me is seeing the team members. The staff that works at United Way, if you want to see a team, and I would say very like CenterState CEO, you want to see a team that lives the mission every single day, that is one of the biggest cheerleaders for all the nonprofits within our community that wants everyone to succeed. I am completely amazed and proud to work alongside every single one of them. And then the board that we have is phenomenal.

You'll often hear nonprofits like you want a working board. We have one. They are all in, hands in, how can I help Carrie? How do we get United Way to help all the nonprofits within our community? That's probably one of the most beautiful things too, is that United Way is just not one nonprofit. We're not one mission. We're not one person. We're trying to help everyone. We're a whole community. We are the folks that are really trying to bring everyone together to make the greatest impact. I often reflect about CenterState CEO. That's what you're doing too as a business standpoint is how do we make the biggest impact that everyone rises up? And that's been the most beautiful thing for me to see and be a part of.

What's something you wish people knew about the United Way? I mean, now being inside the organization, I'm sure you're like, "Oh, we..." I mean, you've mentioned it, how many places the United Way is involved in and supporting, but what is something that maybe someone who's not involved might not know, but you think is important for the community to know?

There is so much, Katie. It's a big question again, but there's so much in the fact that. What I would like to say more is how do I want to challenge everyone to get involved with United Way? Volunteer with us. Work alongside with us so you can see everything. What we're really trying to do is look at the gaps that are within our community and how can we help fill those gaps from volunteering in a sense to raising funds to give to the nonprofits that need it because there's cuts happening left and right. We're also not as fundraising is not as big as years past, but we're still trying to do it. We're still trying to convene. We're still trying to bring the people to the table to get the funding out. But we're also being part of programs in the sense we're doing a new program called Thrive at Work.

We're actually bringing a navigator and putting them in a business that when your team members might be struggling, it might not be a complete HR thing, but your team members might be struggling with getting to work, maybe going through a divorce and don't know what to do and needs help with Connection to a Lawyer. Connecting to resources for your personal life. Sometimes HR can't help you with that. But that's what United Way is really good at because we know all the resources. We have the access to 211 like everybody else does, but we can help you navigate 211 if you need it or navigate the resources that are out there. And we're helping HR in a sense of saying, okay, you need funding to fix your car so you can get to work.

So now you're going to show up to work on time, more present, more relaxed, and you'll be a phenomenal employee. You're going to thrive at work. And we've piloted it at a couple of locations, and we've heard rave reviews. We had one gentleman that was really struggling, started to go down in his work. The manager noticed said, "Hey, go see Liz at Thrive at Work." He went to go see, talked about his own situation. She helped him get three different resources. The best part I'll tell you right now is the end part. He's now involved with a support group and that's what we all need. And we need that community to support us. The manager said now he shows up to work on time thriving. He's actually gotten two promotions through the time that we've worked with him.

That's great.

That's some of the stuff that we're doing because not only is CenterState CEO bringing this economic boom and all this great stuff that's happening here, we've got to make sure our people are okay and ready for it too. And when they get it, let's keep them there in it. Let's keep them thriving and being successful.

Well, Carrie, we will chat more in just a moment. We're going to take a quick break for a word from our presenting sponsor, NBT Bank.

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Welcome back. This is Talk CNY presented by NBT Bank. I'm Katie Zilcosky, Director of Communications at CenterState CEO and your host for Talk CNY on this episode. I am joined by United Way of Central New York's President and CEO, Carrie Large. Carrie, thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you for having me.

So not only are you the President and CEO of United Way of Central New York, but you are also a member of the CenterState CEO Board. And the United Way of Central New York's involvement on CenterState's board is really important to us. You give a great perspective to our work and help us guide some of our strategic initiatives. But you also elect to be a member of the board. You don't have to serve as a member of our board at CenterState. So why is it important for the United Way to be involved with some of CenterState's work and strategic initiatives?

So it was an honor to be called and say, "Hey, do you want to be a part of the board? You can think about it over the weekend, get back to me." I'm like, "No, I don't need to think about it. Absolutely. I want to be a part of this great organization." It's an honor, but also I do. I feel a sense of responsibility. Being at the table with everybody with some great, great, you guys have a great board. Let's be just like we do at United Way, but you have a phenomenal board also. We do. It's a group of people that are change makers. It's a group of people that are leading organizations, have a big voice, and then I get to sit by next to them. So what a great opportunity for United Way too. But I do feel like it's important, and I do feel a sense of responsibility because I have to be the voice for nonprofits.

There are other nonprofits in that room, and they've also got a great voice. But I really hope, and I've already seen in the first couple of meetings I've been at, is we are thinking of the whole person. Part of our mission has to be the people. We see this economic growth and all the boom that's happening. We've got to remember our people and the human aspects of it all. And I hope I can be part of the people reflecting and bringing it back to that. And when we're thinking about strategic plans, thinking about, wow, there is, I think it's about 800 or so nonprofits in our community. That's a workforce right there.

We have to remember that too. You can think about nonprofit, we have to give back and we're giving and giving, but we're also employing. So let's think about that aspect too. And how do we make sure that that economic boom isn't going to make more poverty things happen? I don't know what way to say it, but how do we make sure that everyone's included? How do we make sure that the housing crisis that we all talk about, how do we make sure it's available for everybody? What are the things that we're doing to make sure that we keep that in our forefront? And I am absolutely honored to be at that table to be that voice.

What has it been like for you to be in some of those rooms with this group? I mean, were they folks that you knew before joining the board? Are they people you're getting to know new? How's that been?

You know what? It's been amazing. The fact that I've lived in Syracuse 23 years now. So having shared the room with a lot of those folks already was great. Got to meet some new people also. It was even better. But what's really cool is that some of the new stuff that's coming to our community that you get to celebrate as a group in that room, from Amazon showing their new hub and the drones now delivering packages. That's innovation, and I get to see it firsthand and hear about it. That's pretty powerful. I also love the fact that we're embracing SU Athletics and hearing from the new athletic director. These are great opportunities to hear what's happening in our community and the growth that we're trying to do. But CenterState's really good about trying to hear everybody. Trying to hear every facet is in that room.

Everybody's represented. Trying to hear what everyone needs, trying to hear how do we make sure that the growth is happening at the right pace. I'm sure that that's never always going to be perfect. But it's just nice to see all that.

Now, like you mentioned, you are one of the nonprofit voices in that room. And the nonprofit voice is an important one. It helps us, like you said, think about the whole person. What would you say to other nonprofits who might be involved in boards or thinking about their broader involvement in the community outside of the strictly nonprofit space?

Do it?

Yeah.

We can easily all say, "I don't have enough time." As a person that has worked pretty much in nonprofits majority of my life, it's really important to get out there just like the Day of Caring, but just to get out there and give back too. That's something really meaningful to you. Your nonprofit's going to be very meaningful that you're working in, but get out there and be a part of something different. It also challenges you. It also shows you a different way of running a board meeting. It also shows you a different way of engaging with people. But it's rewarding when, yes, you're focused on your nonprofit. Everyone's going to know on your social media you're going to be talking about your nonprofit all the time, right? But get out there and spread the love and your expertise too, because I'm sure a lot of the nonprofit leaders within our community are experts.

Share that with another nonprofit because it's not just my nonprofit's better than yours. We all have to rise up together. We all have to grow together in this time. So share your expertise too.

How has it been being a part of the CenterState CEO Network? I mean, you're not only on the board, that's a group, but our broader network as well, which includes all of our members, our clients, our network associates. How has it been being a part of that broader community?

I'm thankful for it. I'm thankful. If I can say Jess, I meet with often for coffee. And anytime I'm saying like, "Hey, I really want to connect with this person because I think they'll be a great partner for United Way," which is a great partner for many nonprofits. She doesn't just listen. She acts afterward. She hears what I'm asking for and then she'll go out there and connect me. That's the strength of CenterState. You're going to connect us to the people that you have connections to. You're not holding them to yourselves, right? But you're really making sure that we can connect with the right companies, connect with organizations, help bring our mission to them. Because a lot of the companies that are coming here, a lot of the companies that are already here want to give back to their community. And you guys are helping me make that impact.

So making those connections to support your mission, what are some of the biggest challenges that are up against your mission right now that the community is facing that you would like to see our broader community get involved in and really kind of dig our heels in and address so that more people have the opportunity to thrive in Central New York?

Yeah. You're asking great questions today, Katie. I mean, that's a big question too. One thing that I want to say is funding is low all around. You see it's a national thing, philanthropy. You see federal funding cut. And I'm not putting blame on anything, but this is where you see community come together. You often hear that you need to bring your neighbors in, you need to support your neighbors. This is the time we really need to do that even more.

United Way is the place that you can come and connect. Maybe it's not us that you're the nonprofit that you're supposed to connect with, but we will find who you want to support. If you have a certain project or a certain mission that you want to achieve, I will be happy to find where you can give that to. But the dollars matter. I want to challenge folks to get involved volunteer-wise, but if you can give to United Way, please do. A dollar, $50, whatever you can afford is going to help tremendously. We're really trying to connect with our nonprofits to help them fill those gaps funding-wise because they're slowly getting cut, but their programs are still needed. So tell me how that makes sense, that funding's being cut. The need is more and greater in our community. Poverty is huge. Literacy issues, huge, but funding is getting cut.

It doesn't make sense. So I challenge our community to come together and let's help our neighbors.

So then what gives you hope these days?

Katie. You know what? I think my biggest answer to what gives me hope is the people. I talked before about the team that I work alongside with, but the fact that when I came here to United Way, we already had a great relationship with a lot of community members. I don't want to lose that. I want to still tell the United Way story, why we're important. I also want to hear from the nonprofits, why is United Way important? What can we do? What is our part today to play? United Ways have changed throughout the years, but what gives me hope is being amongst people that believe in our community, being among people that want to make sure that everyone's thriving. It's not just someone just saying it, and they're actually putting action behind it through volunteering, through donations. We actually had a leadership reception here at INSPYRE.

And to be amongst all these people that really believe in United Way, that gave me hope. Because every single day that I go to work, I'm not thinking about, this is just a paycheck. I'm thinking about I want to give back to my community. I know some of my neighbors might not have food on their table, might be struggling to pay rent. That's going to push me every single day because I'm fortunate enough that I can put food on the table for my family. I'm fortunate enough that I do have a car, but we're all a second away from a situation that could happen to any of us that could change our lives. There's a fact too that we just found out that with the dollars that have been fundraised by United Way, it's probably about over 250,000 people have been impacted through all the nonprofits that we've given funding now.

That's amazing.

Volunteering. I think it's amazing. Yeah, I agree.

You can't tell me you don't know someone that's been touched by United Way in some way. The fact that we have 211 that is a resource because people that are working are struggling with utility bills, rent. We are touching so many lives. That gives me hope that we're going to come together. I invite people to come and meet with me, talk with me. If you have this grand idea, a different idea, just like you guys are innovators. I want to be innovators in the nonprofit way. How do we change it up? What can we do differently? What do we keep the same? But we just need more funding. How do we tell that story to the great big funders that can give funding to help us change the way?

Well, Carrie, it has been an absolute pleasure having you here today. Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you. It's been great.

Talk CNY, presented by NBT Bank, is recorded in the production studio at CenterState's INSPYRE Innovation Hub. Talk CNY is available on all major podcast platforms or centerstateceo.com. Additional content and clips can be seen across CenterState CEO's social media channels. For new episode reminders, be sure to subscribe in your favorite podcast listening app, and don't forget to leave a quick review or five-star rating. Thanks for listening to Talk CNY, presented by NBT Bank.