August 25, 2014
The team at Via Evaluation believes in making our community more awesome (one of our internal strategic goals for 2014) by helping organizations improve the quality of life within their own communities. We understand that developing and improving programs takes more than a dedicated and talented staff; it takes a commitment to learn and adapt. Most days of the year, our team assists organizations in improving their communities by working with program and administrative staff to design and implement programs, evaluation plans, and data collection procedures designed to meet client needs and demonstrate program success.
But, that doesn’t mean that the Via Evaluation team is afraid to roll up our sleeves, get dirty, and break a sweat to make our community a better place! As part of the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County’s annual Day of Caring initiative, the Via Evaluation team stepped away from our computers and datasets, put on our Day of Caring t-shirts and painting clothes, and enjoyed an opportunity to make just one small difference in our community.
On Wednesday, August 20th, we had the distinct pleasure of meeting and working with the dedicated staff of the Universal School on Genesee Street in Buffalo to help make the school building a slightly more warm and friendly place for the students who attend. We were overjoyed when we learned that school principal, Kathy Jamil, surveyed her students to find out what they thought would make the biggest impact in their school.
With the results of the survey in, students overwhelmingly reported that something as simple as painting the steps in the school’s two staircases would make them feel more at home in their school. So, Principal Jamil contacted the United Way and requested a team of volunteers to make the students’ request a reality. That is data-based decision-making at its finest, and something we at Via Evaluation strive to help our clients do every day. We say “Bravo!” to Principal Jamil for using data in such a simple, yet powerful way to empower her student’s voices!
Photos from our day:
