LIVE UNITED Story Search Concludes

(October 20, 2009) We’re proud to announce the results of the LIVE UNITED Story Search, our national search for authentic moving stories of how people are living united.

With votes coming in fast and furious to the very end, Ruth, the now 91-year old former teacher who shares her love of reading with parents and their young children captured the most votes with her story “90 Years and Still Teaching”.

As the recipient of the most votes, Ruth will be featured in United Way’s national brand advertising in 2010.

A special thank you to all the finalists from the LIVE UNITED Story Search: Caitlin, Shannon, Duane, Tom and Cindy, and to all who shared their powerful stories of how they’re working to create lasting change in their communities. Your work is an inspiration to us all and we plan to highlight many of these stories in 2010.

We’d also like to thank all of you who enthusiastically voted for your favorite story. We’re glad you found these stories as moving as we did and hope you’ll be inspired to help create lasting change in your community.

Round 1 of the LIVE UNITED Story Search has ended!

(October 5, 2009)  Follow us on Tiwtter for Story Search Updates! Round 1 of the LIVE UNITED Story Search has now ended and no new submissions can be accepted at this time. The 20 videos with the highest number of votes are now being reviewed by a panel of experts, including our partner teams from McCann Erickson New York and the Ad Council. This site now displays only the top 20 videos that are being considered by the selection panel.

The panel will choose three finalists, who will be announced on LIVEUNITED.TV on Monday, October 12, 2009.

The panel will be evaluating submissions based on the following criteria:

• Alignment with United Way’s work on education, income and health
• Effectiveness of the message
• Online voting

Share Your Story with the World

(August 29, 2009) How do you LIVE UNITED? Grab the closest camera and make a short video explaining how you’re working to improve the education, income and health of people right where you live. Submit your video to the LIVE UNITED Story Search and you could be featured in United Way’s national ad campaign in 2010.

1. Record your story in no more than 2 minutes of video.
2. Upload the video between now and September 30 to LIVEUNITED.tv.
3. Get your friends to vote for your story.

Don’t know how to make a video? It’s easier than you think! You can use a camcorder, a cell phone, a digital camera, a computer or anything else that records video. Stories will be judged on substance, not production quality, so don’t sweat the details.

Learn more and participate! Visit liveunited.tv.