2009 - United Way of Western Connecticut

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Leadership is inspired when it works to solve the crisis at hand without taking your eyes off the future and what is needed for lasting change. 2010 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Rey Giallongo, Chairman First County Bank Lynn D. Mohlenhoff, Secretary Salisbury Bank & Trust Co. Robert Ronan, Treasurer Actis-Grande, Ronan & Company William Callion Community Volunteer Brooke Feder Cushman & Wakefield of CT Shirley Fishbach Community Volunteer Jim Fuchs Praxair Frank Kelly Danbury Health Systems WE ARE A LEADER WE ARE A LEADER IN MOBILIZING THE RESOURCES TO IMPROVE LIVES AND OUR COMMUNITIES Serving Bethel, Bridgewater, Brookfield, Danbury, Kent, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Redding, Ridgefield, Roxbury, Sherman, Stamford, Warren, Washington Mark A. Kristy Pricewaterhouse Coopers Vincent Nolan Town of New Milford Barbara Phillips Phillips Consulting Sandy Rankin Community Volunteer Mike Rizzo Caldwell & Walsh Jim Schmotter Western CT State University Andrew Zeitlin Shipman & Goodwin
“United” has been part of our name for more than 60 years. Even more, it has been a defining word for the work we have done in strengthening our local communities. Yet today, the word “united”, as embodied in our call to “Live United”, has brought a new voice and purpose to our work. This year we responded to our extraordinary times by launching an interactive “100 Days, 100 Ways We Live United” campaign highlighting remarkable individual acts of kindness. Whether helping a single mother prepare a budget, finding time to read to a child, or driving an elderly person to a doctor’s appointment, 100 days of “Tweets” proved the power of small acts. We also launched a separate and entirely electronic emergency basic needs campaign (“Take Five to Give Five”) which in a few short weeks raised desperately needed funds to support local shelters, food pantries, clothing distribution centers and emergency assistance programs. While our efforts to respond to extraordinary economic challenges may have been more visible this year, we remain committed to long-term strategies to help people build and sustain better lives. Health, Income and Education remain the three key building blocks to building a better life - that’s who we are and what we believe. For the first time in our country’s history, a generation of children may be worse off than their parents. This is true, not just economically, but in all measures of societal success. To address these challenges, United Way of Western Connecticut’s recently adopted 2-year strategic plan calls for particular attention to three key initiatives – childhood obesity, school readiness and financial stability. Each of these issues challenges the potential for our next generation to lead the kind of life we want for ourselves and our children. Childhood obesity is critical because if we do not address the epidemic of unhealthy kids in our own communities, the next generation will live shorter, less healthy lives and our health care system will be overwhelmed by an avalanche of obesity-related health care problems. School Readiness (preparing kids to be successful in school in their earliest years) is essential to the long-term success of our communities. More directly, children who enter school at performance levels below those of their peers are often burdened by this achievement gap for the rest of their lives and in the most unexpected ways. Not only does underachievement increase the high school dropout rate (and future income), it also tends to put children at a higher risk for broader social problems like substance abuse and criminal activity. Truly getting off to a good start can pave the way for long-term success. And speaking of long term success, how can we build a strong community when there are people struggling to make ends meet? There are those in our community in need of the most fundamental support from their neighbors – food, clothing and shelter. Our goal is to provide the support necessary for these individuals but to do so in ways that create long-term financial stability. You’ll be hearing more about these three key initiatives (Strong Start, Strong Heart, Strong Home) in the coming months, but our long standing process of investing in our community’s success will continue. Whether it is in Health, Income or Education, our donor’s return on investment, as always, is not monetary; it is long-term sustainable impact in our community. We live united because this is our community, our neighborhoods, our families and our future. Join us in becoming a mobilizing force for positive social change. By giving people in our community the chance to build and sustain better, more productive and healthier lives. Live United - Give, Advocate, Volunteer. Michael Johnston CEO Rey Giallongo UWWC Board Chair First County Bank Michael Johnston Rey Giallongo UNITED WAY OF WESTERN CONNECTICUT • 2009 REPORT TO THE COMMUNITY 1
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2009 - United Way of Western Connecticut

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