Foundations Challenge Boosts Campaign Match Reached!

Though the official announcement will not take place until the annual meeting in April, Valley Community Foundation President Jamie Cohen stopped by the Valley United Way office with a check and confirmation that Valley United Way has met the terms of the "Challenge" presented to United Way at the campaign kickoff last August. As you can see from the picture, he made the day for United Way President Jack Walsh and Director of Resource Development Laurel Vicidomino! As you can see in the rest of this story presented at the time of the Kickoff, the Foundations challenged United Way to raise new dollars during the campaign that they would match on a 50 cents on the dollars basis up to $40,000. You'll have to wait for the annual meeting and the formal presentation of checks by the Valley Community Foundation and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, but it certainly looks promising!

The Annual Community Fundraising Campaign has received a major boost in the form of challenge grants from the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and the Valley Community Foundation. Valley United Way will receive up to $30,000 and $10,000 respectively from each Foundation for a total of up to $40,000 if United Way successfully completes the challenge.

Under terms of the grants, United Way will receive $1.00 for every $2.00 in new and increased giving to this year's campaign. Past history with similar grants has shown that donors are excited by the chance to see their gifts matched and that giving increase as a result.

David Grant - Chairman of this year's campaign - said, "I would like to thank the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven and Valley Community Foundation for stepping up to the plate in these trying economic times and working hand and hand to help our current campaign which in turn helps all of our Valley associates to make the Valley a very special place to live."

Jack Walsh, Valley United Way President & C.O.O., said, "This is a strong incentive for many new businesses who have moved into the Valley, but have not yet been involved with campaign to see the value of their donations multiplied because of this grant. During difficult economic times, the community needs support more than ever."

Dave and his cabinet are already hard at work in planning this year's campaign which will officially kicked off at a reception hosted by BIC on September 22.

Since 1928, donors to The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven have built the community's endowment currently valued at over $300 million. In 2007, The Foundation’s Board of Directors distributed over $12 million in grants from approximately 640 different named charitable funds supporting a wide range of programs and projects. The Foundation’s service area encompasses: Ansonia, Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton, Wallingford, West Haven and Woodbridge.

Established in 2004, the Valley Community Foundation (VCF) is dedicated to making the Valley a better place to live and work by increasing philanthropy, especially permanent endowments; connecting donors to needs and opportunities; and providing leadership on critical community issues. It serves Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton, Connecticut and is lcoated at 2 Enterprise Drive, Suite 303, in Shelton. VCF is affiliated with the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven which ensures that VCF funds will have the benefit of the authority and oversight of a local Board, and will be administered efficiently and effectively by one of the nation's oldest and largest community foundations.

The grant to Valley United Way was made as part of VCF's First Competitive Application Process which resulted in awards of $171,000. Click here to learn more.

Toy Donation Benefits Needy Children

John Kay, Kevin Munn, Amy Fitzgerald and Denny Davila of Basement Systems saved the day!

Thanks to a very generous anonymous donor and the timely support of Basement Systems, needy Valley children will be receiving some high quality rocking horses and chairs. In a repeat of a donation from 2007, the company which wishes to remain anonymous offered to provide over 175 of the horses and chairs to Valley groups for distribution to needy children. Things seemed pretty straightforward and easy to handle until a major logistics snafu took place.

The Boys & Girls Club in Shelton had agreed to be the distribution center for the products, but when a very large tractor trailer pulled up at the Club loaded with the horses and chairs, the lack of a loading dock proved to be a major stumbling block to getting the items off the truck. That's when John Kay and Basement Systems came to the rescue! John was on hand with a truck to assist TEAM, Inc. with the items that they would be receiving. When he realized there was a problem, he quickly called back to Basement Systems to see if their warehouse and loading dock in Seymour might be available. Luckily it was, and the tractor trailer was diverted to Seymour where in a matter of minutes, Denny Davila unloaded the truck and the happy agencies were able to easily load the items onto their own trucks.

Agencies that received the horses and chairs included the Boys and Girls Club, TEAM, Inc., St. Vincent DePaul and the Valley Parish Nurse Program. The donated items are valued at approximately $30,000.

Energizer Invigorates Campaign

Laurel Vicdomino, John Hill, Jean Axtell, Gary Cohen, Jack Walsh and Pat Tarasovic are all smiles after reviewing Engergizer Personal Care's fantastic campaign results.

When Energizer Personal Care moved to their new facility in Shelton last year, their reputation as great United Way and community supporters preceded them. Valley United Way President & C.O.O. said, "United Way of Milford's Executive Director Gary Johnson has always raved about what a fantastic company they have been and how important they have been to Milford and the United Way. We have already found out that Gary couldn't have been more accurate".

Walsh and fellow Valley United Way staff members Laurel Vicidomino and Pat Tarasovic recently met with officials from Energizer Personal Care to learn more about the company and to also give them an overview of Valley United Way's role in the Valley community. They also had the opportunity to review the outstanding United Way campaign run by Energizer Personal Care. They ran an incredibly successful campaign in which over 90% of the employees contributed and they raised over $63,000 for United Way!

Energizer Personal Care encompasses such well known brands as Energizer, Schick, Playtex and Banana Boat.

A Family Rallies for Change

There are many ways to volunteer – donating time, efforts and resources each to benefit a cause. When families participate and become closer while understanding the importance of helping those in need, both parties truly benefit.

Lisa Duhamel, Vice President of Administration with Prudential Annuities, met Pat Tarasovic, Director of the Corporate Volunteer Council at Valley United Way, at a Thanksgiving food drive. It was during their conversation that Lisa became interested in sponsoring a family in need for Christmas. After going home and discussing the holiday giving scenario with her family, Lisa became the brains behind making the best use of their communal loose change jar.

"My children knew what we were doing as a family," Lisa said. "They brought home their leftover lunch money and contributed just as my husband and I would go through our pockets every day for change. My daughter, who is nine, understood the situation entirely and was excited to help. My five-year-old son was also excited, but I had to explain that there are families who may not be able to get any gifts for Christmas, and this is our way to help Santa."

Lisa and her family continued to add to their loose change jar and collected over $300 in coins, which was used to buy gifts and supplies for a family in need. The family‘s loose change jar has always been a routine method of saving extra money in the their house. In fact, Lisa has already begun a jar to use on a family for the 2009 holiday.

"This past year, we were able to sponsor a family with an eight and three year old. Because the children’s ages were in such close proximity to ours, it was much easier to shop for them. I enjoy getting my children involved, especially my daughter, who has expressed a real interest in volunteering," Lisa said. Her daughter, who is also a Girl Scout, has helped with a large portion of the change collection and past Thanksgiving food drives. "This whole experience has raised my awareness to how many people need assistance, and I would like to continue helping any way I can throughout the year."

Special thanks go out to Lisa and her family for LIVING UNITED in the Valley.