Thanksgiving traditions

Today is one of my favorite days of the year, and the official kickoff to the holiday season for me. There are two great events that I participate in every year two days before Thanksgiving - The Derby/Shelton Rotary Club football luncheon and the Boys & Girls Club's Keystone Club dinner for Shelton seniors.

The Rotary club luncheon is a tradition that dates back decades and was preceded by many other similar community events. basically, the Rotary Club invites the coaches, senior members of the the football and cheerleading squads, school administrators and mayors to lunch to celebrate the importance of the thanksgiving Day game. This year the luncheon took on special meaning as Shelton is hosting what is being advertised as the 100th game - that's a story for another day. They have invited anyone who ever played in the game to come on the field at halftime on Thursday to be recognized. At the start of the game, the two oldest living players from both schools who played in the game - Fran Saldamarco of Derby and Jim Braccnaro of Shelton - will toss the coin.

What makes the Rotary event so special is that each team brings back a former player to talk about their experiences. This year Rotary member Jon Wetmore was the speaker for Shelton and Dan Shea was the speaker for Derby, and they both did an excellent and very motivational job. I'm sure their stories will appear on the Rotary website.

The end of the day is just as exciting as the keystone Club members conduct a very special inter-generational event for the members of the Shelton Senior Center. The cook and serve a Thanksgiving dinner complete with turkey and all the trimmings for the seniors. The Keystone Club has won numerous national awards for their work, but I think that this dinner is one of the best things that they do. I've been fortunate to have attended for about 20 years now, but the tradition goes back much longer than that.

Besides serving the dinner, they also provide the entertainment and conduct a special drawing for a variety of special raffle prizes. It's also the first day of they year for Christmas carols as the seniors condut a great sing-a-long.

What a great way to start the holiday season! My only regret is that it means two big meals on the same day. Oh well, I'll just have to jog a little longer for the next couple of days.

Thank you Derby/Shelton Rotary and the Keystone Club for giving us examples of what we have to be thankful for at this special time of the year.


For more information about Valley United Way, visit our website at www.valleyunitedway.org.

Commodore Hull Thanksgiving Day 5K Road Race - more than a race

Nine years ago, a group of us got together and planned for a new Thanksgiving Day event that would celebrate the cities of Derby and Shelton and one of the greatest naval heroes in U.S. history, Commodore Isaac Hull. Hull was born in Derby and also lived in Shelton. Our concept was a race through the downtowns of the two cities that would draw 150-200 runners for an early morning 5K race that would give people plenty of time to run, but still be able to get to the traditional Thanksgiving Day football games or back home in plenty of time for family reunions and turkeys.

That first year, we drew over 300 runners and quickly realized that what we were actually doing was starting a new Valley tradition that celebrates our rich history and also gave us an opportunity to raise some funds for a worthy local organization. We decided that would be the Boys & Girls Club which is just down the street from the starting line and an organization with great needs. I think we were hoping that the race might grow to attract 500 runners and we might be able to raise a couple of thousand dollars a year. We have done that and much more. For the third straight year, the race is sold out and we have expanded the number of runners to 650. We have tried to expand our limits responsibly as we want to ensure that we maintain the quality of the race and the experience of the runners. We would love to accommodate everyone that wants to run but within the limits of the resources (volunteers, sponsors, facilites) that we have available to us.

We have raised over $70,000 for the Boys & Girls Club during the first eight years, and should have a nice amount to add to that this year. We have also celebrated the accomplishments of Isaac Hull and brought thousands of people back into our historic and reviving downtowns.We also take the time to honor someone from the two cities who has a positive impact in the two communities as the official starter for the race. This year, it is retired Shelton school principal Frank Skoronski.This year, the Young Emerging Professionals group at the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce have joined the fun by adding a food drive to the event.

The race is only possible because we have great volunteers, the support of both our city governments, great sponsors and enthusiastic runners - 32 of which have run every race. So, if you're not busy on Thanksgiving morning and want to see the joy shared by over 650 people running like maniacs through the streets of Shelton and Derby, stop by and cheer the runners on.

You can find all the details on the race website.


For more information about Valley United Way, visit our website at www.valleyunitedway.org.

Back to School

Friday morning was a bit like being suspended in time for me, and that time was more than 20 years ago. Prior to coming to Valley United Way, I was a teacher for many years (I'm not saying how long!). A decade of that time was spent as the boys basketball coach at Shelton High School, and for six years I was a teacher in the Shelton school system - and two of those years were spent at the Shelton Intermediate School teaching history. Friday morning I was back, but in a much more modern building as part of the Junior Achievement business education program.

Though the building may be newer,  the classroom and the students were much the same as I left them years ago. In preparing for the class, I was pleased that the first lesson that I was to teach was related to immigration and its impact on the history of the U.S. I had taught that in the past, so I was comfortable with the subject. Within a couple of minutes, I had surveyed the class, and found that we had about a dozen different ethnic groups represented in the class of just over 20 students. They were more than willing to share their own families' unique experiences in coming to America, and I was more than happy to share the story of my grandfather's emigration to Connecticut from a small townland in County Limerick, Ireland more than a century ago.

We had a second session on the importance of agriculture, and being in a city with active and innovative farms made that an easy topic for discussion as well.

A third session centering on the California Gold Rush showed the value of natural resources and the creation of boom towns that resulted from the rush for gold. The students were quick to discern the growth of business that results from a sudden migration of people into an area whether it be for gold or other factors. That translated into a discussion of the "boom" that has taken place in Shelton particularly along the Rt. 8 corridor.

In no time at all, the class was over. I scrambled back to my JA materials to make sure that we had covered the "curriculum" for the day. We had! I was very pleased and impressed with the students that I had in my class. They were a bright and outgoing group who actively participated and had a great background knowledge of the material that we were covering.

I think it was a nice break from the regular classroom schedule for them and a great opportunity to learn about the world of business at the same time. I enjoyed myself, and I hope they did as well.

For more information about Valley United Way, visit our website at www.valleyunitedway.org.

An Easier Way to Manage Volunteering

One of the great assets and strengths of the Valley community has always been its spirit of volunteerism. If you take a look around the Valley on any given day, you will see volunteers doing everything from cooking for the homeless to cleaning our rivers and manning our emergency services. Its a Valley characteristic that has served the community well over time.It's also something that Valley United Way believes in very strongly as shown by our commitment to having a Volunteer Center in the Valley.You can find a lot of information about the Volunteer Center and the great work being done on our website, but I want to take time today to discuss our "on-line" Volunteer Center - Volunteer Solutions.

We recognized a long time ago that a barrier for people who want to volunteer is finding out just what opportunities are available. At the same time, it has always been a challenge for groups who need volunteers to get the word out to the community about their needs. Our Volunteer Solutions website meets the needs of both groups - and does it at efficiently and free!

If you are looking to volunteer, all you have to do is go to the website (https://volunteer.truist.com/uwvalley/volunteer/). You can easily browse through listings of opportunities or of agencies looking for volunteers. You can also do a search by just about any criteria that you choose to find something that meets your time and talent. If you register, you can even customize the site so that it brings up your preferences when you log-in, or you can even have it periodically (As often as you choose) send you notices about opportunities that interest you.

If you are an agency that is looking for volunteers, you go to a different part of the website (https://volunteer.truist.com/uwvalley/agency/) to register. Once you register, you will fill in information about your group and then list your opportunities for potential volunteers to see. You can also create a wish list of items that your agency would like donated. If you are looking for Board members, you can also list those opportunities. If you have an event coming up, yuo can also post that on the calendar. It's possible to set up multiple people to administer your group's listing, and the group has full control over that once approved to use the system.


We are able to offer this great service thanks to a grant from the Raymond P. Lavietes Foundation.Ray was one of the best volunteers the Valley has ever seen, and we are grateful that his legacy includes the promotion of volunteerism in the Valley.


For more information about Valley United Way, visit our website at www.valleyunitedway.org.

Health Net Phasing Out

This morning's newspapers are full of stories about the impending layoffs of employees at Health Net of the Northeast here in Shelton, and it is a sad day for those employees and for the entire Valley community to see so many people losing their jobs and the Valley losing one of its best corportate citizens. They have certainly been great friends and supporters of Valley United Way during their time in the Valley, and we truly value that relationship.

One of the articles mentioned the state Labor Department's Rapid Response Team which it said will be responding to the employees with their outreach services detailing services such as unemployment and job training. Valley United Way participates in the Rapid Response Team, and we have been going to Health Net on a monthly basis throughout 2010 speaking to groups of employees who have already lost their jobs. We have another session coming up next week. My good friend Bill Purcell also attends the sessions and brings the backing of the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce to the effort.

As the articles have stated, Health Net is providing severance packages for the employees and in-house resources for things like preparing resumes and beginning a job search. They have taken the extra step of inviting the Labor Department to bring their services directly to the employees as well. The Labor Department brings in a variety of speakers who do a great job of thorougly explaining how unemployment works, how to apply and how to best use the services. They also explain what job training programs are available and how to access those programs. At a difficult time for the employees, the Labor Department eases the stress and uncertainty that all employees face when going through a job loss.

Ever since the tragic Latex Foam fire, we have been invited to participate in the Rapid Response team to talk about the wide range of services offered by non-profits in the community. We obviously focus on using the resources of 2-1-1 as the first place to go to learn about what is available in any community in the state.

It's challenging and rewarding at the same time to be speaking before employees that have been supporters of so many causes in the Valley including United Way. However, I think that they find it comforting to know that a wide variety of services are available, and that the community is interested in their well being.

We have done this many, many times during the last decade, and it is never easy. However, one of the messages that we always try to convey is hope for the future. The very building where Health Net is located gives proof of that. One of the first kickoffs for a United Way campaign when I became executive director of Valley United Way was held in the same building. It was a bittersweet day. Richardson-Vicks, another great company and outstanding corporate citizen, hosted the kickoff that day only hours after news broke that they would be leaving town and everyone would be losing their job. It was a gloomy day. Ironically, that was the only time that we have had a special guest speaker at our kickoff event. He was a tv and radio personality who went by the name of "Mr. Positive". His message about staying positive was soothing that day, and it is now as well.

Over time, Health Net moved into the building and brought with it new jobs and new hope. We are staying positive that the same thing will eventually happen this time.

For now, our thoughts and best wishes are with all the employees. We wish them the best in their job hunt and urge them to stay positive knowing that the community supports their efforts.

For more information about Valley United Way, visit our website at www.valleyunitedway.org.

Valley Philanthropy Council's "Art of Giving"

When the Valley Philantropy Council holds its annual "Art of Giving" art show beginning this weekend at the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, it will have special meaning to all of us at Valley United Way. To start with, our Board Chair Mike Marcinek will be presented with the Distinguished Leader of the Year award for all that he has done for area nonprofits. Mike needs no additional acknowledgment here as his record of community involvement is second to none and a model of what good corporate leadership in our community is all about.

At the same time, I was thinking about United Way's role on the Council. Of course we are a member, but it goes way beyond that. When Jane Snaider served as the Director of Resource Development here at United Way, she came up with the idea of starting a group for professionals in the Valley involved with fund raising withing Valley nonprofits. The group began meeting, and over time evolved into the Valley Philanthropy Council.

Laurel Vicidomino now represents us at the meetings,but I want to acknowledge the role that Jane played in creating this Valley asset. Jane is still in the Valley and works with Barnum Financial Group here in Shelton.


For more information about Valley United Way, visit our website at www.valleyunitedway.org.

United Way legacy is its volunteer leadership

 The last few weeks have not left me with much time to update this blog because there have been so many good things going on at Valley United Way. We are in the midst of the Annual Community Campaign, and we have had some incredible campaigns this year with some unbelievable creativity. If you have been following our website, you would have seen executives dressed up as outlaws, corporate work spaces turned into golf courses and breakfast and dessert being served up to employees. We want to thank Iroquois Gas Transmission, BIC, and Blum Shapiro for some of those efforts. We also want to thank Larry Janesky for his generous incentive to the employees at Basement Systems as part of their campaign. And finally, we want to welcome Hubbell to the fold as they are running their first campaign for Valley United Way in their new Shelton location. Keep watching for campaign updates on the web.

Our Corporate Volunteer Council was presented with Birmingham group Health Services' "Corporate Good Neighbor Award", and our High School Council Volunteer Council held its first meeting of the year. Youth Leadership members elected their officers for the year, and they are getting ready for their annual allocations process. Nineteen agencies have also submitted applications for Special Needs Grants from Valley United Way which will be awarded in December.

However, what I wanted to really talk about today is the legacy left by the men and women who have headed the Valley United Way since its inception in 1968 when the United Funds and Community Chests in the Valley Came together as one regional organization. We finally got around to developing a listing of all those people who served as presidents, board chairs and campaign chairs down through the years and have posted them on our website. It's quite a listing, and I would urge you to take a look. You can find it at http://www.valleyunitedway.org/board.html.

We have been very fortunate to have had so many outstanding volunteers who gave so much of themselves for the benefit of the community. They were drawn from all walks of life in the Valley and serve as models for others to follow.

As I said at the beginning, it has been a very busy month at Valley United Way, but we owe a debt of gratitude not only to those who work so hard today, but to all those who came before to make Valley United Way the organization that it is today.




For more information about Valley United Way, visit our website at www.valleyunitedway.org.