Merry Christmas from us to you!

The United Way office is closed today as we prepare to celebrate the Christmas holidays with our families and we wish the same for all of our friends and supporters. We have several stories of what the real spirit of Christmas is on our web site showing the outpouring of community spirit that has filled our offices with excitement and joy for the last several weeks. We have stories about the incredible work of Energizer, the Corporate Volunteer Council, the Youth Leadership Program and the High School Volunteer Council. Pat Tarasovic has been incredibly busy in helping to coordinate these efforts, but I think she would agree that it has been a rewarding and inspiring experience.

The economy may be improving, but it certainly is still extremely difficult for many people. Thanks to all of the groups above, the holiday season will be considerably brighter this year. And it's not just because of  the material gifts that have been provided, but rather the sense of community that all these projects generate. People in the Valley genuinely do care about their neighbors and given the opportunity are more than willing to help those less fortunate. Just take a look at the pictures on our website, and you will notice that everyone is smiling - and they are either working for someone else or donating to someone else! I can tell you that the smiles on the faces of those who benefitted were just as big!

I'm always amazed at how willing people are to respond to the needs of others in the Valley, and I have one smaller story to relate which illustrates the point. I received a call last Friday afternoon from a gentleman who had a very simple, but very complex request. He had a relative who was involved in an accident a year ago and had been rendered a quadraplegic. His medical needs are being taken care of but his freedom of movement has been severly limited, This man spoke of a family tradition of a Christmas party, and they really wanted to get the injured relative out of his home to attend the party. It was seeminly a small request, but terribly important to the injured man and his entire family.

Transportation to and from the event was the problem because of the need for a specially equipped van for the move. The man had located someone who could help with the transportation to the destination, but could not do the return leg because of the time of day. They had tried everything, but had hit a wall and called United Way as a last resort. I told the man that I didn't know what we could do, but I would try and get back to him as soon as possible. One of the great things that we have in the Valley is the Valley Council for Health & Human Services which is composed of just about the entire health and human service community in the Valley. Years ago, we linked them all by e-mail for quicker communication. I sent out an e-mail explaining the situation and asking for help and advice, not expecting to find an immediate solution. To my pleasant surprise, we got replies from four area groups offering their help, and several other e-mails offering encouragement even if they could not help.

I immediately called the man and gave him the good news. Though helping get someone to a family Christmas party may not seem like a major achievement, in this case it was something very special and means a very special event for a family just seeking a few hours of sharing and family celebration. This is one of those special moments when my job at United Way feels very satisfying!

It's been an incredible couple of weeks at United Way, and we want to thank everyone who has helped to make this holiday season so special. From all of us here at Valley United Way to all of you, we wish you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year.

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

Students Learn By Doing

Friday, we had a story about members of our Youth Leadership Program and the High School Volunteer Council and their involvement in a couple of holiday projects. It serves as a great reminder that the next generation of community leaders is ready and willing to take their place when asked.

It also reminded me of two other recent examples of young people here in the Valley giving back to the community that in turn has supported them so well. Throughout the year, we have written about the problems surrounding hunger here in the Valley. One group that has been doing something about that for many years is the Housatonic Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Once again this year, they spent the first two Saturdays in November conducting their annual "Scouting for Food" drive. On the first Saturday, they delivered empty bags to area homes explaining that they would be collecting food the next weekend and urging people to put non-perishable items in the bags for the drive. The following Saturday, they went back and picked up the bags which were then distributed through the Valley's food bank system. It was a great way for the Scouts to not only learn about a pressing issue in our community, but to have a positive impact on it.

A couple of weeks later, I had the great pleasure of visiting Shelton's Senior Center on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving for a very traditional turkey dinner with the seniors. What makes this annual event so special is that the meal is put on by the Keystone Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley Boys & Girls Club. With little fanfare, they have been doing this event for a couple of decades. Not only do they serve the seniors, but they provide entertainment and a raffle full of great prizes for the seniors. It's a great evening for everyone, and I'm not sure if it's the seniors or the kids who leave with  bigger smiles on their faces.

These are all great examples of the value being delivered by many of the youth groups supported by Valley United Way and our generous donors. We all know that these services provide kids with great places to go and stay active. What these programs also show is that the kids are learning an awful lot about themselves, the community and the value of giving back. I congratulate all of them for a lesson well learned!


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

Valley United Way Youth Groups Share Holiday Spirit with Community Members

Valley United Way Youth Leaders were once again called to action, only this time as Christmas elves to lend a holiday hand in Santa’s visit. Santa Clause, Chris Kringle, yes the big man in red, stopped into Shelton’s corporate park on December 10^th in support of a local 3^rd annual Toys for Tots fundraiser.

Bob Scinto and his daughter Katie asked for some assistance from Valley United Way in preparing for Santa’s arrival and sharing the holiday spirit. The Youth Leaders, playing the role of elves, helped bake cookies, sing to the children and families and lent a keen eye in taking family photos with Mr. Clause along with expert photographer and Valley United Way Campaign Chair Fred Ortoli.

Santa came into town from 3-7pm, where he posed in family pictures with the children and families of corporate park tenants and employees. Santa was also able to collect all the toys that were brought in for less fortunate children – about 500 toys to be exact. Luckily Santa brought a really big bag and will deliver the presents to TEAM, making sure all the Valley’s children can have a Merry Christmas.

For the 10^th consecutive year, members of the Valley United Way High School Volunteer Council went on a Christmas caroling campaign. Singing for at least an hour in a half, members visited the senior citizen residents of Crosby and Wesley Village of Shelton.

After caroling, the students of the High School Volunteer Council left gifts and board games for the residents under the communal Christmas trees. Students from Emmett O’Brien Technical School demonstrated their tech-talent by making paper origami ornaments for the residents.

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This was also the 5^th year students of the Valley United Way High School Volunteer Council hosted a group luncheon at the Italian Pavilion in Derby to celebrate their Christmas coordination.

MORE HAIR SALONS JOIN ‘HAIR TO CUT HUNGER!’

Valley United Way in conjunction with many Valley Hair Salons continue to assist the community during this holiday season by collecting non-perishables for our neighbors in need. The drive is now 9 salons strong. Anna Durante owner of Capelli Salon and Sue Thomas owner of Susan Thomas Salon, both of Derby, are the latest additions. The Capelli Salon is also offering some incentives to her clients. With any wash/cut/blow-dry Anna will donate $2 of the service to Valley United Way as well as place the clients name into a raffle for a $50 gift basket of hair supplies. She also wants to continue her food drive into the New Year knowing that the need in the Valley doesn’t end with the Christmas holidays.

These hair stylists join the following salons in collecting non-perishables for St. Vincent dePaul of Derby and The Spooner House of Shelton:

*Panache Hair Design: 504 Bridgeport Avenue, Shelton 203.925.1990
*67 West Hair Designers: 39 New Haven Avenue, Seymour 203.888.2949
*Scissors-Hair by Penny: 48 Bridge Street, Ansonia 203.732.2556
*New Day Hair & Skin Salon: 500 Howe Avenue, Shelton 203.924.1673
*Maria’s Hair Gallery: 2 Division Street, Derby 203.734.4247
*Kut Rite: 63 New Haven Road, Seymour 203.888.4071
*Barber on Main: 328 East Main Street, Ansonia 203.732.0500
*Capelli Hair Salon: 131 Main Street, Derby 203.732.1977
*Susan Thomas Salon: Imperial Plaza, 676 New Haven Avenue, Derby 203.735.0927

Our sincere thanks go out to everyone involved. All Valley residents are welcome to bring non perishables to any of the participating salons.

HAIR TO CUT HUNGER continues……

As December descends upon us, Valley United Way and 7 valley hair salons will continue their gallant efforts in collecting food for the needy. Their Thanksgiving donations to Spooner House in Shelton and St. Vincent dePaul in Derby were great and they expect the collection to be even better for Christmas! Diana Cirillo and Jeni Mastrony of Panache Hair Design-Shelton, Josie Campolattano of 67 West Hair Designers-Seymour, Penny Marganski of Scissors-Hair by Penny-Ansonia, Jennifer Kimen of New Day Hair & Skin Salon-Shelton, Maria Anderson of Maria’s Hair Gallery-Derby, Lisa Raymond-Kut Rite-Seymour and Ron Sisbarro of Barber on Main-Ansonia and their staffs, are raising awareness on how important it is in these difficult economic times to help our friends and neighbors improve our quality of life.

Other hair salons are welcome to join HAIR TO CUT HUNGER by calling Laurel Vicidomino at Valley United Way-203.926.9478 or by emailing laurel.vicidomino@valleyunitedway.org. All valley residents are welcome to bring non perishables to any of the participating salons.

Temperature Goes Down – Needs Go Up

As fall transitions into winter, United Way braces for a spike in requests for assistance. The cold weather brings a lot more than just snow. This time of year, not only those who are less fortunate, but also everyday people begin to struggle paying their bills.

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Heating/Utility bills dramatically increase to combat the cold. In some cases it’s a catch-22 for people who are struggling. For example they can’t afford to pay additional bills but excessively dropping the temperature in a home to conserve can result in the freezing of pipes, which will only incur even more expenses. Combine this scenario with a Connecticut unemployment rate that is floating around 10 percent and you have yourself a serious problem. Often times people do not know where to turn, who to call or what to do.

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By dialing 2-1-1, a toll-free info line, callers can reach knowledgeable, multi-lingual staff with questions on health and human services information, specializes services in child care, child development and disabilities and HUSKY health insurance. All 2-1-1 services are confidential. Representatives are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition to being able to answer questions over the phone, 2-1-1 information is available online at www.211.org.

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2-1-1 handled 6,754 calls that produced 9,782 requests for services from Valley United Way towns of Ansonia, Derby, Seymour, Shelton and Oxford. Here is the report of all 2-1-1 service requests in 2009.

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Biggest service request increases:

Heat/Utilities +751

Public Assistance Programs +168

Food +104

Health Support Services +74

INTERESTING FACTS:

In the past 2.5 years since leaving the teaching profession, I've had the opportunity to interview many people as to their views on donating to different causes. To my surprise, the number one reason why the people I have interviewed do not donate is because they were never asked!!!! So I would like to take this opportunity in my blog to ASK for donations to the Valley United Way, which will be distributed among 24 health and human service agencies.

The second reason why people have not donated was because they felt that $1, $2 or even $5 per week (on payroll deduction) would not be enough money to make a difference! This was a shock to me and I would like to show you the great services these dollar amounts can provide for our community. Please read on:

$1 per week over a year ($52) can provide:
-one night in Spooner House (shelter, food & services)
-toothbrushes for all children at Derby Day Care to practice good health habits
-a box of crayons or markers for 25 children
-one hotel night for a disaster victim

$2 per week over a year ($104)can provide:
-4 counseling sessions for a victim of abuse
-a Therapeutic Horseback Riding Adventure for a day
-shoes and a change of clothing for the victim of a fire
-a one year membership to the Boys and Girls Club for a needy child

$5 per week over a year ($260) can provide:
-5 nights of food, shelter and services at Spooner House
-10 hours of community education dealing with such issues as body safety, bullying and sex assault
-‘Special Programs’ for children at daycare facilities
-26 days of lodging for a homeless person

$10 per week over a year ($520)can provide:
-school clothes for 5 children
-40 hours of childcare
-an abused child with three months of therapy
-a Big Brother, Big Sister match for a year

I hope my blog provides you with information about Valley United Way that you can share with others. For details on additional programs and services we provide, please visit our website at: www.valleyunitedway.org.

Nick T.’s Tri Challenge Update

Earlier this month we talked about Nick Tarasovic’s training for the Revolution3 Triathlon Race at Cedar Point, which will take place in Sandusky, Ohio on September 12, 2010. Nick will be raising money throughout his training that will exclusively benefit Valley United Way based on his accumulated miles, which will be posted on our website.

You can select to a variety of pledge levels. Here’s how it’s broken down:

Competitor - $0.01 per mile

Contender - $0.02 per mile

Elite - $0.03 per mile

Champion - $0.04 per mile

World Class - $0.05

Olympian - $0.06 and above per mile

Things to note about your donations:

All your funds go directly to Valley United Way.

All races expenses and fundraising costs are paid by Nick T.

Pay monthly or at race date 9/5/10.

You can designate what agency you want funds to go to.

Website will update weekly mile totals. Any miles over 6000 are optional for donor’s pledge.

Nick has logged in 553.5 miles so far and expects to log between 4,000 and 6,000 total miles by September 2010.

Commodore Hull Thanksgiving Day 5K Road Race - a new tradition

Several years ago after running in the Labor Day road race in New Haven, I ran across a Derby childhood neighbor, Glenn Gaetano, who also ran in the race and who had just moved back to the Valley. During the course of our conversation, the subject of a road race in the Valley came up, and we both thought it would be a great idea to think about a new event for the Valley.Several months later, we sat down along with Glenn's friend Tom Wilson of the Wilson Agency at his office in Shelton and did some brainstorming. Out of that meeting came the idea for a new community event to be held on Thanksgiving morning that would highlight the history of the Valley and celebrate the rebirth of the downtown areas of Shelton and Derby through a 5K road race which is now in its eighth year and is known as the Commodore Hull Thanksgiving Day 5K Road Race.

For those who don't know, Commodore Isaac Hull is one of the greatest naval heroes in U.S. history. He was in command of the U.S.S. Constitution during the War of 1812 when she earned the nickname "Old Ironsides" with a spectacular victory over the British ship, Guerriere. Since Hull was born in derby and lived in both Shelton and Derby, a race through the streets of his two native towns would be a perfect way to keep his name alive in our Valley. Of course the Rt. 8 bridge over the Housatonic River also bears his name, but this would be an interactive connection with this great hero.

What we wanted was not just a race, but a community event. Along the way, we hoped to raise some money for a worthwhile charity, and we chose the Boys & Girls Club for its close proximity to the starting line at the Farmers Market on Canal Street. Securing Grece & Haines as our major sponsor - and they still are today - guaranteed that the race would go on and be successful. We hoped to get about 150 runners and to get the race off in time for people to get to the morning high school football games. To our surprise we got over 300 runners in the first year, and a new tradition was born.

Now in its eighth year, the race has been a major success. In fact, it is a sell out! We have wonderful sponsors and volunteers (We can always use a few more - especially on race day!), but we have limited resources and have determined that our capacity to run a quality event is 625 runners. This year, we sold out all the spots by November 3. We would love to accommodate everyone who wants to run - and there were hundreds more this year - but we are more concerned with quality than quantity, and 625 is about all that we can handle.

The event starts and ends on Canal Street near the Farmers Market and winds along Howe Avenue, across Bridge Street to Derby, along Main Street to Elizabeth Street to the Derby Public Library and then reverses course back to Canal Street. It 's a great site to see such activity on the streets, and we invite everyone out to cheer on the runners.

One last thing - in addition to turning into a great community event, it has become a successful fund raiser as well with approximately $50,000 raised for the Boys & Girls Club. That's a tribute to all our sponsors, an incredibly dedicated group of volunteers and our runners. To learn more about the race click here.

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

Do You Know What to Bring to a Food Drive?

Thanksgiving is unmistakably the busiest time of the year in food pantries. Food drives are frequently held in an effort to meet the ever-increasing need for assistance. The trick to these food drives is donating items that can be used. Do you know what to bring?

The biggest phrase you may hear around food drives is non perishables. Simply put, non perishables are food items that have a very long shelf life and won’t spoil immediately. Here are some good examples: ready to eat vegetables, bottled water, protein bars, cereals, pastas and noodles, crackers, rice, peanut butter and baby food in addition to various food spices and seasonings. Also remember that you can’t go wrong with canned, jarred and pickled foods like: canned veggies, soups and tuna fish.

Other items you might want to consider are a variety of hygiene products. These can include but are not limited to: toilet paper, razors and shaving cream, toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap, deodorant and nail clippers. While food this time of year is very important, these basic products can easily be forgotten.

As a rule of thumb you should check with a coordinator of a local food drive to see if there are any particular items of interest they are seeking. Are they looking for turkeys and actual groceries because they have refrigerated trucks or are they just collecting canned products? Bringing the wrong products can be a waste and can be avoided with a simple phone call.

As always you can contact our Valley agencies with food pantries for details.

Father McKenna St. Vincent de Paul Society - (203) 734-7577

Spooner House - www.act-spooner.org

IN 2008, YOUR DOLLARS HAVE PROVIDED THE FOLLOWING SERVICES:

• Certification of over 3500 individuals in CPR, first aid and water safety?
• Canteen and volunteer support to 85 blood drives?
• Food, shelter and support services to 4291 Valley individuals and families?
• 102 homebound senior citizens with nutritious diet-approved meals?
• 3035 Valley youth with recreational, educational, physical and social development programs?
• 1658 Valley girls with life skills programs?
• 5280 Valley school aged students with education on body safety, sexual harassment, bullying, and sexual assault and date rape drugs?
• 102 children who have experienced abuse, neglect or abandonment with a safe home?
• Confidential crisis and counseling services, a 24 hour crisis hotline and support groups for victims of domestic violence?
• Quality, safe childcare in nurturing environments to over 600 children?
• High quality legal services to 195 individuals unable to obtain legal representation due to limited income, disability or discrimination?
• Compassionate, excellent home healthcare services?

As you can see, your dollars made a huge difference in our community. Please continue to give what you can to help our community in need. THANKS!!!!

Children & Poverty in the Valley - followup

It was a very interesting session last night as TEAM, Inc. and the Valley Council for  Health & Human Services brought together the community to discussion children & poverty. Close to 100 people showed up and participated. the Valley Independent has the full story including some video here.

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

Children & Poverty in the Valley

The Valley Council for Health & Human Services and TEAM, Inc. are hosting a special community conversation on children and poverty in the Valley. Elaine Zimmerman, Executive Director of the CT Commission on Children will be on hand to inform the community to what extent there is an issue in the Valley and to create a dialogue on how to deal with it.

The session will be held at John J. Sullivan's in Ansonia from 5:00 pm to 7:30 PM. Call 203-736-5420 ext. 1202 if you are interested in participating. Reservations are required as there will be a dinner served. Child care will also be provided.

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

Art & Philanthropy Joined Together

 The Valley Philanthropy Council held its second annual Art of Giving show yesterday at the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, and it was a major success. The Council, which was first started by Jane Snaider, former Director of Resource Development at Valley United Way, is a collaborative effort of eleven
Valley organizations including Valley United Way. The Council partnered with the Valley Arts Council on this project which created a juried art show with artists submitting pieces under the theme of the Art of Giving. The art work will be on display at the Chamber throughout the month.The two Councils will share in the proceeds of any sales made of the art work with the artists receiving the bulk of the sales for their works.

Our own Dave Grant was presented with the Philanthropic Leader of the Year Award at the event, the first of several awards for him this month! You can find full coverage of the event including a video on the Valley Independent Sentinel.

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

HAIR TO CUT HUNGER

A food drive for Valley United Way to assist the Spooner House of Shelton and St. Vincent dePaul of Derby is the brainchild of hair designers Diana Cirillo and Josie Campolattano. Diana is co-owner of Panache Hair Design, Shelton with her sister Jeni Mastrony and Josie is the owner of 67 West Hair Designers, Seymour. Both understand that the need for food in the Valley is great and want to do whatever they can to help. They have also enlisted some of their colleagues. Ron Sisbarro of Barber on Main-Ansonia; Maria Anderson of Maria’s Hair Gallery-Derby; Jennifer Kimen of New Day Hair & Skin Salon-Shelton; Lisa Raymond of Kut Rite-Seymour; and Penny Marganski of Scissors-Hair by Penny LLC-Ansonia, have all banded together with Diana and Josie to collect nonperishable’s through Thanksgiving and then once again for the Christmas holiday. Not only are these salons collecting food, “We are raising awareness on how important it is in these difficult economic times to help our friends and neighbors improve their quality of life,” states Diana Cirillo.

Diana, Josie and friends welcome other hair salons to join HAIR TO CUT HUNGER by calling Laurel Vicidomino at Valley United Way 203.926.9478 or by emailing laurel.vicidomino@valleyunitedway.org. All Valley residents are welcome to bring their non perishables to any of the participating salons at the addresses below:

Panache Hair Design, 504 Bridgeport Ave., Shelton

67 West Hair Designers, 39 New Haven Ave., Seymour

Barber on Main, 328 East Main Street, Ansonia

Maria’s Hair Gallery, 2 Division Street, Derby

New Day Hair & Skin Salon, 500 Howe Ave., Shelton

Kut Rite, 63 New Haven Road, Seymour

Scissors-Hair by Penny LLC, 48 Bridge Street, Ansonia

Finding new ways to help provide more food

Last night at the Gold Seal Awards Dinner, Jim Guarrera of Carey & Guarrera received one of the prestigious awards for his dedicated community service. Jim has been involved with many Valley organizations down through the years, but in recent years has been heavily involved with the St. Vincent DePaul Society which became United Way's newest partner agency earlier this year. Jim has seen a explosive growth in the need for food for clients that has been duplicated across the Valley with every agency that provides food for those in need.

Earlier this year, Jim came up with a great idea to prevent waste, do a bit of "recycling" and help alleviate hunger all at the same time. Because of St. Vincent DePaul's past involvement with our Corporate Volunteer Council's Harvest House projects, he knew that Valley United Way has a very strong interest in hunger in the Valley. In addition to Harvest House, we have also been working with the Postal Workers on the annual food drive that they do in the spring. He also knew that United Way has been a leader in the use of electronic technologies that might come into play on his project. Jim apprached Pat Tarasovic and myself with his idea to raise more funds not only for St. Vincent DePaul, but for all the agencies that have food pantries.

Jim's idea is fairly simple, but requires some work to implement. He noted that there are many people throughout the area who purchase tickets for sporting and cultural events and never use them. He asked, "Why don't we ask those people to donate unused tickets to be sold at their face value and the proceeds used to buy more food"? He even had a catchy name for the project - soupbowltickets.com. It sounded practical for us, so we sat down and started to work on the concept. A website will be developed where the story of the need can be told and the donated tickets can be sold.

The first step was to get a grip on the need and to examine just what is being accomplished and how. We convened a meeting of the providers, and they have helped compile data on what they are currently doing and the gap for unfilled needs.

At that point, a remarkable thing happened. Griffin Hospital approached United Way for help in implementing a very ambitious gift that they wanted to make in the form of a full trailer truck of new food for the community! We temporarily shifted gears from Jim's concept to coordinating Grffin's amazing gift. You can read the story of that remarkable gift by clicking here.

That was quickly followed by the Postal Wrokers drive and then our Corporate Volunteer Council's Harvest House project. (Full story & video - http://www.valleyunitedway.org/VAC/weekofcaring/2009/news.htm).
Those were all incredible success stories, but not enough to keep up with the increasing demand. St. Vincent DePaul has already run out of food!

Last night, Jim spurred us all back to action during his touching acceptance speech. He publicly announced our intent to make soupbowltickets.com a reality. On top of that, he announced that the Valley Board of Realtors is making a doantion of $1,000 to help get the project up and running. We're not there yet, but we'll let you know when we are ready.

In the meantime, if you are interested in the project, please contact us. Let us know what you think of the project and maybe even your willingness to get involved!

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

Just how far can Nick Tarasovic go for Valley United Way?

Last week we were dealing with Farmers who had a unique Facebook challenge for Valley United Way, and this week we are moving on to athletes - well at least one athlete! I've known Nick Tarasovic ever since Pat Tarasovic came to work at United Way years ago. In Nick's case, I came to know of his love of sports and his high level of athletic ability. We even managed to get together for some basketball down through the years though the Senior Games. If you know Nick, he's pretty tall, and that always comes in handy when playing basketball. I'm not so sure that it is a great advantage when you are running, swimming or biking which is now Nick's big challenge - and ours.

Nick has been a runner forever, but in the last couple of years he has added the biking and swimming and completed his first mini-triathlon earlier this year after having run in several marathons down through the years. I don't think I need to say much about the dedication and determination that it takes for a marathon; but when you throw in biking and swimming events on top of it, it takes on a whole new life of its own. Evidently it works for Nick as he has taken off about forty pounds and is also taking seconds off all his times for the various events as well.

He has set a goal to run in the IronDistance Triathlon at Plymouth Rock next September and has already begun a training regimen. All he will have to do is swim 2.4 miles, ride a bike for 112 miles and run 26.2 more miles!! Now this is where you can participate by motivating Nick and helping United Way at the same time. We're following Nick's progress on our website and encouraging people to support his grueling schedule by pledging pennies per mile throughout his journey to the finish line next year. (You'd be surprised how pennies can add up when you train as much as Nick does!) It's simple to do by using the form on the page. During the course of the year, we'll be posting information and stories - and maybe some of your comments as we try to keep Nick motivated - not that he needs too much if you know Nick!

Nick gets plenty of motivation from his personal coach - granddaughter Grace Rose!

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

CAMPAIGN, CAMPAIGN, CAMPAIGN

BLUMSHAPIRO kicks off their campaign with an ice cream social.

Our campaign season continues….Throughout September and into October, presentations were made at Ansonia schools, Webster Bank, BIC, Yankee Gas, California Closets, RD Scinto, Fletcher Thompson, HealthNet, BlumShapiro, Bank of America and ATT! And there are still many more to come. What better way to spread the word about the many great things Valley United Way does?

You may ask…

WHAT IS A CAMPAIGN PRESENTATION?
It is a 10 minute session, informing people of:
• What Valley United Way does for the community and their 24 Health and Human Service agencies
• How United Way agencies can assist you and your coworker’s families and friends
• Many volunteer opportunities available

CAN YOU HELP US BY HOSTING A CAMPAIGN PRESENTATION AT YOUR PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT?
We would love to talk to you about it, please email laurel.vicidomino@valleyunitedway.org for further information.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Jones Family Farms in the lead!!

It's only been a week since the "Farmers Facebook Challenge" was announced and Jones Family Farms and Bishops Orchard began the dash to 5,000 new fans by Thanksgiving with the real winners being Valley United Way, the Working Lands Allianceand the Guilford Community Fund as the farms will be donating up to a total of $5,000 to the three groups based on the results of the campaign.

How are we doing?

During the past week, we've been posting, blogging, Twittering, Facebooking and e-mailing to get out the word of the challenge, and it seems to be working. Using the statistics provided by our good friends at the Valley Independent Sentinel, we've calculated that 3,288 new fans have been added to the two farms friends lists. We're excited that Jones Family farms is in the lead with 2,351 to Bishops 937 new fans!!

Check out the comments on the Fans page

One of the great things that comes out of this is not only the new fans added, but the wonderful comments being made on the pages. Just take a look at pictures and comments on the Jones Page, and you will get a feel for just how important farms still are in all our lives.

So, thanks to the farms and for all the new fans out there. Through our combined use of social networking,we really are a connected group!

Tri-Challenge Coming This Week

We're also working with a familiar face on another challenge that we hope to have on the United Way website this week. Just a hint - this one involves sports.

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

"EXTREME HOME MAKE OVER” Valley Style!

A legally blind Mother of three witnessed a miracle at the hands of so many Valley residents. After a home improvement went drastically wrong, she was left with a house that literally had a hole in the roof allowing all the winter snow and freezing rain to enter her home which cause mold to overtake her entire home.
Compassionate Community Services, Inc. had been helping Laura meet her everyday needs by providing food for the family etc. Kim Chernecky, Executive Director of CCS had nominated Laura’s house for the ABC Extreme Home Makeover show but she was not selected.
I remember like it was yesterday, Doris Burdo, a SHELTON resident called Valley United Way’s Volunteer Center to say that she was interested in Volunteering. After a nice conversation with Doris, she said that her husband was a contractor and he was very interested in doing a little volunteering as well.
Being aware as I was about Laura’s need for a new roof, I asked if he would be willing to go and take a look at her house. Frank Burdo, I’ll call him “Saint Frank”, said sure he would go and take a look at it. Frank immediately saw the enormous urgent need and set up another time for he and his brother to go back over to the house and build something that would al least stop the rain, snow and elements from entering her house. It worked! I remember Frank saying to me that her house was in catastrophic condition and that she needed a new roof. It was also very apparent that the mold was out of control and the smell had penetrated her entire home to the point that it was unhealthy for Laura and her three children to remain living there.
Just at the same time a few neighbors stopped bye to see if they could help and Laura told them to call me because as Valley United Way’s Volunteer Director my role was to assist non profit agencies if they had a need for Volunteers … I met Kim Chernecky and the need for Volunteers to help was quite clear from the start.
We rapidly spiraled into a speed that was like none that I had ever seen before! The next thing that happened was a meeting at VUW for everyone who was interested in volunteering. The CORE group of Laura’s Volunteers emerged…we had begun the task that would take nearly 10 months to complete from beginning to end… (More to come on Monday with more pictures…. )

NEVER DOUBT THAT A SMALL GROUP OF THOUGHTFUL COMMITTED CITIZENS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD; INDEED, IT IS THE ONLY THINK THAT EVER HAS.

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

From Rachel's Challenge to Farmers' Challenge

We recently blogged about a very special and serious challenge centered on preventing violence in schools called Rachel's Challenge. Today, we have another "Challenge", but this one is much lighter in tone. Our good friends over at the Jones Family Farms are involved in a challenge with some other good farmers - the people at Bishop's Orchards in Guilford. Their challenge involves growing, but this time its not plants and vegetables - it's donors and Facebook users!

For every fan that joins their respective Facebook pages between 8:00am Thursday October 22nd and 8:00am on Friday November 27th (day after Thanksgiving) the two farms have dedicated themselves to donate $1 each (up to a maximum of 5000 fans total between the two farms) to charities of their choosing. The friendly battle doesn’t end there however. The second place owner will travel to the winning farm and put in a good honest days work during the Christmas season.

Valley United Way is fortunate enough to be the recipient of Jones Family Farms generosity while the Guilford Community Fund will benefit from the Bishops Farm donation. The Working Land's Alliance will benefit from donations from both farms.

Here in the Valley, The Jones Family Farms are part of the social and economic fabric of the community. It's pumpkin time at the farm right now, and this weekend they have their special UNICEF Children's Festival going on. Children are encouraged to show up in costume and participate in a variety of special activities at Pumpkinseed Hill. My personal favorite time to visit is Christmas for the annual purchase of a real Christmas tree. I know that artificial trees are gaining in popularity, but there's nothing like your own fresh cut tree from the Jones Family farm. At other times of the year, its strawberries and blueberries that draw attention. And of course we don't want to forget the new winery (Not really so new, but in comparison to the farm's long history, it's still new!) and the food and cooking classes. The farm has truly become a year round destination!

Getting back to the challenge - We're also big believers in using technology and social media to keep people informed of what goes on at United Way and to invite their feedback. We have been a pioneer among United Ways dating back to being the first United Way in the state of Connecticut to have a website. We use Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and this blog in addition to the website, so when our farmer friends called, we were ready to respond.

The greatest thing about this challenge is that it is a win-win situation for everyone involved. Hopefully thousands of people will learn more about two great farms and three great nonprofit organizations. Not only will there be learning opportunities, but some real and "virtual" friendships will be made that hopeful will last a lifetime. And lest I forget, the donations will be very helpful during a period when the economy is stressing the resources of our nonprofits to the limit.

So let me close by thanking our friends at Jones Family Farms and Bishops Orchards for this innovative challenge, and we want you to go to the Jones Family Farms Facebook site right now and sign up to be a Fan - you'll be happy that you did!

And watch for another unique new challenge coming up next week at Valley United Way!!

IT'S CAMPAIGN SEASON!!!

EVEN AT VALLEY UNITED WAY!

In late August and early September, Jack Walsh and myself made numerous United Way presentations, some of which included the Shelton, Seymour and Derby School systems as well as Griffin Hospital and Basement Systems of Seymour.

We have already received very successful campaign results from the Shelton school system who is up 85% from last year, the Seymour school system who is up 22%, Griffin Hospital who is up 20% as well as Basement Systems whose employees took a 'surprise $100 bonus each' from their CEO, Larry Janesky and combined it with additional personnel funds to increase their campaign almost 900%!!! WOW!!

These fantastic results could not be possible without the help of school Superintendants, CEO's and Campaign Coordinators at each location. We would like to thank the following people for their time, effort and dedication to Valley United Way in helping to make our community an even better place to live.

Shelton School System: Freeman Burr, Kathy Riddle, Sandie Zuraw.
Seymour School System: MaryAnne Mascolo, Christine Syriac, April Judd, Karen Wilczewski, Judy Laudati, Roxanne Lindgren, Lucille McGinn, Pat Sabatini, Alison Cunningham, Darlene O'Callaghan and Sue Duke.
Griffin Hospital: Patrick Charmel and Steve Mordecai
Basement Systems: Larry Janesky and Julie Morelli

A heartfelt thank you to all of you! More campaign info and results to come.....

Rachel's Challenge a success at Derby High School

In addition to the regular allocations process, Valley United way generally offers a special round of funding for special needs grants that match the intent of donors who have designated certain areas of special interest. Though the grants tend to be much smaller then regular allocations, they can still make a major difference in a community. A good example is the grant made to the Derby Youth Services Bureau earlier this year.

Director John Saccu requested funding for help "keeping kids safe and on track". We would like to assume that schools are inherently safe places, but this week's tragedy at UCONN brings home the reality that there can be problems.

John wanted to create a series of real life situations through interactive theatre and improvisational role-laying by teens. Last Friday, the program came to life at Derby High School in the form of Rachels' Challenge. Rather than giving our own report, you can read about the program through students in the Journalism Class who wrote their story for the Valley Indepependent sentinel. Click here to read their account of "emotionally-charged silence".

New edition of the VUW e-newsletter posted today

'Click here to read the latest edition of Valley United Way's e-newsletter.'

Bill Nimons is now Platinum!

In an earlier blog, I congratulated Dave Grant and Pat Tarasovic for the community awards that they were receiving, and as if to prove that things happen in threes - I have another Valley United Way volunteer to congratulate. Board Member Bill Nimons has just been announced as this year's winner of the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce's highest award for community service - The Platinum Award.

The award criteria speaks for itself. It is for someone who has been recognized with the Chamber's Gold Seal Award at least 10 years ago, and still remains active in the Community. Bill received his Gold Seal Award in 1990, but you would think it was just yesterday with his incredible and ongoing record of involvement. Bill was Chair of the Annual Community Fund Raising campaign back in 1986 and served as President of the Board in 1991. He is back on the Board now and is the Treasurer. You can read more about him by visiting the story about his 2006 Charles H. Flynn Humanitarian Award.

Bill will receive his award along with the Gold and Silver Award recipients at the Gold Seal Awards dinner in November. You can make reservations by visiting the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce website.

Third grade reading and prison!

This morning, the Valley Council for Health & Human Services' Early Childhood Task Force held an interesting breakfast with Elaine Zimmerman, Executive Director of the Connecticut Commission on Children as the speaker. She was there to discuss child poverty in Connecticut and the fact that 35,000 Connecticut children will fall into poverty during the current recession. She presented an overwhelming body of evidence including statistics showing the terrible costs of this problem.

One bit of information that jumped out at me was an assertion that third grade reading scores are being used to forecast future needs for prison capacity! On the surface that may seem surprising; but when you think of the long term impact that a lack of reading skills can have on someone's life, it is not as surprising as it may seem. She further made the link to pre-school education programs and the beneficial effects of ensuring that all children arrive at kindergarten with the basic skills needed to succeed.

She pointedly remarked that the Valley's efforts in this area are outstanding and that the level of cooperation that she has seen throughout the area is remarkable. What she didn't realize was that she indirectly played a role in helping to facilitate that collaboration years ago.

Just about fifteen years ago, she spoke in that same room at a Valley United Way government breakfast - and she spoke about early childhood and children back then as well. The group in the room included not only government leaders, but also the nonprofit health and human services agencies. The year before, a similar breakfast focused on substance abuse and resulted in the formation of the Valley Substance Abuse Action Council. This time Elaine's message was overshadowed by a proposed state plan to regionalize the delivery of services that would have had a devastating effect on the delivery of service to Valley constituents.

The group in attendance banded together and got the state to change the proposal to keep the Valley together and ensure that the Valley delivery system would remain intact. What also happened is that group realized the potential for working together and decided to form the Valley Council for Health & Human Services which has continued to meet monthly ever since to foster cooperation and collaboration among Valley nonprofits.

It was only fitting to have Elaine back today in light of the fact that the very first committee formed by the Valley Council was a youth committee which has evolved into the current Early Childhood Task Force!

Let me close with one very positive statistic that Elaine gave which shows why the work of the Task Force is so important. She noted that the return on every dollar invested in early childhood is 16 dollars. That's an amazing statistic, and one that we in the Valley should be very proud of.

Thank you for a great start

I want to take a moment this morning to thank everyone involved with last night's Community Fund Raising Campaign Kickoff held at the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital. Patrick Charmel and everyone at Griffin Hospital could not have been more accommodating in sponsoring the event. Their own leadership in supporting the community and United Way is extraordinary and we are all very fortunate to have such a great community hospital serving our needs. The full story with lots of pictures can be found on our website.

The attendance was great even though it was an unseasonably chilly night for the end of September. That was more than made up by the warmth and friendship of everyone in attendance. The food was great as always, but the friendships were even better. We couldn't have a better Campaign Chair then Fred Ortoli. Fred is the perfect example of a community leader as you could tell from not only his own background, but also his remarks during the program.

Mike Marcinek, who has chaired four of these campaigns, did a great job as master of ceremonies in keeping the program moving and informative. The audience was responsive throughout the evening, and I hope that everyone enjoyed themselves and that we are all now prepared for the work ahead in making this year's campaign as successful as possible.

Watch for regular updates throughout the campaign.

Community Campaign Begins Tonight!

After an incredible weekend with the Harvest House, it's time to turn our attention to the Annual Community Fund Raising Campaign, which is the heart and soul of the United Way mission. Activities such as Harvest House and Back to School Clothes for Kids are incredible examples of the community coming together to meet identified needs, but we can't lose sight of the financial need involved in providing those services.

Tonight marks the formal start to this year's Community Fund Raising Campaign, and we have the ideal setting to begin the venture. Griffin Hospital is celebrating their 100th year of service to the Valley this year, and they are hosting the Kickoff at the new Center for Cancer Care in Derby. The program starts at 5:30 PM and the community is invited, but reservations for this free event are needed. Just visit our website and fill out the form!

What an incredible weekend! In case you missed the earlier stories, our Corporate Volunteer Council invited the community to help them build a house made of non-perishable food items, Harvest House III, this past weekend, and the response was fantastic. Rather than a long blog, the best way to see this incredible project is to look at the pictures and videos on our website.

Today, the most important part of the project will take place when the house is taken apart and the food is distributed to food banks throughout the Valley area to help alleviate the growing shortage of food in the Valley area. We'll have more pictures and a full story later today.

And just another quick reminder that the Annual Community Campaign Kickoff is Wednesday at Griffin's Center for Cancer care in Derby. You can make your reservation on our website.

Harvest House III

If you really want to see a community coming together to meet a need, you need to stop by the Riverwalk in Shelton on Saturday to witness Harvest House III. The need for food in the Valley has risen dramatically in the last year, and our food banks have been stressed to the limits to meet the demand. Earlier this year, we had stories about Griffin Hospital's incredible food donation marking their 100th birthday and the annual postal workers food drives. As amazing as those were, the Harvest House is a spectacle that is hard to match.

As I write this, a tent is being erected on the Riverwalk which will be followed later this afternoon by the plywood walls of our new "house" erected under the tent by a bunch of volunteer "handymen". By tomorrow morning at 9:00 am all will be ready for the 100s of volunteers who will descend on the house to complete the construction of the house with tons of nonperishable food items. You literally have to see this to believe it!

Saturday's event has received a real boost from a collaborative effort with the Echo Hose Ambulance Service which is celebrating their 60th anniversary with a Family Fund Day and concert by the Highland Rovers from 2:00 - 6:00 pm. right next to the Harvest House on the Riverwalk

On Sunday (Pray for good weather!) the house will be on public display and on Monday, all the food will be carted away to area food banks and the walls will be taken down and stored for another day.

This event is put on by our incredible Corporate Volunteer Council and involves hundreds of volunteers. It is also made possible by the sponsorships that provide the funding to make this work. We have a complete list of all the sponsors and CVC members that you can find here

We'll have plenty of pictures and maybe even some video on the website as early as tonight when we start by showing you what HealthNet is doing today. So come back to the website regularly to follow the weekend's events.

Awards, Awards & More Awards!

Though people do not expect honors for the work that they do, it's always special when you are recognized for rising above ordinary performance to a level that others recognize as above and beyond the call of duty. And this week we received news that a Board member and a staff member at Valley United Way have been selected for special honors. And on top of that, last night I attended a dinner in Southbury where one of our best supporters also received special recognition.

I doubt that anyone will be surprised to see that Pat Tarasovic has been chosen as a "Woman Making a Difference in the Valley" by the The Valley Women's Health Initiative. Pat's work with the Volunteer Center, the Youth Leaership Program, the Corporate Volunteer Council and the High School Volunteer Council signifies her deep rooted passion for improving lives in the Valley, and the award couldn't be more fitting.

And just yesterday, we also received the great news that Board member Dave Grant has been chosen for not one, but two special awards. Dave will be receiving The Valley Philanthropy Council Distinguished Volunteer of the Year Award and The Association of Fundraising Professionals Award for Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser. Dave chaired last year's Annual Community Campaign and is currently serving as President of the Derby/Shelton Rotary Club - He's the first to do that twice! Dave is going to have to find time on his busy schedule to accept the two awards; and if you know Dave, that will not be easy.

On top of that, last night I had the great pleasure to join many of my United Way colleagues from around the state at a reception in Southbury where St. Mary's Hospital presented Webster Bank with their Champions Award. It was quite an evening, and it's very obvious that "The Webster Way" is much more than a business slogan for the people who work at Webster Bank. They have a special commitment to the communities where they live and work to make them better places, and St. Mary's award was symbolic of the great respect that all of us have for Webster Bank's commitment to their communities. As always Jim Smith could not have been more gracious in accepting the award on behalf of all the Webster employees and the heritage that has been a hallmark of the bank since its inception in Waterbury during the Great Depression.

So this is a week to celebrate a dedicated staff member, a committed community volunteer and and a generous and caring corporate leader. We are all better

DERBY, SEYMOUR AND SHELTON SCHOOLS KICK-OFF 2009 CAMPAIGN SEASON

As the summer winds down, campaign season gears up for the Valley United Way with Derby, Seymour and Shelton schools busy conducting their employee campaigns.

In Seymour, Superintendant of Schools, MaryAnne Mascolo, spoke of the importance of the United Way in the community and the difference pledges make to their agencies. She also noted that the agencies provide necessary programs to enhance the behavioral health of all students.

In Shelton, MC Lorraine Rosner, former advisor to the High School Volunteer Council, gave a plug for United Way followed by the new school representatives Sandie Zuraw and Kathy Riddle. Kathy stated that the 2009 Shelton campaign would be dedicated to the late, great Ed Morocco who was the campaign chairman in Shelton for the last decade! Superintendant Freeman Burr concluded by urging all faculty and staff to participate in the United Way campaign.

And finally in Derby, Dr. Steve Tracy, superintendant of schools, spoke of the importance United Way has in the community and asked his entire staff to pledge $1 per week over the year to enhance programs supported by United Way.

This school year sees the Derby and Seymour school systems with representatives in most school buildings to assist with pledge collection and distributing information on other events sponsored by United Way. We would like to thank Nancy Maleri, Betsy Seabury, Cathy Pomeroy, Kelly Foley, Donna Pysz and Kathy Brown from the Derby schools as well as Sue Duke, Darlene O’Callaghan, Alison Cunningham, Lucille McGinn, Pat Sabatini, Judy Laudati, Roxanne Lindgren and Karen Wilczewski from Seymour for their assistance! We greatly appreciate the time and effort they dedicate to their respective campaigns.

Back to School - new beginnings

This is a very busy and exciting week at United Way as it is also for children and teachers around the Valley. While the first day of school for students is staggered between this week and next, all of the teachers will be back this week. It's an exciting time for all of them, and also for us as we will be getting an early start on this year's Community Campaign with meetings with teachers in Seymour, Derby and Shelton this week.

Those three schools traditionally run their United Way campaigns with their welcoming and in-service training programs for the teachers. It's a very upbeat time, and Laurel and myself really enjoy making presentations to the teachers as we are both former teachers in Valley school systems ourselves so it gives us a chance to renew old friendships at the same time that we do the campaigns.

Teachers in the Valley have always been generous supporters of United Way and I think that they see the value of services provided to community nonprofits to their students on almost a daily basis.

Our relationship with the schools has been a very strong one, and we will have another remarkable example of this on Thursday when our Volunteer Center's Corporate Volunteer Council holds their annual Back-to-School Clothes-for-Kids party at Irving School in Derby. The Council adopts a Valley school every year and clothes needy children for the start of the new school year. They rotate among the Valley towns, and this year they are back in Derby which was the site of the very first program in 1996. This year they are working with both Irving and Bradley Schools and over 200 children will receive clothing at the reception at Irving School on Thursday. We'll have plenty of coverage on our website later in the week, but this is one of the great "feel good" days of the entire year as you will see with the coverage this week.

We have plenty of other involvements with the schools ranging from our role with the Discovery early education programs to the High School Volunteer Council. During the last school year, I had the pleasure to serve on Shelton's Early Childhood Development Steering Committee and Derby's C.I.A.C. Athletic Review Committee. At Valley United Way, we believe very strongly in the work of the educational system in the Valley and appreciate the opportunity to assist where we can.

Just as the schools are beginning a new year, this is also the start of a new United Way Community Campaign, and we are pleased that we share in each others work and opportunities to make the Valley a better place to live and work.

Shelton Early Childhood Development

Steering Committee