Since 1921, when it was founded as the Community Chest, the United Way of Eastern Fairfield County has played a vital role in addressing community needs. It played this role by raising money, then disbursing these dollars to agencies providing human services to those who need them most.

Our society has changed a lot in those 83 years, and as our people have grown more diverse, so have our needs. To meet those changing needs, human service and community development agencies not only rely on dollars, but they require coordinated efforts and large numbers of volunteers to deliver their programs and services. Stakeholders from across the community must be brought together to make collaborative decisions on how best to address those needs.

The United Way is rising to meet these challenges. In addition to its traditional fundraising efforts, the “new” United Way stands ready to mobilize community resources and muster volunteers. Our Virtual Volunteer Center and/or our annual Day of Caring sent hundreds of volunteers into the towns the United Way of Eastern Fairfield County serves: Bridgeport, Stratford, Trumbull, Fairfield, Easton and Monroe.

“We recognize that our society and its needs have changed, so we have adopted a new mission,” said Merle Berke-Schlessel, Esq., president and chief professional officer of the United Way of Eastern Fairfield County. “We are working to improve people’s lives by mobilizing the caring power of our communities. To do this, we will energize and inspire people to make a difference.”

Specifically, each program the United Way funds – either with dollars or volunteers – will address needs in one of six areas:

• Nurturing children and youth
• Strengthening families
• Supporting older people
• Providing basic human needs
• Promoting health, wellness and safety
• Increasing self-sufficiency

One example of how the new United Way of Eastern Fairfield County is meeting these challenges is found in a program called Kith & Kin. Using a grant, the United Way brought together five partners to train in-home child care providers – frequently, grandparents or other relatives of the children they care for – to improve the quality of care they provide. To date, thirty-nine informal child care providers have completed an intensive 8-part training in first aid, nutrition, safety,and other provider areas as part of the Kith and Kin Project.

This new mission completes United Way’s evolution from a fundraising body to an impact-driven community change agent. “We will not turn away from the work the United Way has done so well for so long,” Berke-Schlessel said. “The annual fundraising campaign will remain a powerful tool. The difference is we now view the campaign as a means to an end – community impact – rather than an end in itself.”

“We provide local solutions to local needs,” said Richard P. Bodine, Jr., of the Bodine Corporation, former chair of the United Way of Eastern Fairfield County board of directors. “Our board members – volunteers who are many of the leading corporate and private citizens of our local area – decide how we can best allocate our resources to address the needs in these areas.”

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