United Way
of Addison County Thursday, October 25, 2018
Let’s address our challenges as neighbors Together we can give, advocate and volunteer
Dear Neighbors, Living in Addison County is a gift. The breathtaking views alone make our little corner of the world an enviable place to live (not to mention the maple creemees and cheese!). I grew up in Ferrisburgh, spent a few years in a cornfield in Iowa, and am delighted to be raising my children in Vergennes with my husband. This is home, and I love it here. Addison County is so close knit that we consider everyone who lives here a neighbor. When you walk down Main Street, you may greet everyone you meet by name. The cashier at the grocery store may ask how your child is enjoying soccer this year. The barista at your favorite café may not have to ask for your order. And if someone mails something to your old address, the post office may deliver it to your current address because they know what the sender intended. It is in this spirit that United Way of Addison County seeks to address the most serious challenges facing our community — we work with our neighbors for our neighbors. Chances are you are friends with someone who can’t afford healthcare. You may know parents who aren’t sure where their child’s next meal is coming from. You may have gone to school with someone who dropped out and (See Van Voorst, Page 3)
EMPLOYEES FROM MIDDLEBURY College Center for Community Engagement help tidy up the lovely garden at Hospice Volunteer Services in Middlebury.
350 caring volunteers helped make a difference Days of Caring is an annual United Way event that strives to connect employees of Addison County businesses and organizations, community members, and youth volunteers with local nonprofits in order to help the
volunteers develop a deeper understanding of local nonprofit agencies and give back to the Addison County community. This two-day event, which this year took place on Sept. 27 and Sept. 29, is big and exciting with a lot of
moving parts and a lot of participation. We had over 350 volunteers at nearly 35 sites spread out all over the county participating in different volunteer tasks. (See Days of Caring, Page 2)
Let’s build on our success, and achieve even more
Dear Friends and Partners, Last year was an overwhelmingly successful year for the United Way of Addison County (UWAC). At the start of 2018, we kicked off our 50th Anniversary Endowment Campaign with a $50,000 goal. We ended the anniversary campaign with $145,000 in gifts and pledges. These gifts are being used to secure the future of UWAC to ensure that we are able to continue serving Addison County for years to come. Our community also exceeded our campaign goal of $650,000 by $15,000. This speaks not only to your incredible generosity, but also to the trust our community has in UWAC to invest their donations where they will have the greatest impact for our friends, family, and neighbors. We recently kicked off our 2018-2019 Campaign, which my wife, Amy, and I are proud to be co-chairing. Building on the success
of last year, we have increased our goal to $660,000. I am excited to announce that we’ve had a strong start this year’s campaign — but we still need your help. Your contribution will help deliver vital human services in the three areas we believe to be critical at every stage in life: • Health: domestic violence, substance abuse prevention and recovery • Education: early childhood education, youth success • Financial stability: transportation, homelessness, hunger, poverty Our volunteer Community Impact Funding Team works vigorously to assess where our community needs the greatest support and ensures that your contributions are effective in supporting those needs. As I reflect on my five years of board service
with UWAC, I am struck by the power of community. I am honored to have had the opportunity to witness first-hand how our community works together to address early childhood education, hunger, poverty, domestic violence, healthcare, workforce development, youth success, substance abuse prevention and recovery, transportation, homelessness, and more. We are making progress, but there is still work to be done and we need you to be a part of the solution. If you haven’t already, please join Amy and myself in contributing to UWAC’s 2018-2019 Campaign. We truly are stronger when we Live United. Sincerely, John Dale Board Chair & Campaign Co-Chair United Way of Addison County
John Dale