With one gift to United Way, you address so many critical needs. Below, take a look at the lives your gift changes each year when you choose to support your community through United Way.
View a complete list of the 102 quality programs that receive funding from United Way’s Community Program Fund.
United Way helped me learn to read
At the Salvation Army’s Cab Horse Commons Daycare Center, preschoolers learn the building blocks for primary education. Read about it here.
At The Salvation Army’s Cab Horse Commons Daycare Center, preschoolers learn the building blocks for primary education. What seems like child’s play is actually structured lessons that help kids learn socialization, problem-solving, and how to behave together in a classroom. And children learn the basics of reading, building a foundation for a lifetime of literacy.
But The Salvation Army’s and other United Way-funded childcare programs benefit the community on multiple levels. While their children safely learn, low-income parents are able to find and keep jobs. And families that fall on hard times are referred to programs that can help them get back on their feet.
Last year, United Way donors helped place 633 children in high-quality, affordable childcare at The Salvation Army, Catholic Charities of Onondaga County and Huntington Family Centers.
United Way helped me feed the hungry
Every month brings new faces into Central New York’s food pantries. Read more here.
Every month brings new faces into Central New York’s food pantries. They’re people who have been laid off from work, families with spouses stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and working families that just can’t make ends meet. “Often, they’re embarrassed to seek help at first,” says Margaret Gere-Planer, who runs the Syracuse Northeast Community Center’s pantry, “but they’re reassured to discover that we treat them with respect and can refer them to so many supports to help them get back on their feet.”
Across Onondaga County, need continues to be up, according to the Food Bank of Central New York, which supplies food to a network of 91 food pantries and soup kitchens. Pantries don’t just distribute food, they help families apply for food stamps, rent assistance, family counseling, childcare and a network of services that can help them become self-sufficient.
Last year, United Way donors helped provide 193,071 meals to people of all ages suffering from hunger.
United Way helped me heal
Just one night changed Jen’s life forever. She was held captive for 14 hours and raped repeatedly. She was left with bruises on her face and cuts all over her body – but alive. “I kept the secret for more than a year,” she recalls. “Then one day I fell apart.”
A school counselor referred Jen to Vera House. She started therapy and the nightmares started going away. A Vera House counselor suggested she become a victim advocate.
“I spoke at the annual Report to the Community,” Jen said. “I was terrified but I got through it. Afterward, a woman in her 30s approached me and said the same thing had happened to her in high school, and she had never told anyone. That was when I knew I had to do this work for the rest of my life.”
Today, Jen is happily married and works as an advocate for abused children. She’s spoken about her experience dozens of times, and her healing continues. “You never get over it, but it gets better,” she said. “And I’m thankful to be a survivor.”
Last year, United Way donors helped 1,765 people affected by domestic violence, rape and sexual assault – including men, women, and children – by providing food, shelter, counseling, advocacy and therapy.
United Way helped me find a safe place to live
Most college students come home to familiar rooms and a welcoming family. But other students have no safe place to go during the summer. Some have aged out of foster care, have parents who are incarcerated, or, like Brian (center), were raised by a grandparent who is now in an assisted living facility.
On Point for College helps college students who have no one in their family with college experience – or no family support at all. On Point helps with rides to and from school, school supplies, mentoring – and in this case, a safe place to live. For the past decade, Le Moyne College has opened its doors to these and many other students during the summer by providing safe dorms for them to live in. And to these students, the caring support On Point provides is nothing short of a miracle.
“They just opened up their hearts to me like no one has ever done before in my life,” says Brian. “They’re the guardians I never had.”
Since On Point for College was founded in 1999, United Way donors have helped more than 2,000 youths – many with no parent in their lives – enroll in college.
United Way helped me when I was at my most vulnerable
For Judi, another day at work is another heartbreaking story, another stolen social security check, another cleaned-out bank account. Judi helps senior citizens whose families abuse them and steal from them. But luckily Judi is there with the Syracuse Jewish Family Services’ Solutions program to fight the abuse and get their money back.
When Judi met Martin, he was suffering from dementia and a family member was stealing his Social Security checks and trying to sell his house.
“They stole everything inside,” she said. “They didn’t even leave him a jacket.”
Judi put a stop to the theft and found Martin a room at Van Duyn Home & Hospital on the same floor as his sister.
“I told her Martin was down the hall and she could visit him anytime, and she just cried with joy,” Judi recalls. “When you see such abuse and sadness, to see something as joyful as this is really special.”
Last year, United Way donors helped 4,119 senior citizens in Onondaga County through programs that combat elder abuse and provide help living safely and independently, as well as meals and socialization, recreation and financial assistance.
United Way helped me find respite care for my child
In most respects, Andrew’s an average three-year-old – smart, lively, and inquisitive, with a smile big enough to brighten any room. But he also has developmental delays – he can’t yet walk and he still struggles with words. He’s making progress and he works hard at his therapy, but finding childcare is a struggle because of his special needs.
Enter Karen, a respite provider from Exceptional Family Resources. Karen has years of experience providing care for kids with special needs, so for 10 hours each month, his mom Kristen can go shopping or visit a friend without worrying if Andrew’s okay.
“It feels good knowing he’s in good hands,” Kristen said. “He really loves spending time with Karen, and it’s basically the only time I get to myself.”
Last year, United Way donors provided 4,231 hours of respite care to families with special needs in Onondaga County.
United Way helped me touch the lives of others
Every call is different. One caller might be an elderly person in a nursing home, with no friends and family. The next might be a teen struggling with a secret pregnancy and contemplating suicide. Jude might not be able to solve all their problems, but she’ll provide a soothing voice and a caring ear – and before the call ends, she’ll provide every bit of help she can to the caller.
Contact Community Services’ Telephone Counseling Services program not only provides people in crisis with a person to talk to – it offers referrals to dozens of programs that can help them solve their problems, from domestic violence to legal problems to homelessness and hunger. But as Jude and the other volunteer telephone counselors quickly learn, sometimes the only thing that’s needed is a conversation.
“There are a lot of lonely people out there with no other person to talk to or turn to,” she said. “Those are the calls that are most near and dear to my heart – if I can be someone’s human connection, I truly feel like I’ve made a difference.”
Last year, Contact Community Services’ Telephone Counseling Services program answered 37,085 phone calls from people who have nowhere else to turn.
United Way helped me avoid isolation
Originally from Queens, NY, Dorothy moved to Syracuse after she retired to be closer to her two granddaughters and take advantage of the cheaper rent.
“When you’re living on Social Security, you might as well go with the flow,” she laughs.
But Dorothy quickly found that moving away from friends meant she didn’t get out nearly as much, and she began to feel isolated.
The Dorothy heard about The Salvation Army for the organization’s Adult Day Services program.
“It gets you out of the house, among friends, and there are always games, arts and crafts and activities to keep your mind sharp,” she said. “I live in a senior apartment complex and sitting around there looking at four walls is no fun. Better to have someplace where you have friends to sit and talk with, and each and every day you’ll find something to laugh about together.”
Last year, United Way donors helped 4,119 senior citizens in Onondaga County through programs that combat elder abuse and provide help living safely and independently, as well as meals and socialization, recreation and financial assistance.
United Way helped me build a new future
Two years ago, Andrew moved to Syracuse from Kentucky to live with his brother. Things didn’t work out and before he knew it, he was living on the streets, woefully unprepared for a bitter Upstate New York winter.
“My jacket was too small and my boots were worn out. I’d just sit around cold all night afraid to lie down. When I started getting kicked out of spots that I was using to get warm and not eating for a day or two at a time, I knew I was in trouble,” Andrew recalled.”
A friend told Andrew he might be able to stay at Barnabas House, so he struck out down Salina Street but couldn’t find it. Miles later, in freezing temperatures, he finally knocked on the door. “The staff said I was so sick and tired they couldn’t even understand me,” he said.
Now Andrew is looking for his own place and recently landed his dream job at Foot Locker, and has more hope for the future than ever before in his life. “If being the best I can be means hard work, then that’s what I’m going to do,” he said. “And I’m so grateful to The Salvation Army. If they turned me down I wouldn’t be here today. And I hope telling my story might help save someone’s life.”
Last year, United Way donors provided 122,640 nights of safe shelter to individuals and families of all ages, including the unemployed and chronically homeless.
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