2011

We are excited to share with you the ways in which United Way of Greater New Haven is creating opportunities for a better life for those in our region who need help. By focusing on the building blocks of a good quality of life – Education, Income,and Health – United Way is improving lives in our community.

Over this past year, thanks to the generosity of over 10,000 donors and the commitment of hundreds of partners, United Way made $7.3 million available to address the key issues facing our community. As a result, more children are prepared for school, more individuals and families are financially stable, and more people have nutritious food.

We know that creating real, lasting change in our community takes the combined efforts of all of us working towards a common goal. United Way serves as a community leader by recruiting the people and organizations who bring the passion, expertise and resources needed to get things done.

As you read this report, we invite you to consider how YOU can get involved. Together, united, we can change what we see in our region and create opportunities for a better tomorrow.

On behalf of all of us at United Way of Greater New Haven, thank you for your continued commitment and support and for advancing the common good for all.

Sincerely,

Jack Healy, CEO & PresidentUnited Way of Greater New Haven

Nearly 400 home health visits were made to uninsured or underinsured individuals to prevent re-hospitalization and aid recovery.

Through Neighbor-to-Neighbor Lifeline, more than 145,000 additional meals were served at soup kitchens and shelters.

DEAR FRIENDS,

EDUCATION: Helping children and youth achieve their potential

INCOME: Helping Families Become Financially Stable

HEALTH: Helping people become active and healthy

Nearly 1,000 young children attended high quality early care and education, giving them a strong foundation for school and for life. Parents involved in Success By 6® programs reported learning more about how to support their young child’s development and learning.

Nearly 50 community-based organizations volunteered to partner with Boost! schools to provide wraparound services; 40% of the programs brought new resources to the schools. For the 2011-12 school year, Boost! will leverage more than $400,000 in wraparound programming into the schools.

More than 150 households, many of whom were facing homelessness, secured stable housing.

More than 125 people secured employment, an essential step on the path to financial stability.

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, supported by UWGNH, brought back over $1.7 million dollars in Earned Income Tax Credits to low-income families in our community, which contributes to our region’s overall economy.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

uwgnh.org

Results from United Way’s Work

THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR A GOOD LIFEWe all need the basic building blocks for a good life: a quality education that leads to a stable job; income that can support a family; and good health.

Metropolitan Business Academy, an inter-district magnet high school, draws its student body from at least 10 different towns in the region. Principal Judy Puglisi and her team met with United Way staff to talk about how to keep their students engaged in school – not only to prevent dropouts, but to get the teens invested in and connected to the school. As the team brainstormed ideas, they talked about things that the school staff could do to support students’ connection to school – and ways that outside partners could help. This approach of integrating school and community resources to produce measurable results is the heart of the Boost! model. With help from United Way through Boost!, Metro has brought in new community-based partners to create more after-school programming, mentoring and tutoring programs, and mental health services. Principal Puglisi says, “Boost! has really helped us to open our doors and bring the community into the school; we are able to offer so much more to our students because of this partnership with United Way.”

Boost! is a partnership between United Way of Greater New Haven, the City of New Haven and the New Haven Public Schools to ensure young people’s success in school and in life. Boost! is an element of the New Haven School Change Initiative and complements improvements in the schools by “wrapping around” the school day with supports and services that have been shown to contribute to academic success such as extended learning opportunities, family support and engagement, and social, behavioral and physical health.

ABOUT BOOST!

CHANGINGED

UCAT

ION

LIVESIMPROVINGCOURSES

A child who benefits from a high-quality learningenvironment is more likely to be employed and own ahome than a child who does not begin with thisstrong foundation.

Academic attainment is one of the single-most critical predictors of outcomes such as personal health, life expectancy, earnings and civic participation. Completing high school and earning a post-secondary degree greatly increase individual income and economic well-being, helping to strengthen and stabilize the community.

United Way seeks to change the course of children’s futures through education.

uwgnh.org

Coordinating Community Resourcesto Support Student Achievement

Support Student

CoordinatingCommunityResources to

Achievement

FINDING A WAY.The American ideal is that hard work will lead to success and that, regardless of one’s origins, America is the land of opportunity. However, that ideal is in peril. Even with more than one family member bringing in wages, many families are barely getting by, with no ability to save for college, a home, or retirement. Individuals who have limited literacy, math, and computer skills face significant challenges to finding work that can support a family − challenges that have been exacerbated by the loss of well-paying manufacturing jobs in our region.

GETTINGSMARTABOUTMONEY

IMPROVEDFINANCIAL

A family in New Haven with a moderate income had a child in her first year of college, and the parents were facing what felt like insurmountable red-ink at the end of each month. The parents and student were working, but the bills didn’t add up. By working with a SAM budget coach, the family learned to look at their income and expenses collectively – including the new obligations that college required – and discovered ways to decrease their household expenses. Staying in college is more viable and the household is more stable now that the family is in the black at the end of the month.

LIFE

It makes sense to get Smart About Money. When jobs are scarce and essential expenses are rising, lower-income households struggle to bring their income and expenses into balance.

The households in Smart About Money (SAM), a budget coaching program run by United Way, learned that they could get smart about how they spend their money, and make lasting changes to improve their financial situation.

SAM matches volunteer budget coaches with lower-income households to help participants set and achieve financial goals – getting out of debt, saving for a car, or making it to the end of the month with money left over to put in savings. The Annie E. Casey Foundation and United Way of Greater New Haven are partners in the program, which serves residents of New Haven, Hamden, East Haven and West Haven. Volunteer budget coaches receive training to prepare them to work with a participating household. Coaches and participants use a curriculum focused on identifying income and expenses, creating household budgets, tracking spending, and developing realistic financial goals.

Together, SAM participants and coaches get results:

• 66% participants deposited at least $300 in savings • 55% participants reduced household debt• 44% participants increased household income

“Being able to coach people through real financial hardships with success,” notes one coach, “is intrinsically rewarding.”

POSITIVEIN

COM

EMAKING

CHANGE

SmartAboutMoney

uwgnh.org

THE RIGHT DIRECTIONAs part of its Success By 6® initiative, United Way launched a new Early Head Start program in New Haven to address a pressing community need: more high-quality infant and toddler child care for low-income families. United Way secured federal funding for the program through a competitive application process. Early Head Start provides a high-quality, nurturing learning environment for infants and toddlers and helps increase parents’ knowledge about how to support their child’s growth and development. United Way’s Early Head Start Program includes three community partners: All Our Kin, Life Haven, and LULAC.

LaShanda (not her real name) is a parent in the Early Head Start program at Life Haven, a homeless shelter for women and children. LaShanda was a resident in the Life Haven shelter; she became homeless because of her struggle with drug addiction. LaShanda entered Life Haven with her two-year-old son. Through his participation in Early Head Start, he has made remarkable developmental gains for a child with special needs, learning to talk in sentences, answer questions, and walk more stably. The program also helped LaShanda become more involved with her son’s learning and encouraged her to complete her GED. LaShanda’s story typifies the positive impact of Early Head Start on children and families.

Success By 6® is United Way of Greater New Haven’s initiative to ensure that more children throughout the region come to school ready to learn and have a solid foundation for lifelong success.

We know the years between birth and six are a time of tremendous growth and development. The experiences children have in their earliest years determine the actual structure of their brains and lay the foundation for their ability to learn, as well as their emotional and behavioral well-being. The stakes are high – these early years matter, not only for young children and their families, but also for our entire community.

SUCCESS BY 6®

FORECASTING

EDUC

ATIO

N

BRIGHTFUTURES

Education is the foundation for a good life, setting anindividual on a path of personal fulfillment and socialcontribution. Today’s children are tomorrow’s workforce, and United Way believes that ensuring children achieve academically is the recipe for success in our community.

While low academic achievement profoundly impacts an individual, the implications are magnified when the multi-generational effect is considered. Children who grow up in poverty are at greater risk of raising children in poverty – a cruel cycle of diminished life prospects. Ensuring that all children achieve academically is the United Way’s goal.

® United Way

uwgnh.org

COM

MUN

ITY

PART

NERS

Succes

s by 6

®

School

Age Y

outh

Econom

ic Oppo

rtunit

y

Housing

Health

Basic N

eeds

Communi

ty Enga

gement

Succes

s by 6

®

School

Age Y

outh

Econom

ic Oppo

rtunit

y

Housing

Health

Basic N

eeds

Communi

ty Enga

gement

Accreditation Facilitation Project •Agency on Aging of South Central CT, Inc.* • •AIDS Project New Haven* •All Our Kin* •The Annie E. Casey Foundation • •Asset Building Collaborative •Beth-El Center •Beulah Heights •Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern CT •Birmingham Group Health Services, • Domestic Violence Services of Greater New HavenBranford Counseling Center •Branford Early Childhood Collaborative •Bridges...A Community Support System, Inc. •Catholic Charities, Inc. Archdiocese of Hartford* •Center for Children’s Advocacy •Christian Community Action •City of New Haven* • • •City Wide Youth Coalition • •Clifford W. Beers Guidance Clinic, Inc.* • •Cluefest •Columbus House* • •Common Ground •Community Action Agency •Community Dining Room •Community Foundation of Greater New Haven •Community Mediation, Inc.* •Community Soup Kitchen •Connecticut Children’s Museum* •Connecticut Urban Education Fund* •The Consultation Center •Coordinating Council for Children in Crisis* •Cornell Scott Hill Health Center* •CT Parent Power •D.E.S.K. (Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen) •DataHaven •The Diaper Bank •East Haven Early Childhood Collaborative •Elmseed Enterprise Fund •Emergency Shelter Management Services •Family Wize •Farnam Neighborhood House, Inc. •FISH of Greater New Haven •Friends Center for Children •The Furniture Co-op •Gateway Community College •Girl Scouts of America •Greater New Haven Branch NAACP •Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund* •Greater New Haven Help Alliance •Greater New Haven Regional Alliance • to End HomelessnessGroundworks •Guilford Interfaith Ministries •Hamden Partnership for Young Children •Hamden Public Schools* •Harbor Health Services, Inc •

IRIS (Integrated Refugee and Immigrant • • Services)/Episcopal Social Services of the Diocese of CT*Jewish Family Services of New Haven, Inc.* •Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven •JUNTA for Progressive Action* • •LEAP (Leadership, Education, and Athletics • Partnership)*Leila Day Nursery* •Life Haven, Inc.* • •LULAC •Marrakech •Nation Drill Squad and Drum Corp. • •Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven* •New Haven 2020 •New Haven Boys & Girls Club* •New Haven Continuum of Care •New Haven Early Childhood Council •New Haven Free Public Library* •New Haven Health Department* •New Haven Home Ownership Center • •New Haven Home Recovery •New Haven Land Trust •New Haven Legal Assistance Association, Inc.* • •New Haven Public Schools* • • •The New Haven Reads Community Book • Bank, Inc.New Haven Urban Resources Initiative, Inc. •New Life Corporation •NexGen Leaders •Progreso Latino Fund •Re-Entry Roundtable • •The ROOF (Real Options Overcoming Foreclosure) • ProjectSalvation Army of New Haven •SARAH, Inc. KIDSTEPS • •The Shoreline Soup Kitchens & Pantries •Solar Youth •Soundview Family YMCA •South Central Behavioral Health Network* •State of CT/Community Services Program •STRIVE/New Haven, Inc.* •Student Parenting & Family Services, Inc. •TGWNN (The Group with No Name) •Theta Epsilon Omega Chapter •Town of Branford* •Town of Chester •Town of Guiford* •Town of Hamden* •Town of Milford •United Way 2-1-1 •VNA of South Central Connecticut, Inc.* •West Haven Child Development Center* •West Haven Community House Association, Inc.* •West Haven Early Childhood Collaborative •William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund •Women & Family Life Center •Youth Rights Media •

* Recognized for their leadership and employee support through the United Way campaignuwgnh.org

NEIGHBOR-TO-NEIGHBORLIFELINE

In the summer of 2011, United Way of Greater New Haven and New Haven Public Schools unveiled the first Summer Food Truck in the state of Connecticut. The food truck delivers two free nutritious meals a day to children living in under-served neighborhoods throughout New Haven.

Kids and teens do not stop needing healthy meals when school is out. For many low-income children, summer is a time of being hungry and undernourished because when school is closed for the summer, they don’t have access to healthy, reliable meals like the ones they receive at school during the school year. In fact, only 25% of the Connecticut children who are eligible for free and reduced price meals receive summer meals.

The Food Truck is an innovative solution that makes good food more accessible in New Haven to ensure that children have the nutrition they need for growing bodies and healthy brains.

PROMOTINGHE

ALTH

CHILDRENHEALTHY

AND ADULTS

United Way of Greater New Haven and The Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven launched Neighbor-to-Neighbor LifeLine (N2N) in the winter of 2009 to address the growing housing and hunger needs in Greater New Haven as a result of the worsening economy. N2N raised funds to invest in local organizations that meet emergency needs and help people avert crises. Since then, N2N has provided nearly $2 million to help meet emergency needs in Greater New Haven.

Sandy, a New Haven resident, and her children were fleeing from domestic violence and no longer had the option of staying with friends or family. An N2N grant for $100,000 to New Haven Home Recovery (NHHR) provided over 50 families with the support needed to regain a home.

Due to the program’s relationship with community landlords, NHHR was able to move Sandy and her children into a unit quickly. She is now stably housed and is able to successfully maintain her household on her own.

We believe that people of all ages should have the opportunity to be healthy, active, caring members of our community.

Health is strongly linked to education and income. Good health allows children to learn better, adults to increase their income through productive work, and older adults to avoid costly acute care incidents and unnecessary institutionalization.

FREE MEALS HEREFOR KIDS 18 & UNDER

uwgnh.org

IS A LIFESAVER

GIVE Join hands. Open your heart.United Way supports programs and initiatives that create change. Your contribution is the best and easiest way to help people right here in Greater New Haven lead better lives.

ADVOCATE Lend Your Muscle. Find Your Voice.Anyone can champion a cause. Whether you’re speaking out to improve education, income and health, reaching out to members of Congress, or wearing the LIVE UNITED shirt to show your support, you can help inspire hope and create opportunities for a better tomorrow.

VOLUNTEER Give An Hour. Give A Saturday.Discover the rewards of volunteering and give the gift of your time and talents. Whether it’s reading to children, leading financial literacy classes for hard-working families, or delivering meals to homebound seniors, there are hundreds of volunteer options available every day.

UNITED WAY OF GREATER NEW HAVEN900 Chapel Street, 10th Floor / New Haven, CT 06510 t 203.691.4231 / f 203.782.4329 / www.uwgnh.org

COMPANIES THAT LIVE UNITEDWe recognize and celebrate the following companies and organizations for demonstrating their commitment to creating lasting change in our community through their United Way employee campaign and leadership.

AAAAetna*Agilent*Albertus Magnus CollegeAlcoaAllen H. Goldberg & Associates*Amity Regional School DistrictAmphenol Products Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield*Area Cooperative Educational ServicesAT&TBank of America*Beaverdale Memorial Park*Ben & Jerry’sBest Buy*Big YBJ’s Wholesale*Bonton*Brenner, Saltzman,& Wallman LLP*Brescome Barton, Inc.*Burzenski & Company, P.C.*Carmody & Torrance LLPChubb Group of Insurance Companies*Citizen’s BankCity of New HavenComcast*Connecticut Container Corp.*Connex Credit Union*Covidien*CT State EmployeesDeloitte & Touche, LLPDurol Co.*East Haven Public SchoolsEder Brothers Inc.*Enterprise Rent-a-CarFedEx*First Niagara Financial Group*Foote SchoolGeorge Ellis Company*H. Pearce Real Estate

Halsey Associates, Inc.Hamden HallHamden Public SchoolsHartford Financial ServicesHomeGoodsHopkins SchoolHotel Duncan*Kevin Roche John Dinkaloo and Associates, LLC Knights of Columbus*Konowitz, Kahn & Company, P.C.Laticrete International, Inc.*Liberty Bank Foundation*Macy’s*Mason Inc.*McKesson Health Solutions*Monro Muffler*Murtha Cullina, LLCNationwide*NEU Specialty Engineered Materials, LLC/PolyOne*New Haven Public SchoolsNewAlliance Bank*NewAlliance Foundation*Newman Architects LLC*News 8 WTNHNorth Branford Public SchoolsNortheast Utilities*PCL Civil ConstructorsPelli Clarke Pelli Architects*People’s United Bank*Petra ConstructionPfizer*Pratt & WhitneyPrincipal Financial Group*Quinnipiac UniversityRaven’s Yoga*Regional Water Authority*Sargent Manufacturing*SchickSeward & Monde*

Shuster-Mettler Corporation*Sikorsky Aircraft*St. Martin de Porres AcademyStart Community BankStop & Shop*T.J. Maxx Target*TD BankThe Bilco Company*The New Haven Register*The Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation*Thompson & Peck, Inc.Town Fair Tire*Town of BranfordTown of GuilfordTown of HamdenTown of MadisonTown of North HavenTown of OrangeTown of West HavenTown of West Haven Fire Dept.Town of WoodbridgeUnited Aluminum Corporation*United Health Group*United Illuminating Company/Southern CT Gas*United Parcel Service*United Technologies*University of New HavenVine Products Manufacturing*Walmart*Webster Bank*Wells Fargo*West Haven Public SchoolsWiggin and Dana LLPWoodbridge Board of EducationYale-New Haven HospitalYale University*

*Recognized for their additional support through a corporate contribution

CORPORATE COMMUNITY CHAMPION

Honored for their long-standing leadership and support to the community through employee giving, volunteerism, and corporate contributions.

WORKING TOGETHER, WE CAN INSPIRE HOPE AND CREATE OPPORTUNITIES FOR A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL. THAT’S WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE UNITED.Designed by