About United Way

At the United Way, we believe that WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER and that it is only by being UNITED that we can change the world for the better.

In Westchester and Putnam more than 40 percent of households are living in poverty or paycheck to paycheck, what we call ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). These are often hardworking families struggling to make ends meet and provide a better life for their children. But for these families, when funds run short, they are forced to make impossible choices between child care or paying the rent… filling a prescription, or fixing a car. They are our preschool teachers, home health aides, waiters and waitresses, security guards, and retail salespeople – workers essential to keeping all our communities and economies humming, yet who struggle to pay their own basic bills.

In order to assist our neighbors to become more self-sufficient, our United Way mobilizes strategic partnerships and leverages resources to create a more equitable community by advancing education, financial stability, and health initiatives.

We achieve results in three ways …

Firstly, by investing dollars or essential goods in programs with proven results:

In 2022, we administered more than $1.7 mil in grants to our nonprofit partners
And contributed more than $6.2 million in essential goods like books, school supplies, diapers, food, blankets, pillows, and the like. All new items mind you.

Secondly, we also provide direct services to those who struggle through:

Our free, confidential 2-1-1 Helpline has had more than 500K interactions providing information and referrals around basic human needs for people in crisis
Our RideUnited Food Distribution program, as well as other food distribution efforts, just celebrated its 75K delivery
And our United2Read Early Childhood Literacy Program distributed more than 44K books to at-risk children each year

And finally, we foster collaborations with community stakeholders, leaders, and partners to change the way we look at and solve problems. For example:

We organize annually the capacity building event for the nonprofit community, the Nonprofit Leadership Summit, which welcomed more than 2,000 attendees last year
We lead or participate in several surveys annually including this year the 2020 NYS ALICE Report as well as the NYS COVID-19 Economic Impact survey. The information gathered will help us identify trends and local needs, and enable us to work with community partners to provide resources and support
We co-lead the 21-Day Racial Equity and Social Justice Challenge to help our community value diversity, promote equitable treatment, foster inclusivity at all levels, and eliminate discrimination in all forms.
And we participate in more than 60 community-wide Task Forces and Committees focused on Systemic Change around issues of Poverty, Homelessness Prevention, Disaster Response, and the like.

In total, we collaborated with more than 350 nonprofit partners and governmental agencies and leveraged or invested more than $24.2 million in our community.

Ultimately, our United Way provides help for today, hope for tomorrow, and the resources to build a better future for our local community.

Learn more about YOUR United Way

What we do
Get to know our board and staff
Read our financial statements and 990

Get involved

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