Many of us tend to think of hunger at this time of year. The image of a family in our community spending a holiday without a decent meal on the table makes our hearts ache with sadness.

The Giving Garden at Coogan Farm raised 3,500 pounds of fresh, organic vegetables for the region’s hungry families, and reached 968 households in nine communities at the end of its second growing season.

Making a successful transition from the military into the civilian workforce can be difficult. Transitioning military veterans face the same challenges as any other job hunter – getting their résumé to the right people, learning how to sell themselves, tracking down promising leads, and following-up with employers, headhunters, and job placement agencies. Not many people are comfortable with this process and veterans have the added stress of trying to translate the skills they learned in the military into language that civilian employers can understand.

United Way held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its newest Mobile Food Pantry distribution site at St. Mary's Star of the Sea Church in New London on September 23. Click here to view a photo gallery of the event on Facebook.

You have an opportunity to support children's literacy as we partner with schools throughout New London County to help students achieve their academic goals. Read for the Record® is a national annual campaign from Jumpstart to bring children together with grownups to read the same book on the same day as we try to break a world record - again!

New 2-1-1 Connecticut website includes a more powerful search engine and a design that adapts to any sized screen

Join us for a communitywide picnic and to help kick off the 2015 Campaign!

Our Board of Directors and Campaign Cabinet members are polishing up their grilling tools and will be happy to cook up lunch, especially for you. Leading the team of chefs are the 2015 Campaign Co-chairs Nikki Gullickson, Assistant Superintendent of Schools in Stonington and Donna Yother, President and owner of SAVA Insurance Group.

Our second annual school supply drive has yielded more than 8,000 items, nearly 2,600 more than last year. We are grateful to the community for rallying together to ensure that New London County students have the materials supplies needed for academic success. Click here to view photos of the deliveries to local schools on our Facebookpage.