A hard worker and dedicated volunteer, Bill brings an empathetic perspective to his work at the Food Center. He took a few minutes to talk with us about why volunteering with United Way is important for the community and for him personally.
Hi! Tell us a little about yourself and your volunteer work here at United Way.
The Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce is partnering up with United Way of Southeastern Connecticut, Savings Institute Bank & Trust, and the Rotary Community Corps of Norwich for their third annual “Uniting for United Competitive Food Drive” running May 14 - May 31, 2018. The final collection date is on June 1 with a specific location yet to be determined for drop-off and final tallying of the pounds collected.
Known for her unflagging dedication and warmth, Joyce is a volunteering powerhouse. We caught up with her one morning to ask about her many volunteer experiences and what motivates her to be a force for change in the community.
Hi! Tell us a little about yourself. How did you become involved with United Way?
Rodney A. Butler, Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council, was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of United Way of Southeastern Connecticut at the organization’s Annual Meeting on January 26, 2018. Butler (at right in photo) takes over for Brian A. Orenstein (at left in photo), President and CEO of Charter Federal Credit Union, who served two years as Chairman and will remain on the board.
Did you know that nearly one child in every five in New London County is food insecure? And that the overall food insecurity rate in the county is more than 12%? Food insecurity means that a person doesn’t know when, or if, their next meal will come.
January is flying by, so I’m taking a second to pause and check on how I’m doing with my New Year’s resolutions. I’m an overambitious person, but self-aware enough to realize that I don’t always nail the follow-through, so my approach to resolutions is to make a whole bunch of goals and then hope that statistically by the end of the year I’ll have achieved one or two. Shoot for the moon, right? At this point I’ve put work toward exactly one of my (Ten? Twenty?) resolutions so far, so I’d give myself a score of ‘better than usual’.
Connecticut United Ways are partnering with a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization called EARN to bring a matched savings program to ALICE® (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) households in the State of Connecticut.
Last week I had the opportunity to be a part of the setup and distribution for the Tommy Toy Fund at the Food Center in New London. The things that I saw and experienced during those two days were both heartwarming and heartbreaking, and they’ve stayed with me, replaying in my head as I’ve gone about my day, washing dishes or having a conversation with someone.
To say Christmas is a big deal in my family would be an understatement. The Christmas carols start playing as soon as Thanksgiving is over, every room in the house is decorated with garlands and lights, advent candles are lit, and celebrating with extended family lasts several days. Tree-decorating and cookie-making are mandatory family traditions. As a kid, everything Christmas-related felt like absolute magic.
Black Friday tends to arouse strong feelings in a lot of people, both positive and negative. While many are excited to take advantage of deals and get their holiday shopping done, others feel that this kickoff to the holiday season is a shallow and dangerous tradition. Reports over the last few years have detailed the physical injury that retail employees and other shoppers have sustained at the hands of particularly fervent Black Friday shoppers, the details of which have only fueled this debate further.
