Impact Stories

This year, Day of Caring will take up an entire week of community service and volunteer activities! Whether you’re interested in rolling up your sleeves in-person or participating virtually, we have an opportunity for you. EVENTS Women and Family Life (Guilford) - October 11, 9:30am-12:00pm Help…

July 9, 2021  What an amazing success! During Week of Action, volunteers rolled up their sleeves to create a stronger local food system through service projects. By putting in over 300 hours of hard work, we helped our partners across the region expand access to food and sow the seeds of long-term…

We can all play a role in ending homelessness. As a family leaves shelter and enters a new home, they need supplies to make it a home of their own. Gather a few items with your kids to teach them about helping those in need, run a full collection at your workplace as a corporate service project, or…

Can a parenting framework called Circle of Security-Parenting help teachers better manage their classrooms? United Way and a growing number of teachers in greater New Haven say yes.  “The atmosphere of the classroom changed a lot,” said Sonia Garcia.  Sonia has been a teacher at LULAC Head Start…

Jamir In the early Spring, 22-year-old Jamir found herself homeless after a family conflict. She called 2-1-1 and was able to get into Beth-El Center’s No Freeze Shelter, but because of COVID-19 restrictions and capacity limits, she was unable to remain there long-term. For the next three months,…

Ralph Ralph gets up before the sun rises. His alarm goes off at 4:30 in the morning so that he can catch the bus and make the hour-long trek across New Haven. He makes it to his job by 6:30, ready to work alongside another carpenter for the day. The pair is responsible for maintenance at city parks…

Santos Santos Colon from West Haven has found his purpose. Returning home after incarceration took some adjusting, but learning new skills in the construction field gave him hope for a brighter future. Santos participated in EMERGE Connecticut, Inc. a program that helps the formerly incarcerated…

“My family depends on the pantry because it stretches what we have, allowing us to have complete meals,” stated Patricia, “I go to the pantries at the end of the month and that holds me over until I get new food stamps.” As the effects of the pandemic have increased grocery prices, Patricia and her…

Joy needed help for her son Ayomide. “When it was just me and my son at home, there was no one else his age for him to talk to or play with. He was not talking enough, so I thought he would open up and start speaking more if he could be around other kids.”   Through a friend, she was connected to…

David “Once I got my place, I took off my shoes finally.” After spending 8 months living outside during the dead of winter and having caught frostbite, 21-year-old David Wilson couldn’t wait for a place to call home. And thanks to United Way donors, David now has somewhere to lay his head, kick off…