Community Corner
United Way of Southington: Journeying to a New Day in its Long History of Service to the Community
With 84 years of service under its belt, United Way seeks to re-energize its role in assisting townwide organizations providing human services throughout our community.
The United Way of Southington has been providing non-profit services in the local community for more than 80 years, but that isn’t stopping the organization from trying to continually revamp efforts and enhance opportunities even further.
"We've turned an important corner with a new vision, a new energy, and a new excitement. We are truly helping each other in this community," said The Rev. Victoria Triano, board member of our local United Way.
Only six months into her new role as Executive Director of United Way of Southington, Carol A. Reilly exudes enthusiasm in providing a vision for United Way's role in Southington as well as clear and concrete illustrations of what needs to be done.
"We are in the process of redesigning our website, our image and our entire brand identity, while reinforcing our relationships with our 20-something partner agencies and their hundreds, perhaps thousands, of volunteers and United Way's supporting donors who effectively bring so many services to people of Southington," Reilly said.
Summarizing it all, Reilly said that United Way is the people of Southington helping the people of Southington.
Shaping the organization's new direction are specific practical priorities under careful scrutiny. With the sustained weakened state of our economy, there isn't a family who hasn't been affected in some way. You can't escape it.
Combine that with local businesses that have left the scene in the wake of such conditions.
“We need innovative new ways of inspiring new sources of funding, particularly because workplace giving has been the major source of our funding,” Reilly said, pointing out that under the company sponsored employee giving programs, individuals may designate specific partnering agencies they want their donation to help.
“My years on the board have shown me how much United Way means to so many people in Southington who, but for the help of our partnering agencies, struggle to get through the next day," said Rosemary DeFeo, manager of TD Bank's Main Street Branch.
Carol Reilly is giving the United Way a new presence, a face everywhere in town, helping our work come back to the forefront, DeFeo said.
“This town needs new blood - we need to renew our history of working together and United Way is the way," said Julia Sharp, the longest tenured member of the Board and matriarch of the Sharp Family Farm Team.
“We have huge problems,” she said, citing, as examples, drugs, hunger, poverty, youth who need direction, seniors who need care and assistance and so many others who barely make ends meet.
Among the series of stories of Southington Heartbeat, citing the countless ways people help other people, the story of United Way of Southington and its member agencies stands apart in a unique way in that this caring network spans the gamut of human services; and those needs have never been greater.
To learn more about United Way and its agencies and what you can do to be there for others visit: http://www.unitedwayofsouthington.org/index.html. To help of for more information, call 860-628-4565.
