A United Way to Serve State Communities

Author: Meghan Michelson

Serving local communities for 60 years, United Way of Chittenden County, Vermont's largest United Way organization, acts in partnership with over 400 agencies and businesses in Vermont in order to make these communities better places to live.

The mission statement of the independent nonprofit organization reads, "Our goal is to increase the organized capacity of people to care for one another." Hundreds of volunteers participate in statewide organizations associated with the United Way.

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of volunteers in Vermont. Laurie Dana, staff assistant at the United Way Volunteer Center of Chittenden County, said, "We're not exactly sure where the increase has come from, but it could be a response to the events of Sept. 11."

The United Way released a State of Caring Index last November that reported a 10 percent overall increase in the amount of recorded care and community service in Vermont over the last decade, suggesting that acts of volunteerism were on the rise even before the national tragedy.

Vermont ranked fifth on the national scale of volunteer efforts, up from seventh last year.

Other states in the top 10 include Minnesota, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine and Wisconsin.

Gretchen Morse, executive director of United Way of Chittenden Country, said that, "Vermont has remained active in the effort to invest in our communities — in both time and resources."

The State of Caring Index anaylzes economic and social factors that reflect the quality of communities that are influenced by volunteerism contributions.

The study showed that Vermont improved in 10 of 22 state indicators of levels of care, including a rise in reading and math scores for students, an increase in percentage of adult volunteers and a drop in teenage pregancy.

There are 10 United Way programs in Vermont, sending volunteers to over 1,400 community agencies. The United Way of Addison County currently provides funds and volunteers to 26 local agencies.