From The Executive Director's Desk

March 31, 2023 | by uwhr1957

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” -Arthur Ashe

Welcome to our first Living United, a monthly newsletter dedicated to the incredible work happening here at United Way. I am thrilled that you have made time to read about the great work we are doing across the community and look forward to sharing more with you each month. As this is our first, let me go ahead and start with where we are as an organization.

For the last eight months we have engaged in a strategic planning process where we have looked critically at the issues we face right here in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, the resources that currently exist to address those issues, and how we may evolve to become the United Way our community needs us to be. Our goal is to make changes in what we do to increase our impact and better align our resources to what we are uniquely positioned to do as an organization. While this means that there are changes on the horizon, it is also worth noting that so much of who we are and why we exist in this community after 66 years hasn’t changed.

As you read in Nadina’s story, United Way and our partners continue to be a source of hope for hundreds of families right here in the Valley. We can’t do our work without the vast network of resources like Church World Service and other non-profit organizations, local faith communities, our schools, and the businesses and donors who make our work possible.

As you read in the story about the Food Coalition, we are still the go-to resource for human-services providers and a valuable piece of the puzzle as needs evolve and change over time. United Way provides stability, connection, and engagement for many of our local non-profits who otherwise would be isolated from the work of their counterparts in other organizations.

What I hope you take away from my letter is this: United Way has always been and will always be committed to improving lives of people right here in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County by connecting and mobilizing community resources.

But we can’t do this alone.

We need you to step up and make a gift. We need you to sign up to volunteer at a local organization. We need you to tell your friends, family, and coworkers about United Way and encourage them to get involved. Together, we can build a strong, equitable, and accessible network of support for working households in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

Thank you for Living United with us.