Thursday, July 30, 2009

Interesting Week


Inez D'Allessio celebrated her 99th birthday with us last year - see more below

This has been an interesting week full of good news tempered with some sad news, and we have many new stories on our website about 2-1-1 usage, John DeGray's acceptance of the Cornerstone Division of Campaign, a new series of videos about our Youth Leaders and the ongoing work of our three interns.

At the same time, I had the opportunity to attend two events this week that couldn't help but make you feel good about the Valley. The first was the move of a business to Shelton and the second was a play by some young children in Ansonia.

On Tuesday, Freedom Disability, hosted a tour of their new location on Forest Parkway along with a luncheon. Freedom Disability is involved with some very important work. They assist people in getting through the process of acquiring Social Security Disability. The company recently moved their headquarters to Shelton and changed their name from SSC Disability to Freedom Disability. They currently have 75 employees in Shelton and have plans to expand to over 200 in the next couple of years.

They moved into a building that was formerly occupied by Hasler, Inc. which moved to Milford about two years ago. Hasler was a great corporate citizen, and we have really missed them since they moved. However, we are thrilled that the building is now occupied by a terrific new business that is doing good work for people in need, and we wish them the best in their new headquarters.

On a side note, I was also thrilled to see the owner of the company, Alan Flaumenhaft. In my earlier life as a teacher and the boys basketball coach at Shelton High School I had run across Alan as a member of the basketball team at Amity - a fierce rival for us at the time. Alan was a very good player and quite a competitor, and it's no surprise to see that he has been successful in business as well.

Thursday night I was invited to attend a cute production of Alice in Wonderland at the Tinney Center in Ansonia. Naomi Wallace does a fantastic job with the summer camp held at the Center, and the children had worked for weeks in putting together their version of the Lewis Carroll classic. This was a very upbeat version that featured all of the main characters, but also included a four year old scene stealer who goes by the "stage name" of Little Ron-Ron. This little ball of fire did an impersonation of Michael Jackson's dancing that had to be seen to be believed - including the glove.

All of the characters were great. I don't think any of them were more than 10 or 11 years old (except for John Reynolds as one of the deck of cards!), but you could see that they were really enjoying themselves and the audience left with smiles on their faces - including me.

This program received grant support from the Community Foundations (Valley and New Haven) Neighborhood Grants program. I have served on the committee since the program started, and it was great to be able to see the value in person. I want to congratulate Naomi and everyone who works so diligently with her at the Tinney Center for all they do with the children at the Center and the Foundations for making their funding available for such a great program.

On a sad note, Inez D'Allessio passed away this week just short of her 100th birthday. Inez was a graduate (valedictorian) of Derby High School Class of 1927. In the last couple of years, our paths crossed several times. the first time came at a Thanksgiving dinner for senior citizens when I happened to be speaking and mentioned another member of the Class of 1927, Myron Horbal, who had attended the Rotary meeting that day. Inez's sister, Estelle, immediately introduced me to Inez, and she was amazingly spry and sharp. At the time she was investing in Microsoft because she knew that they were coming out with the XBox!

Last year Derby was holding a ground breaking for their new Middle School, and someone called me and asked about the school system's history and possible connections for the ground breaking. They invited Myron and Inez to the groundbreaking, and they both made remarks - it was quite moving.


At our campaign kickoff last year at BIC, Inez and Estelle were in attendance. When Dave Grant heard that Inez had just turned 99, he quickly came up with a birthday cake and candles and our audience serenaded Inez with their own rendition of Happy Birthday. It was a very special moment, and I'm glad that Dave was so quick with the improvisation.

As always, there's a little side note. When I was a freshman at Derby High School, I had my first encounter with one of the D'Alessio sisters. Theresa D'Alessio was my Latin teacher. It turns out that she was also a graduate of Derby High School and valedictorian of her class - and Estelle was valedictorian of her Derby High class as well.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

2-1-1 Calls refelect economy

2-1-1 the statewide information and referral service for the State of Connecticut has just come out with statistics for the period from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009 and they are very reflective of what's happening with the local and state economy. Nearly 10,000 calls were made from the Valley during the year, and the number one service request by a wide margin was for information about utilities and heat. At the start of last year's heating season, fuel prices had sky rocketed, and there was real concern that some would not make it through the winter. Fortunately, fuel prices moderated and more state and federal assistance was made available.

Closely connected to the economy were calls for information about housing and shelter, public and financial assistance and food. One that most people don't necessarily think of but came up as the second most requested service in the Valley is outpatient mental health care. When you think about it, that is really not that surprising with the current economic situation. We are fortunate in the Valley to have a number of quality counseling services that can be of help.

During the last few months, we saw a dramatic increase in FEMA funding coming into the area that will have some impact on these problems, and we also saw major food drives by Griffin Hospital and the letter carriers which have helped to alleviate food problems. However, there are still many needs out there int he community, and 2-1-1 serves as a starting point for those in need to connect with the resources available for providing help.

2-1-1 is an incredible service, and Connecticut is the national model for the system. It is the first state to provide the service on a 24 hour a day, 365 day a year basis. There is currently a push to make the system nationwide, and Congress is currently deciding on the legislation to create the system. More information is available at http://211us.org/. We are fortunate in Connecticut that we already have the system in place - just ask the 10,000 people from the Valley who used the service during the past year!

Friday, July 24, 2009

Leadership Greater Valley - A Unique Community Program


2008 participants pause while on the Valley Heritage Driving Tour during the History session.


One of the great community programs that Valley United Way is involved in is the Leadership Greater Valley Program which is a joint effort with the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Valley Council for Health & Human Services. Back in the mid '90's we recognized a need to create volunteer leadership opportunities and a diverse pool of new volunteers to meet the needs of the community.

Valley United Way wrote an initial grant in collaboration with the Council that created the original Leadership Program (called L.E.A.D. at the time).
Very soon after, our first class was recruited and over the course of a couple of months given background training on leadership skills, nonprofit volunteer management, and the nonprofit community in the Valley. At the end of the training the graduates were placed in leadership positions including board positions with a variety of Council members.

The program took on a new name and look when Bill Purcell came to the Valley to head the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce. When we first met, he told me that one of his goals was to start a leadership program at the Chamber. I was thrilled to hear that, as we were seeking greater corporate involvement with the existing leadership program. A new and improved Leadership Greater Valley Program resulted from the collaboration. The Chamber has taken on the day-to-day coordination of the program which is still guided by a collaborative committee drawn from United Way, the Chamber and the Valley Council. It is a unique partnership, and the community is the real winner.


We have just announced that we are taking applications for the Class of 2009 with the program slated to begin on September 17. That first session is one of my favorites as it is "The History of the Valley" and we will be taking the 15 participants on the Valley Heritage Driving Tour where they learn the incredible history of the Valley and get to know each other as they meet for the first time.

In subsequent weeks, we have programs on leadership skills, ethics, diversity and inclusion, government, economic development, health and human services, and life an leisure. Participants get a thorough working knowledge of the community and the chance to meet and interact with some of the most prominent leaders in the Valley. It's an extraordinary opportunity to develop new skills and build a network of Valley leaders at the same time.


What makes this program so unique is that at the end of the program, we ask people to put their skills to use for the benefit of the community by taking on a volunteer leadership position. Pat Tarasovic, our Volunteer Center Director, works with the participants to find them a volunteer position with a Valley nonprofit or possibly a local government board, commission or committee. We currently have three graduates of the program on our Board of Directors at Valley United Way, and the background that they received through the program has been a great asset for our entire board.

You can find all the information about the program by clicking here.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Electronic Newsletters Save Money, Speed Communications

At Valley United Way, we always strive to keep the community informed on a timely basis about what is going on at United Way. The most timely and cost efficient way of doing that is with our website (valleyunitedway.org) which is updated constantly. It contains all the latest information as well as tons of pictures and videos. We're proud that back in the mid 1990's, we were the first United Way in Connecticut - and one of the first in the entire country- to see that the Internet was going to be much more than a fad, but a real tool.

At the same time, we have maintained a traditional printed newsletter that is mailed to the community periodically. We don't do that as often as we did in the past because of the time and expense involved - and also because the news in it may be weeks or months old in some cases. However, we also recognize the impact and value of a printed newsletter and the fact that many in the community have not fully embraced electronic media. For those reasons, we will continue to publish the hard copy, but probably only twice a year.

We have been doing electronic newsletters for several years now, but during the past year we have been able to use a great new service to manage the production and dissemination of the newsletter using the Constant Contact Service. Constant Contact has made this service available to us free of charge, and it has dramatically improved our efforts at no additional costs. This is an "opt-in" service where users choose to subscribe to the newsletter rather than having it "spammed" to them. By managing our mailing lists, Constant Contact sifts out out-of-date addresses and allows users to manage the newsletters that they receive. They also maintain our newsletter archives, so that users can go back and read earlier newsletters at their leisure.

If you are not already subscribed to our electronic newsletter, click here to access the on-line sign up form. You simply enter your e-mail address and hit GO to be sent to the registration page where you can customize your choices. We currently have a general newsletter and one for the Corporate Cup, but may add others in the future. You can subscribe or unsubscribe at any time.

We are also heavily involved in other electronic communication efforts. If you visit our website, you can find links to our Twitter account for instantaneous news from us, our YouTube channel for all the latest videos from Valley United Way, and yes even our Facebook page. We firmly believe that the more that you know about us, the more that you will understand the true value of Valley United Way. We try to make it as easy as possible, and we value your feedback on how we are doing. This blog offers a great opportunity to comment on those efforts, but e-mails are always welcome as well.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Gifts in Kind Program Truly is a Gift

One of the under-utilized services provided by Valley United Way is our Gifts in Kind Program which combines the power of a large international source of product donations with a local, personal touch for the benefit of area nonprofits. Valley United Way is the local sponsor of Gifts in Kind International. Gifts In Kind describes itself as "the largest charity in the world that focuses on new product donations from corporations. We, in turn, provide these new products to 150,000 community charities in America and throughout the world. Gifts In Kind partners with thousands of companies, including nearly half of the Fortune 100 consumer and retail product corporations. IBM, Mattel, Gap, Avon, Office Depot, HP, Adobe, Bed Bath & Beyond, Dell, Nike, RadioShack, Hanesbrands, and Talbots. Many more leading corporations make their in-kind donations through Gifts In Kind International."

Because we are the local sponsor of the program, any Valley nonprofit organization can receive products through this program. Much of the software that we use here at Valley United Way has come through the Gifts in Kind program as well as another that I will describe later. Agencies who want to take advantage of the program should simply visit the Gifts in Kind website to see what is available. If they find something that they need, they can contact us and we can provide them with our local ID which will allow them to obtain their needed products. There is usually a small handling fee, but it is minimal in comparison to the value of the donated products. You can view a sample catalog of products by clicking here.

We have also been successful in developing our own local version of the program using our network of Valley nonprofits linked to the Valley Council for Health & Human Services. We often get calls from people and companies looking to donate surplus products. Though we do not have the ability to warehouse such items, we can see if there is an agency that has a need and match them with the donor to complete a match. Furniture and computer equipment have been popular items, but we've had some unusual items including an 800 pound safe that were donated through this program.

I should also point out that our Volunteer Solutions website offers agencies an opportunity to post a wish list of items that they need and also for donors to list items that they are looking to donate. We'll post more about that in another blog.

Finally, I want to point out another tremendous source of computer software products for nonprofits to access. TechSoup.org has been around for years, and is simply unbeatable for software donations. We have the latest Microsoft Office products on all our machines at United Way because we were able to purchase the licenses through TechSoup. The license fees cost us only $20 per computer! I am also on the board of directors at the Derby Neck Library, and when the new computer center in the building addition was opened, we saved thousands of dollars using the Microsoft program. At that time, it was available through Gifts in Kind, but is now administered by Tech Soup.

At any time, Gifts in Kind is an incredible resource for the nonprofit community. During difficult economic times like we are in now, it is a necessity that should not be overlooked.

UPDATE: Ironically, five minutes after this blog was posted, a Shelton woman called to donate an electric stove as she had purchased a new one, and didn't want the old one to go waste because it is still in good condition. We'll update you if we get a new home for the stove!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Giving Away Money Is Never Easy!

Every year when we start a new Youth Leadership Group, I tell them that at the end of the program they will be giving money away through an allocation process, and that giving away money is not easy! On first thought it would seem that giving money away would be very easy, but on further examination you quickly realize the responsibility that goes along with giving away money - particularly when it's not yours!

Consider that one of the greatest philanthropist's of all time, Andrew Carnegie, set a goal of giving away all his money before he died - and he was not able to succeed. Why? It's really quite simple. When you give money away, you want to make sure that you are doing it responsibly and using the money wisely. Carnegie and the staff that he hired to help him were very careful in examining all the requests that came to him before making actual funding decisions. Most of their decisions turned out to be correct, and we even see one example right here in our Valley with the Derby Neck Library which is one of the many libraries receiving funding from Carnegie.

That same attention to detail comes into play here at Valley United Way with our annual funding process just completed. The full list of allocations made can be found on our website, but I want to take a minute to thank our volunteers who took on the task of analyzing the requests for funding that we received this year. The process actually began in April when agencies submitted their requests. For the second year in a row, we have utilized a paperless process. Agencies completed the entire application on line, and then our volunteers came together to get their assignments. We had twenty-eight volunteers under the able leadership of Peter Galla this year. They were split into panels for health, social services and youth with each volunteer reviewing two agencies along with a partner.

All of the "paperwork" was on-line for the volunteers, but the real key for each was a face to face meeting with the agencies. This gives the volunteers an opportunity to ask questions about programs and financial information and to get a real feel for the services delivered by the agencies. It's also "show time" for the agencies as they can highlight the value of their services and give the volunteers a tour of their agencies. One year, the Girl Scouts brought along some of the Scouts to make their case. It was very effective as the girls ended up in the United Way video that year!

Once the evaluations are completed, the volunteers come together to compare notes and make funding decisions. That's when reality sets in, and it becomes obvious that there is not enough money available to fund everything being recommended. The volunteers then have to really sharpen their pencils and make the numbers work. This is the hardest part of the job as the volunteers recognize that every cut means fewer services will be available and that they need to balance all of the areas of need. It's not an easy task, but it is one that they do with fairness and compassion.

Their recommendations are then presented to the Board of Directors who make the final decisions. When times are tough and funding is tight, it takes the wisdom of Solomon to make the difficult choices that need to be made, but I want to thank all of our volunteers and the Board of Directors for their work this year.

Now that they are done, maybe we can send them to Hartford to help the governor and our legislators!!