We’re Uniting for Greater Impact!
We have exciting news to share with you, our valued partner and supporter:
United Way of Coastal Fairfield County is expanding our impact!
As of July 1st, 2023, we will partner with a sister united Way—United Way of Western Connecticut—to serve a broader area that includes 27 towns and 25% of the state’s population. Our merged organization will be known as United Way of Coastal and Western Connecticut.
We’re thrilled by the promise of this alliance, specifically:
Strategic alignment: We will continue to support struggling families in the short term, while promoting long-term solutions and lasting change. As before, we will focus on improving outcomes in 3 key areas: health, education, and financial stability. Importantly, our alliance will bring together three StriveTogether collective impact movements—Bridgeport Prospers, Stamford Cradle to Career, and the new Danbury initiative—under a single umbrella to share expertise, resources, and best practices.
Expanded supports for our communities: We plan to expand successful, beneficial initiatives across the footprint to serve all of our neighbors, (e.g., initiatives that foster literacy, youth enrichment, and food security).
Increased community engagement to direct our work: We will develop two new Community Councils--in Greater Bridgeport and Greater Norwalk--to input on community needs and United Way funding priorities. We will also establish an ALICE* Advisory Board—to give voice to the needs of families who work hard, but earn incomes below the high cost of living in our area. We will continue and expand our current engagement work with Community Messengers and Parent Ambassadors.
Increased potential for fundraising to support the work: Now serving most of Fairfield and Southern Litchfield counties, we have a promising, cohesive footprint for resource development. This bridges the gap for partners and donors who may live in one footprint but work in another. Also, as one expanded organization, we can more easily qualify for larger public and private funding, and avoid competing against each other for grants. Longer term, we expect to operate more efficiently through economies of scale.
Expanded staff to advance our work: Our team size will triple, and we will maintain our offices in our current key municipalities: Bridgeport, Danbury, New Milford, and Stamford.
Our expanded organization will be led by President and CEO Isabel Almeida, who brings a deep commitment to community service and more than 20 years of experience in community affairs and leadership in the United Way network (most recently, as President of United Way of Western CT). The new governing Board of Directors contains members from both current boards.
We look forward to our continued partnership with you, as we meet the short and long-term needs of our neighbors. Together, we will build communities where everyone can thrive.
Sincerely,
Margo Amgott (Interim CEO) and the United Way Team
*ALICE: an acronym for Asset Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed, this refers to individuals whose income falls below the cost of living threshold in our area. Combined with those in poverty, fully 38% of CT residents experience financial hardship.
United Way of Coastal and Western Connecticut Board of Directors as of July 1, 2023
Cheryl Bakewell, Chair, Bakewell & Mulhare LLC
Lyn Kobsa, Vice Chair, Kobsa Strategic LLC
Paul Reszutek, Treasurer, Deloitte LLP (retired)
Ken Weinstein, Secretary, Newtown Savings Bank
Noel Anderson, Pitney Bowes
Christina Bodine Aysseh, Atlantic Community Bankers Bank
Doreen Bentson, Genworth
Paul Bruce, Union Savings Bank
Luis Diez, Northern Trust
Eric Duenwald, Synchrony
Carmen Hughes, City of Stamford
Thomas McCarthy, Town of Trumbull
Anne McCrory, Diocese of Bridgeport
Aaron Meyer, Retired Portfolio Manager and Community Volunteer
Mark Ouellette, Pitney Bowes
S. Giles Payne, Brody Wilkinson PC
Gerald Rosenberg, Commercial Consultant & Executive Coach
Michael Stern, PhD, Clinical Psychologist
Samuel Tingley, M&T Bank Corporation
Robert Trefry, PathQuest Coaching and Consulting, LLC
Katherine Webster-O'Keefe, Attorney