Welcome


Welcome

New Directions

During this fiscal year, our United Way continued to encounter challenges while working to accomplish our strategic goals. After conducting much research, both internal and external, the Board of Directors committed to transform the direction of our United Way. A task force, chaired by Cheryl Faulds, was created to develop the process for this transformation. A new vision statement that focuses on making a direct, measurable and sustainable impact on the needs of our community was approved by the Board. We have applied to be a partner in the United Way of America Impact Transformation Project. With this support, we will develop a specific work plan for our community that fulfills our vision and improves the lives of people within the community.

One of our major concerns is the continuing challenge of the annual Campaign. This year we were able to conduct a Resource Development On-site Assessment to determine how we can revise the way we do business to improve results.

Once again, I extend my appreciation to David and his staff for the remarkable effort and energy they share with all of us. My heartfelt thanks go to the many volunteers whose diligent and dedicated work make it happen for all of us. A special thank you to the Board of Directors for contributing their ideas and commitment to making our community a better place in which to live. Because of all of you, our United Way can focus on what matters; the bottom-line results; the lives we change; the communities we shape. For our country, our communities, our families—that’s what matters.


Carole Elliott Chairman of the Board May 2001–December 2002	Betty A. Karkut Chairman of the Board January 2003–

A Community Impact Organization
David R. Kennedy
President and CEO

Our United Way’s Vision, adopted by our Board of Directors in December 2002, is at the heart of what FY 2002–2003 has been for our United Way and at the core of what our United Way will be for years to come.

Like the rest of the United Way system in the United States, United Way of Norwalk & Wilton is shifting its focus from being a fundraising organization to becoming a community impact organization, from raising funds for member agencies to improving lives in Norwalk and Wilton as our core business. How will we do that? By partnering with others to bring about sustained community change in issues that matter to Norwalk and Wilton.

Or put another way using the words of Brian Gallagher, President and CEO, United Way of America, “Together we are building a movement, a United Way Movement, that makes meaningful changes in people’s lives.”

That’s what matters.

In 2002–2003, we took some steps in this direction through leadership in a number of significant community initiatives; four examples follow:

Norwalk Healthy Families Collaborative which is addressing issues of timely, regular prenatal care, low birth weight, births to teenagers, child abuse, and lack of health insurance as well as other critical pregnancy, birth, and early childhood issues with a focus on the South Norwalk community;
Wilton Positive Youth Development Initiative or Vision 2020 which is concentrating on the healthy development of Wilton’s young people and involves all the major youth serving organizations—public, non-profit, and private—in town;
William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund Discovery Grant Program for Norwalk which is focusing on improving children’s lives ages 1–8, implementing needed systems change, and increasing levels of parent and community involvement;
WWW.VOLUNTEERSOLUTIONS.ORG, which is an Internet based, United Way service—in partnership with the Voluntary Action Center of Mid-Fairfield—that connects people to caring. VolunteerSolutions.org allows those who wish to volunteer, whether in their home or work community, an opportunity to research and sign up online 24 hours a day for involvement that matters to them.

We have begun but we have a long way to go.

And as we move ahead we are studying and learning from other United Way communities that are further along on their transformation journeys. From them we have seen that an essential building block for success is “have leaders who walk the talk.”

The 2002–03 year for our United Way is one in which we were blessed to have two exceptional leaders who fit that requirement perfectly: Carole Elliott, CFP and Betty Karkut, Administrator, Honey Hill Care Center. As you know from other pages in this report, Carole was our Board Chair until she moved unexpectedly to New Hampshire in December; Betty chaired our fall 2002 Caring Community Campaign and then succeeded Carole as our Chairman in January 2003. As individuals with a proven history of true community leadership in Wilton and Norwalk, both played key roles in helping our United Way reach consensus on what matters and in laying a solid foundation for our future success. I know that our community joins me in expressing deep gratitude to them for their hands-on, walking-the-talk leadership.

Finally, to all—donors, volunteers, partners, and staff—who helped our United Way this past year by sharing resources, time, and talent, Thank You! You have indeed changed lives for the better and made our community a more caring one in the process. You have helped us do what matters.

Together, as we build on the events of 2002–03, I invite you to join with me in the words of Dag Hammarskjold, “For all that has been, Thanks. For all that will be, Yes!”