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WHAT MATTERS: AN ENGAGED AND ACTIVE COMMUNITY

Through our unique network of relationships -- with businesses, social service agencies, faith-based communities, government, labor, schools, and other organizations across the region – United Way is building a culture of civic engagement and helping volunteers to make a real difference in communities and in people’s lives.

Record-Breaking Results

Over the past year, United Way has engaged more volunteers in community service than ever before.

• Thanks in large part to our 10,000 volunteers; the 2006 United Way Campaign was the fastest growing in the past 20 years.
• 412 IRS-certified volunteer tax preparers recruited by United Way and its partners in the Campaign for Working Families filed over 11,145, 2006 tax year returns for low and moderate income households, generating over $20.3 million in federal Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) and other credits and refunds. The EITC, which lifts more children out of poverty each year than any other government program, can add 10 to 15 percent to the income of a working family living on modest means.
• During the 2006 Days of Caring, more than 3,500 volunteers from 70 companies tackled nearly 200 hands on projects across Southeastern Pennsylvania, including the restorations of the Sheppard Recreation Center in West Philadelphia and of Ackley’s Field in Norristown.
• United Way partnered with Global Citizen to engage more than 55,000 students, parents and children, members of corporate, religious, and community groups, and other volunteers in the 2007 Martin Luther King Day of Service. The event was the largest King Day of Service in the nation.
• During the past 12 months, community volunteers engaged by United Way contributed more than $ 4.67 million worth of their time in providing more than 255,650 hours of service.

Making a Difference Every Day

United Way’s new civic engagement initiative, Volunteer 365, will build on this success, helping to realize the vast potential of volunteerism and weave it more completely into the social fabric of our region. Volunteer 365 will:

• Match even more volunteers with agencies in need of volunteer assistance, by improving volunteerway.org, our web-based volunteer matching tool, and by putting innovative methods in place to reliably connect volunteers with volunteer opportunities that fit.
• Engage individuals with certain backgrounds, such as in construction work, computer technology, and accounting, in volunteer service that will put their expertise to good use.
• Reach groups whose potential as volunteers is frequently underutilized. United Way’s existing partnerships in this area include Coming of Age, focused on adults over 50, and United Way’s work with the AFL-CIO Central Labor Council, which connects retired union members with opportunities to use their in-demand skills.
• Convene a Youth Advisory Council of teens that will develop meaningful volunteer opportunities for young people fulfilling their schools’ mandatory community-service requirements.
• Coach community agencies on recruiting and retaining volunteers.
• Strengthen volunteer mobilization efforts in the region by collaborating closely with other area organizations that work with volunteers, such as City Year, the American Red Cross, and Greater Philadelphia Cares.