The Bristol Press

February 4, 2014

Each year, participating employers in central Connecticut offer their employees the opportunity to invest in their community by contributing to the United Way through payroll deduction.

This makes giving convenient and it ensures that the money reaches deserving agencies that are known to and fully vetted by this dedicated charity — no small thing in an age of scams and ever-more-sophisticated fraud.

Moreover, at a time when many organizations seek the public’s assistance in serving the people of central Connecticut, it’s hard to know which one deserves your attention — and dollars. The United Way offers “one-stop-shopping,” by ensuring donations reach organizations with a solid track record for honesty and service.

And the reach is broad.

As noted in the insert in your newspaper last Monday, “Gifts to the United Way ... help children enter school ready to learn and succeed academically, assist families to become financially secure and provide individuals with access to health care, food, shelter and other essential services.”

 In other words, these groups touch people in need no matter where they are in their lives — children, parents, job seekers, those facing substantial medication costs, the elderly — and help to make those lives better.

And the truly important thing to remember is: these are your neighbors, people who live in your city or town, people you see on the street or in the grocery store. Their need may not be obvious but, at least for a moment, it is great. In fact, many simply need a hand at a critical time in their lives and go on to become yet another United Way success story —  a United Way agency lifts them up and, having seen how powerful it is to receive, they become givers.

That’s a role we can all embrace. If payroll deduction is available through your employer, we urge you to consider it. And if you wish to donate on your own, visit uwwestcentralct.org/donate. And thank you for caring.