The Bristol Press

December 7, 2013

By Robert Storace

BRISTOL — A mainstay in the downtown for 91 years, the United Way of West Central Connecticut has been providing support, assistance and hope to the four communities it serves.

In an effort to better help its constituents in Bristol, Plymouth, Burlington and Plainville, the United Way began to focus on three core issues in 2007: education, health and financial stability.

“We help 110,000 people a year in the four towns,” said Donna Osuch, who has been with the United Way for nine years and has served as its president and chief professional officer since 2008. “The population of those towns is 100,000 combined, but we touch several people more than once. One person might get help at a food pantry and then might also get help with their child going to pre-school.”

While many of the United Way’s program are geared toward helping low-and-moderate income families, Osuch noted, “We focus on improving the community’s condition for everybody.”

With regard to education, the 48-year-old Bristol resident said the United Way “focuses on supporting programs that support kids from birth through high school.” One such program is ‘Kids in the Middle,’ which was launched in 2005. The goal is to have middle school students have a better transition to high school and adulthood “by connecting them with caring adults in the community. The kids do volunteer activities, some mentoring and it’s very kid-driven. The kids pick what they want to do.”

The local United Way — which has an annual operating budget of about $200,000 a year and a staff of five — also funds many mental and behavioral health programs, such as Wheeler Clinic in Plainville. With regard to its financial stability component, one of the United Way’s most successful programs is called VITA, or Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. The initiative, which is housed and run out of the United Way’s Main Street headquarters, entails having volunteers do taxes for free for families who earn less than $50,000 a year.

This year, the local United Way raised close to $1 million from individuals, employee campaigns, and some grants.

Osuch recently sat down to discuss how people can volunteer their time to the agency, among other topics.

Robert Storace: How can people volunteer or get involved in the United Way of West Central Connecticut?

Donna Osuch: They can go to our website (www.uwwestcentralct.org) and on the website there is a tab called ‘volunteer’ and it will lead them into a web-based site with opportunities to choose from. They can also come in and talk about how they’d like to help in the community. Sometimes, people will call wanting to help and we’ll sit down and connect them with what their passion and expertise is. 

Storace: The local United Way has many projects and endeavors. One is the ‘Adopt-A-Child to School Program.’ Tell us about the program?

Osuch: We gather information from nonprofits and schools about kids in need of a new backpack, school supplies and that first day school outfit. We match donors with those kids. A donor would have the child’s first name, the size of their clothing, some of their interests, age and grade. Then, they would buy those children backpacks, outfits and school supplies. We adopted more than 500 children in the four towns. It’s a very hands-on, feel good activity for people who want to make a difference.

Storace: What makes the local United Way and United Ways throughout the country unique and different from other nonprofits?

Osuch: Our mission is about the entire community, not just part of the community. We’re an organization that can bring different sectors, like businesses, Boards of Educations and individuals, together. Those sectors might not otherwise meet to solve problems. No one can solve problems by themselves.

Storace: What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Osuch: I really like interacting with different kinds of people. I feel like I’m connecting with people and really being part of the solution in our communities.

Robert Storace can be reached at (860) 225-4601, ext. 223, or at rstorace@newbritainherald.com.