COMMUNITY SCHOOL LEARNING EXCHANGE

April is Volunteer Recognition Month and we at United Way of Erie County are grateful to the hundreds of volunteers who are helping to advance our mission to crush poverty in Erie County. Thank You! 

Bruce Skolnick, Community Impact Committee
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Who Will Replace the Staggering Number of Jobs Opened by Retirements Investing in children’s education now will help prepare them for positions that will become available when a staggering number of retirements in the workforce will take place in Erie County.

Last school year, Diehl Elementary, a United Way community school, participated in Read Across America Day in a BIG way! Students gathered together in the halls of school to read collectively for 20 minutes, resulting in cumulative reading that energized students and staff! This year, Karen Donnelly, community school director,…

"I don't know what I'm going to do for Christmas. " - Strong Vincent parent

The Strong Vincent Caring Colonels holiday generosity effort was launched so parents didn't have to feel this way.

Recently, the UPMC Department of Anesthesiology spearheaded a $7,000 donation from the North American Partners in Anesthesia (NAPA) to East, a United Way community school. With the generous support from NAPA, the East community school leadership team has been able to address basic need barriers for students.

After school programming, a huge part of the Edison Elementary experience for students prior to the pandemic, returned with the launch of virtual program offerings in early 2021. Coding for Boys was offered on Tuesdays, Cooking Club was offered on Wednesdays and Coding for Girls was offered on Thursdays.

Join us as we tour United Way Community School McKinley Elementary!

What do authors, a physician and the Mascot for the Otters Have in Common? Love of Reading! Local children’s authors David Gorman and Ramone Outlaw, Dr. Kristen Chandler, Erie Otters coach Chris Hartsburg and mascot Otto, Erie Seawolves coach Greg Coleman and mascot C.

Dare to Care - Amanda Gorman United Way Message



Celebrating the Women Who Work as Community School DirectorsDuring Women’s History, United Way celebrates the work of our 10 Community School Directors throughout Erie County.

United Way is pleased to announce Bill Herlihy as the Program Manager responsible for administrative and clinical leadership in the Removing Barriers to Learning Through Case Management in Erie’s Community Schools project, in partnership with UPMC of Western Behavioral Health at Safe Harbor, Erie’s Public Schools, and Gannon University.

With the return of in-person instruction, United Way and Erie's Public Schools in partnership with the Blue Coats initiative have launched a critical component of the Safe Routes to School initiative… the Walking School Bus beginning with McKinley Elementary School, a United Way community school!

Imagination Library Statistics As of February 1, 2020 there are 9,117 children enrolled in the Imagination Library, plus 15,022 graduates, those having reached their fifth birthday. With the December mailing, a total of 800,638 books have been mailed since the first ones were sent out in July 2013.

Pfeiffer-Burleigh Co-Named for Legendary Composer

Above: Members of the Pfeiffer-Burleigh, a United Way community school, leadership team with members of the Burleigh Legacy Alliance on February 12 during the presentation of 5th grade class commemorative Harry T. Burleigh t-shirts distributed to each fifth grader.

In 2019, United Way of Erie County was selected to participate in a Pritzker Stakeholder Forum in conjunction with United Way of Pennsylvania, PA Partnerships for Children, and the Pritzker Foundation. The first forum was held in person thanks to partnerships with the Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) Region 1, Early Connections, Metz Culinary Management, and East Middle School, a community school, families received a meal, childcare provided on site and had the opportunity to share their thoughts on the supports available for families of infants and toddlers in Erie County.  The forum focused on access to children’s health and prenatal/maternal health, foundations for learning and development to support success in school, positive relationships between young children and the important adults in their lives and supporting families where all key caregivers work outside of the home.  Families had the opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns with each other and the ELRC was able to glean important information to share back with UWPA, PA Partnerships for Children, and the Pritzker Foundation.  This information was then presented to key State policymakers. 

State-Level Data & United Way's Guide to 211 in NW PAPennsylvania has a state-wide network of 211 call centers, which allows United Ways to compare local data to other communities, as well as to the entire state.

211— a vital part of United Way Erie's mission to crush poverty in our community by focusing on family stability

In a crisis, in a disaster, in a pandemic, 211 is here to help every person in our community find food, pay bills, and connect to other essential services.

Meet Your Local United Way Staff dedicated to the people we serve to ensure a thriving Erie community
Name: Cheryl Bates 
Title: Program Director, United Way Erie FREE Taxes 
Years at UW: 10 years
Favorite thing about Erie is access to Presque Isle

Name: Joelyn Bush
Title: Director of Marketing and Communications 
Years at United Way: 7 
Favorite thing about Erie: I am a four-season…

Community School Directors show resourcefulness in 2020Community School Directors’ creativity, resourcefulness and flexibility have been critical to the success of continuing to support students and families with basic needs and supplies, technology, school attendance and behavioral/mental health services during the past 10 months.