Newsroom

United Way's annual campaign for 2023 gets underway this fall. Thank you to all those who are and will continue to be advocates for donating to United Way through the workplace!

Students across Erie County started the new school year with cheers and words of encouragement from teachers, principals, community school directors, corporate and funding partners, Women United members and other volunteers during Red Carpet welcome back events held at community schools.

Welcome United Way of Erie County New Members of the Board of Directors!

When Wegmans wants to raise funds for United Way of Erie County, their goal is to create meaningful change in our community by supporting our mission…and to have fun while doing it! 

Thanks to the generosity of United Way of Erie County’s corporate and funding partners, together, we are making a transformational impact in the lives of students and their families throughout Erie County. Throughout the year we are featuring corporate partners in the Weekly InBrief because we know the business community understands when children fall behind in school the consequences create a ripple effect.   

Women United for Community Schools recently hosted an educational discussion for current members and guests with the intention of recruiting more women to join this growing affinity group of United Way.

National Night Out 2023

United Way of Erie County has been a proud sponsor of local National Night Out (NNO) events since 2004 and yesterday the community celebrated NNO across Erie County.

Can you help United Way provide NEW school supplies for children at United Way community schools? 

With the cost of living and inflation at an all-time high, many families with students at community schools, may not be able to afford new school supplies, whether it be book bags, ear buds, Expo markers, glue sticks, jumbo crayons, kids scissors, pencil pouches or water bottles.

Officials from The Erie Community Foundation announced today a $2M Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Transformational Philanthropy grant to United Way of Erie County for the establishment of the Community School Model at Erie High School in Erie’s Public Schools.

Happy July! And, Happy 10th Anniversary to United Way's Imagination Library for Erie County which was launched in July 2013. To celebrate this significant milestone as a valued supporter of our mission to promote literacy and empower children, we invite you to join us in commemorating this remarkable achievement.

Views Festival, a collaborative effort between Erie Arts and Culture, United Way of Erie County and many other partners, supporters, community members and allies wrapped up last week, resulting in the placement of more than 20 new murals along United Way Safer Walking Routes to School in the City of Erie. In early June, both local and visiting artists came together to continue the work that began during last year's Purposeful Placemaking Project where 13 murals were introduced to the Erie community by the end of 2022.

A United Way of Erie County Community School Delegation recently participated in The Institute for Educational Leadership’s 2023 National Community Schools and Family Engagement Conference, held June 7-9 in downtown Philadelphia. 

Thanks to the generosity of United Way’s corporate and funding partners, together, we are making a transformational impact in the lives of students and their families throughout Erie County. Throughout the year we will be featuring corporate partners in the Weekly InBrief because we know the business community understands when children fall behind in school the consequences create a ripple effect. Students who fall behind are graduating without the skills necessary to support workforce needs if they graduate at all. This results in an increased burden on taxpayers and our social service system, increased involvement in the juvenile justice system and increased trauma and delinquency to name just a few. 

Students cannot learn if they are not in school. That's why United Way is committed to ensuring students arrive to school on time and ready to learn each and every day.

The end of the school year is almost here! We hope these examples of United Way's funding, or what we call #CommunitySchoolsInAction, warm your heart and show you impact of your support on students and their families during the last few weeks of school.

So far, 66 children at three United Way community schools have received new glasses thanks to Vision To Learn in 2023: 18 at Edison Elementary, 24 at Harding Elementary and 24 at Pfeiffer-Burleigh Elementary. 

At the 2023 Annual Meeting, held May 11 at the Bayfront Convention Center, we used the opportunity to spotlight how family engagement blossoms through the Community School Model.

The twelfth annual Trash to Treasure sale is happening at Penn State Behrend this Saturday, May 13, from 7:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Junker Center on campus with all proceeds benefitting United Way.

A Bunch of Carrots, a Box of Rice, some Tasty Cheese, a Big Firm Pear and a Can of Peas... sounds like a simple list, right? Well not for Vincent in the beloved Imagination Library book Chimpanzees for Tea! which came to life for thousands of Erie County children and families this past weekend thanks to United Way and the Erie Playhouse's PLAYtime partnership.

Sara Musone, Community School Director at Grover Cleveland feels beyond lucky to collaborate with volunteer Charlotte “Char” Berringer. According to Sara, “Char started as a volunteer but has become part of the Grover family and a treasured asset.”