The United Way movement began in Denver, Colorado, as an effort to consolidate fundraising efforts among local charitable organizations. In 1887, a priest, two ministers, and a rabbi recognized the need for cooperative action to address their city's welfare problems, thereby creating the Charity Organizations Society, the precursor to United Way.

Today, United Way is a worldwide movement of nearly 1,800 community-based organizations located in 45 countries and territories. While each United Way is an independent organization, governed by a local Board of Directors, it shares a common focus, namely to advance the common good by creating opportunities for a better life for all.

In 1921, the United Way of York County was created to raise funds on behalf of 17 human service agencies in York County. The first campaign raised close to $74,000. Today, the United Way raises close to $7 million in support of 74 programs provided by 35 partner agencies. However, as with many organizations, the United Way's role in the community has transformed from more than just a fundraiser to an organization that is having significant impact on the quality of life in York County.

The United Way's mission statement is "to improve people's lives by building a strong community through cultivating generosity, volunteerism and civic engagement". It is the role of United Way to inspire individuals to Give Advocate Volunteer in order to really have a true impact on people's lives. While raising needed funding is critical to having impact, it is not the sole answer to ending the problems in our community. Individuals are being mobilized around issues where their voice can be heard and their time can be spent to affect meaningful improvement.

In 2008, the United Way adopted the theme LIVE UNITED, which embodies the concept of working as a community for the betterment of the community. Through the annual campaign conducted primarily at the workplace, the United Way raises funds for The Community Fund, which represents undesignated contributions. These funds are allocated to the programs of the partner agencies by volunteers who serve on allocation panels. In order to be a partner agency, an organization must meet eligibility criteria and provide programs that meet the United Way's priorities under the categories of education, income and health, defined as follows:

Education - Helping children and youth achieve their potential
Income - Promoting financial stability and independence
Health - Improving people's health

In the area of education, the United Way is involved in the continuum of the educational process from early childhood education through high school so that our youth can successfully transition from high school to either higher education or the workplace. Programs in the area of income consist of providing for basic needs such as emergency food, shelter and utility assistance, as well as emergency assistance in the event of a disaster. Health programs include access to health care services, maternal health care for young mothers and counseling services.

In addition to raising funds, identifying community needs and allocating resources to meet the needs, the United Way also provides services that benefit multiple organizations in their efforts to provide services. Focus on Our Future supports high quality early childhood education and school readiness programs. SecureCorps, an AmeriCorps program, enrolls individuals to assist nonprofit agencies in development of their emergency preparedness plans, as well as to provide safety and wellness programs to children and families throughout York City neighborhoods. FIRST, a partnership of the United Way and York County Human Services is a free and confidential service that operates 24/7 and provides information and referral services to those in need. In the past year, FIRST responded to over 38,000 calls for assistance most often related to emergency food, shelter and utility assistance. The Volunteer Center matches nonprofit organizations with individuals and groups volunteering their time, talents and resources to strengthen our community. Last year, more than 1,500 volunteers were connected to opportunities with 215 nonprofit agencies.

Throughout its history, the United Way has developed and/or been a member of partnerships to further the impact of limited resources. As previously indicated, there are 35 funded partner agencies, i.e., agencies that receive support from The Community Fund. Also, the United Way has a strong partnership with the York-Adams Central Labor Council, which endorses the annual workplace campaign and is involved in many significant community service projects. Other community partnerships include working with YorkCounts, the Healthy York County Coalition, Family Issues Roundtable, Healthy York Network, the York County Task Force on Domestic Violence and many others that are having a significant impact in York County.

LIVE UNITED is much more than a theme. It is a way of working together in order to advance the common good and make a difference for all. Please support the United Way of York County with your time and resources. For more information, please visit www.unitedway-york.org.