United Way of Pioneer Valley fights to lift the 25 communities of Hampden County, Granby, and South Hadley out of poverty. For 100 years, we have created solutions to solve our communities’ toughest problems, and are still improving upon our methods and programs to solve even more.
We have a vast range of services, but the majority focus on basic human needs such as feeding the hungry, youth development programs, empowering peoples’ financial wellness, and Mass2-1-1 – free information, referrals, and mental health support to anyone in the Commonwealth who needs it.
Tangible Results
In 2021, we accomplished:
Feeding the Hungry
Chicopee Cupboard
30,025lb of food distributed from April-December 2021.
193 families, totaling nearly 500 people, enrolled as clients.
Feed-a-Family
Served 1,000 cooked meals at the Holyoke Boys & Girls Club.
Provided full Thanksgiving meals with gift certificates for Chicopee Cupboard families.
Digital Inclusion
Actively collecting gently-used laptops for 20 clients who need them for job searches, job training, telehealth, or remote work.
OnBoard: nonprofit diversity from the top down
Our December OnBoard matching event welcomed nearly 100 people to explore board & committee opportunities with area non-profits.
Youth Generate
Ongoing pilot program wherein Palmer middle school students designed a Community Closet, with clothing and toiletries for local families in need.
Happy Camper Fund
Introduced a summer field trip program for 1,175 youth at six summer camps to enjoy field trips on Fridays. Destinations included Springfield Museums, Mystic Aquarium, Connecticut Science Center, Boston Science Museum, New England Aquarium, Forest Park Zoo, The Ecotarium, Sturbridge Village, among others. We provided lunch and transportation, together with admission for each visit.
Thrive
Our two highly trained financial coaches work with nearly 100 clients to help them create and adhere to household budgets, pay down debt, improve credit scores, increase savings.
Day of Caring
Hosted 12 volunteer projects in September 2021
Stuff the Bus
Provided 1,541 backpacks to school districts throughout our geographic footprint.
Mass2-1-1 & Call2Talk
We opened a Call2Talk satellite office for volunteers and graduate students at the Springfield College School of Social Work to answer calls from people in need of emotional support. Our satellite office took 2,071 calls during 2021.
For the 25 communities we serve, there were 31,690 calls to Mass 2-1-1. The top three information requests were about COVID, housing, and mental health.
Connecting the Community
For 100 years and counting, United Way of Pioneer Valley has held a reputation as our community’s fundraiser, but we are much more. Today’s United Way is a focused, results-driven system that works year-round to change community conditions and create lasting solutions. We are impacting our community today and building the foundation for tomorrow. Through strong partnerships with volunteers, local businesses, government and nonprofit organizations, United Way accomplishes what no one can do alone.
Mission
United Way of Pioneer Valley mobilizes people and resources to strengthen our communities.
Vision
We envision a thriving, caring region where individuals have opportunities to realize their potential, become economically self-sufficient, and contribute collectively to improve the quality of life in their communities.
Values
- Accountability — Transparency and fairness in all our relationships that instills the highest level of public trust in our effort.
- Creativity — Continuous improvement and innovative approaches to improving community conditions.
- Diversity — The dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual.
- Excellence — Providing the highest quality of service to achieve our goals with clear and measurable outcomes.
- Relevance — Clear identification of our value to the community using data driven and community engagement strategies to guide our work.
Financials
View our financial documentation at uwpv.org/financials.