Housatonic Valley Association Presents Valley United Way With River Hero Award

Valley United Way was one of several groups honored by the Housatonic Valley Association as a 2011 Housatonic River Hero as the group finished their Source-to Sound Paddle Trip with a stop along the Housatonic River in Derby. The group had been paddling down the navigable stretches of the 149 mile river between May 3 and May 12. They made their stop in Derby on O'Sullivan's Island which is also one of the gateway's to the city's very popular Greenway and Park.

Before heading off on the last leg of their trip down river,  Elaine LaBella of the HVA presented awards to Valley United Way, the City of Derby, the Valley Council of Governments and the Healthy Valley Committee of the Valley Council for Health & Human Services. All of the groups have been active in promoting the importance of the rivers, and the Valley Council of Governments was the lead agency in helping the City of Derby build the Greenway. Mayor Staffieri of Derby spoke at the ceremony and noted the incredible changes that have taken place with the development of the peninsula at the confluence of the Nauagtuck and Housatonic Rivers and lauded the HVA for their part in promoting the rivers.

2011 Housatonic River Hero Award

VUW Endorses Griffin's New Health Initiative for Men 

Valley United Way's Board of Directors has voted to endorse and help promote Griffin Hospital's new Health Initiative for Men which officially launched on May 25. This exciting new program is being modeled after Griffin's very successful Women's Health Initiative and is designed to provide the same information and benefits for men.

The first project will be a Father's Day card index. You can learn more about this effort by clicking here. 

Corporate Volunteer Council Hosts Social 

Valley United Way's Corporate Volunteer Council (CVC) hosted an introductory social for companies looking to learn more about community volunteer programs.  Katie Scinto hosted the event in Tower 1, inside Shelton's corporate park, and provided hors d'oeuvres, complimented by wine and assorted cheeses. Harry Burlakoff, of Minuteman Press, also provided a light dinner for attendees from Pasta Fina of Shelton.  

The purpose of this event was to host a meet and greet for companies interested in joining the CVC. The event also provided a social forum to CVC companies to socialize with one another outside the board room. CVC meetings are regularly held on the 3rd Thursday of each month at a different CVC member's company.

Click here for more information and pictures.

Youth Leaders Help to Stamp out Hunger in 21st Annual Letter Carriers Food Drive

A total of 29 Valley United Way Youth Leaders helped unload mail trucks full of nonperishable food items at the Spooner House in Shelton for the 21st annual Letter Carriers Food Drive. Youth Leaders and community volunteers also helped unpack the food, sort it, and store it in an efficient means to process the food.

The annual Letter Carriers Food Drive is one of the biggest single-day food drives in the country, and members of Valley United Way's Youth Leadership Program have been participating for more than two decades. Letter carriers pick up non-perishable food items from postal patrons throughout the Valley towns as they make their normal Saturday deliveries. The mail trucks collect the food at their local post offices and deliver what they have collected to local food banks.

Patricia Tarasovic, Director of Valley United Way's Volunteer Center said, "This food drive is a great project and a perfect opportunity for our Youth Leaders to get involved in volunteerism in the Valley Community, which allows them to grow stronger as a group." The Letter Carriers Food Drive is the first major project students are involved in as newly elected Youth Leadership members.

Letter Carriers Food Drive 2011