FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Linda Maggio, (908) 233-2113
Westfield United Fund Parts Ways with United Way of America
Longstanding Community Fund Returns to Independent Roots
WESTFIELD – The Board of Trustees of the Westfield United Way announced today that they have voted to end their affiliation with the United Way of America and return to their community-based roots as the Westfield United Fund. The renamed organization will operate independently while continuing to fund nineteen local human services agencies through its annual campaign drive. Since 1937, the campaign has distributed over $25 million to a broad range of Westfield-area member agencies including the ARC of Union County, CONTACT We Care, Mobile Meals and the Westfield Area Y. The change is effective May 1, 2009.
The Westfield United Fund’s decision to separate from the United Way of America came after a lengthy review process of the diverging missions of the two organizations, including the United Way’s plans to consolidate its local chapters into fewer agencies serving larger regions. In addition, the United Way is increasingly seeking a new focus on a limited number of national and international issues.
“The Westfield United Fund is first and foremost a community-driven organization of, by and for Westfielders,” said board president David Foltz. “We support agencies that provide essential services to our area’s most vulnerable populations. We fund hot meals, home care and transportation for the elderly; child care for working parents; and counseling for families in crisis. Our mission is helping people. That mission has, if anything, become even more critical in the current economy. At a time when the national United Way is thinking globally, we are thinking locally. We want to assure our donors that dollars raised here will stay here. We will continue to fund local agencies that in turn support neighbors in need. As we say in our campaign materials, ‘your gift goes far, but not far away.’”
The designation Westfield United Fund represents a return to the campaign’s fundamental identity. Throughout most of its 72-year history, the organization was known as the United Fund of Westfield. “Names change and organizations evolve, but the Westfield United Fund has never wavered in its mission of helping those in need,” said Linda Maggio, Executive Director since 1975. “We have always prided ourselves on being a homegrown organization governed by local residents that is highly responsive to our community needs in the most timely, efficient and economical way possible.”
The Westfield United Fund board will introduce new officers and trustees to the public at its Annual Meeting on May 21, 2009. At that meeting, board members will also unveil a new marketing campaign, including a redesigned logo and website, to promote the campaign’s new identity. The 2009-2010 campaign will launch in September. For additional information, contact the Westfield United Fund office at 908-233-2113 or visit www.WestfieldUnitedFund.org.
