United Way embraces virtues of extensive partner network

Editor’s note: This is the first in a four-part series on the new focus and goals of United Way’s annual campaign.

For a tip of the hat in the new direction of the United Way, one needn’t look any further than the title of the prolific nonprofit.

This week, the United Way will kick off of its 2016 campaign with speeches from Penn State President Eric Barron and Lee Myers, vice president of Geisinger Health.

Campaign chairs Chris Hosterman and Fran Stevenson will also say a word or two during Tuesday’s scheduled press conference.

The thrust of their remarks will focus on this year’s goal of increasing the organization’s partner network.

“We are moving away from talking about and setting monetary goals and reacting to problems after they have developed,” Tammy Gentzel, executive director of the United Way, said.

Don’t put away your wallets — funding will still be a big part of helping to facilitate all of this moving forward.

The image of the United Way thermometer — a long-standing visual representation of money raised — will be retired and replaced by the message “what will you Live United FOR?”

“The entire world is grappling with what is important in working to sustain and improve our communities — grappling with where and how we should focus our time and energy. We have opted to focus on living united for each other,” Gentzel said.

Donations will continue to go toward supporting community needs like elder care, food security, learning and literacy.

As it stands, the United Way has approximately 57,000 service users working with partner agencies across the nation.

In the future, the organization is hoping these partnerships can be utilized to even greater effect.

“By having more face-to-face discussions about partnering to build solutions and then reinforcing those discussions and partnerships as a part of day-to-day business. We are identifying specific goals that we can achieve as a network,” Gentzel said.

The goals of the United Way moving forward are twofold — taking preventive action against potential problems and creating long-lasting change in the areas of health, education and financial stability.

“We are identifying specific goals that we can achieve as a network. For example, our Stewards of Children partnership has resulted in over 6,000 adults being trained to identify and appropriately respond to signs of child abuse,” Gentzel said.

For more on how the United Way’s partnership agencies are working together to make a difference, check back next Sunday for a more in-depth look at how the Centre County Youth Service Bureau, YMCA and Centre County Women’s Resource Center are working together to bring Stewards of Children to the local level.

This story was originally published September 17, 2016 at 6:33 PM with the headline "United Way embraces virtues of extensive partner network."