By David Rabin
Preparing to write this article brought me back to the last seven years of speeches, press releases and everything else that I have used to let Greenwich know of the importance of the work of the Greenwich United Way (GUW). My tenure as CEO since 2016 is only 7% of the time the GUW has been in town ensuring every member of our community has the opportunity to be healthy, educated and self-sufficient as the GUW celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.
Being as objective as I can be, one thing is clear: Greenwich would not be the incredible town that it is if not for the work of the Greenwich United Way!
Many of the beloved and meaningful organizations and programs that exist in town today started with the GUW. For proof, visit our website and click on “Accomplishments.”Organizations and programs like Abilis, TAG, Kids In Crisis, River House Adult Day Center, YWCA Domestic Abuse Services, Reading Champions, Early Childhood Achievement Gap Solutions, and, most recently, our partnership with Greenwich Hospital Yale New Haven to launch Greenwich’s first and only youth mental health intensive outpatient program (IO ), scheduled to open February 2024 – all possible because of the GUW. There ares cores more!
Many of you reading this may not know the impact the GUW has had on our town. Truth be told, neither did I for much of my 40 years in Greenwich. GUW’s two “lines of business” are 1) our own programming and 2) community investment funds (grantmaking). Both are data-driven and measurable to ensure meaningful impact. We have invested over $40 million in grants into the community in the last 20 years alone. Our grants process – what we call the Community Investment Process – takes a deep dive into every applicant’s financials, programming, and leadership with a personal, on-site visit. We get to a level of detail that the average donor simply does not have the time or access to do, thus ensuring this volunteer-led process provides the best use of our donor dollars and the most meaningful positive impact. The results of our grants include ensuring that no child goes to bed hungry, children reach their academic potential, seniors stay connected and engaged, and families get the health services they need. I invite you to volunteer for our Community Investment Process and you will learn more about our town than you thought possible!
Our own Reading Champions programming has improved the reading fluency of more than 5,000 Greenwich elementary students since its inception and we have successfully narrowed the achievement gap for hundreds of at-risk children entering kindergarten with our Early Childhood Achievement Gap Solutions. We now excitedly await the opening of the aforementioned Youth & Adolescent Behavioral Health Outpatient Program, a facility that will most certainly help to save lives.
In 1933 Helen Wilshire Walsh raised $192,000 ($4.5million in today’s dollars) with the vision of Greenwich taking care of its own. A Greenwich that offered hope where there was despair. She knew that a strong safety net for a community’s most vulnerable lifts the ENTIRE community. The Greenwich United Way is that beacon of MEASURABLE hope for the almost one-third of our town or approximately 21,000 Greenwich residents (NOT a typo) who are a flat tire away from financial disaster.
After seven years with a birds-eye view of philanthropy in Greenwich, I recognize a common thread among donors and volunteers. While the people of Greenwich are so unique – unique in that “reach of goodness” as I call it, or the extent to which you help the many organizations at the regional and even global level – you start your philanthropy right here in Greenwich. And as the GUW is the one organization that helps ALL of Greenwich’s most vulnerable, there is no other organization better positioned to make the most positive impact in our hometown than the Greenwich United Way.
Because of your help, we continue to be that beacon Helen Wilshire Walsh envisioned nine decades ago.
On behalf of all of us at the Greenwich United Way – our board, our staff, the thousands of volunteers over the years and our community partners – and on behalf of those we serve, thank you!
David Rabin is President & CEO of Greenwich United Way
