Baby diapers…a flat tire…enough money to pay the rent but not the security deposit to get a place to live…a load of firewood…a tank of heating oil…enough food in the fridge before payday.  

Because of you, the Green Mountain United Way is able to help working Vermonters stay on their feet and get to work and school, every single day. Every donation to the Green Mountain United Way is a stepping stone to security for Vermonters throughout the five counties we serve, Caledonia, S. Essex, Orleans, Orange and Washington Counties and we are so grateful to you for your help. 

During the pandemic, things got a lot harder before they got better for many Vermonters. And many hard working families are still struggling. 

Candace is a graduate student, healthcare worker and mother, who had to quarantine for 14 days with her kids, after a non-COVID illness during the pandemic, using unpaid time off and whatever little paid time off she had left. This left the family without an income to pay bills just at the holidays!

Candace’s employer partners with Green Mountain United Way’s Working Bridges program and Candace learned that she was eligible for an Income Advance Loan, an available option for any employee that is in good standing at work regardless of credit history. Candace was able to catch up on her bills, get winter tires so she could get to work and purchase gifts for her three children for the holidays. 

This is the kind of work that not only helps a family make it through difficult times but also brings a community together.

Programs like Working Bridges supports local employers by supporting their employees’ needs and help fill the gaps that often go unnoticed until the tire goes flat at 7am or the baby doesn’t have enough diapers to go to daycare. Green Mountain United Way works to ensure that moments of instability will not lead to long term insecurity.

Thank you so much for continuing to support this important work!

Your past gifts are helping us build the foundation upon which we can help elevate our Vermont working families into a better place both financially and emotionally. So much of the stress of scarcity can be avoided by lifting our working families when they need it the most. 

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Are you looking for ways to keep your employees working for you? Is it sometimes difficult for your employees to get to work on time or at all due to car issues or other transportation problems? Do your employees need more or better child care?

A flat tire before the work day starts. Running out of diapers or snacks to bring to the daycare center before payday on Friday. Having a babysitter call and cancel. Needing new snow tires before being able to make the often treacherous drive to work. 

The Green Mountain United Way is working hard throughout Vermont to improve business AND job stability for both employer and employee, by bringing innovative practices that utilize the workplace as a platform for human services. 

We are offering two virtual opportunities for this training for our established sites in our Working Bridges program. The Working Bridges program is designed to improve job retention, productivity, and advancement by supporting employees with already available community resources. Using the workplace as a platform for services and support, Working Bridges helps working Vermonters achieve stability and thrive while also supporting human resource departments and reducing employee turnover. Those interested in learning more about this are welcome to join in and learn.

Description:

United Way’s Working Bridges is an innovative program designed to improve job retention, productivity, and advancement by supporting employees with available community resources. Using the workplace as a platform for services and support, Working Bridges helps working Vermonters achieve stability and thrive while supporting human resource departments and reducing employee turnover.

When individuals experience scarcity of essential life resources, over time or in the short-term, it is hard to maintain stability, at work and in life. This training is designed for employers who wish to better support staff across economic diversity and resource stability. Many of the concepts can help participants examine how processes, systems, and supports are either disrupting poverty or exacerbating resource instability. Register now and join us to:

• Develop familiarity with Working Bridges, specifically Resource Coordination as well as community-based information & referral resources such as Vermont 2-1-1.
• Define poverty, tyranny of the moment, scarcity, bandwidth tax, slack, tunneling, & abundance.
• Learn about how mental models and hidden rules can interrupt or facilitate dialogue and trusted relationships at work and in community.
• Discuss essential resource categories, issues of equity, and how scarcity of resources plays out at work and in community.
• Experience and learn about the impact of scarcity through the virtual activity, Strain.

October 26: 3:00pm – 4:30pm

November 2: 10:00am – 11:30am

Register Here

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The Green Mountain United Way has named Michelle Kennedy as their new Director of Development and Community Engagement, joining the fight for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in every community in Caledonia, Essex, Orleans, Orange and Washington counties.

Kennedy comes with over 22 years of experience in communications, marketing, and public relations, as well as almost 15 years in nonprofit leadership, fundraising, development, and advocacy. She most recently spent two years as the Assistant Director of Development for Easterseals Vermont and Veterans Count, covering the state of Vermont including 11 district offices and two chapters of Veterans Count. 

“I am so excited and grateful to have Michelle join the GMUW team. In just a short time, I have been so impressed with Michelle’s talents and versatile skill set. Her vast experience in both the non-profit and literary world is a perfect fit to grow our community relationships and elevate the story of our work. In short, we are very lucky to have her!”

“I am so honored and excited to be joining this team of extraordinary people,” Kennedy said. “The Green Mountain United Way inspires me every day by finding real solutions for Vermonters who are struggling with a variety of insecurities. Working Bridges, for example, really does go above and beyond to help working Vermonters get the help they need.”

Michelle grew up in Chelsea, Vermont and graduated from Chelsea High School. She studied political science and communications at American University and the University of Maryland. An award-winning author, most notably of “Without a Net: Middle Class and Homeless (With Kids) in America,” published by Viking, Michelle has traveled extensively with her eight children across the United States including living off-grid in both Alaska and Hawai’i. 

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