Our work is led by volunteers and we help people connect to their giving through volunteerism.

One way we promote volunteerism is through our Volunteer Link, an online database that you can search 24 hours a day for an opportunity that suits your interests and schedule. If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity (or if you are a nonprofit that recruits volunteers), take a look around the Volunteer Link to see how it can help.

Our most well-known activity to mobilize volunteers is our annual Day of Caring when individuals, employee teams and students take time to make their communities better. In 2002, we successfully worked to grow participation from about 500 volunteers the year before to over 15,000 volunteers.

United Way works year-round to help people get involved with their community. We match local agencies and the families they help with workplace employee-teams conducting food and toy drives. We match student groups doing service projects with local nonprofits. We invest in projects that bring people together to make their community stronger.

And we work closely with other organizations encouraging civic engagement, such as the Association of Volunteer Administrators. Their Board of Directors acts as our advisor on volunteer issues, and two seats on that board are held by Nancy Burke, our Volunteer Services Manager, and Jan McCray, our Volunteer Link Administrator.

At United Way of Greater New Haven, we're eager to work with you or your organization to help you engage with your community through volunteerism. Contact Nancy Burke, or Jan McCray for more information.