Press Releases

Bergen County's United Way Takes a New Approach:
Lending A Hand in Direct and Vital Ways

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ, March 6, 2007- Bergen County’s United Way is adopting a new approach that includes being more directly involved in delivering vital services when help is most needed.

“Our focus is on making a lasting change in the community, to invest in ways that make it possible to solve chronic problems,” said Tom Toronto, President of Bergen County’s United Way. “We know that we can make the greatest impact not just as a “traditional” fundraising agency but by filling in gaps when services are not available.”

As a first step, Bergen County’s United Way has established a Compassion Fund with contributions from individuals and corporations who have joined the effort. The Compassion Fund is a critical source of emergency financial assistance - when existing resources in the community have been exhausted.

“No person, no child should have to live without a roof over their heads, heat and electricity, a daily meal or life sustaining medication,” said Marsha Dettelbach-Hook, the United Way’s fund manager. “This is Bergen County, New Jersey and we can and will do better for the most vulnerable who live among us.”

In 2005, Bergen County’s United Way made getting connected to help easier when it launched 2-1-1 an easy to remember three-digit helpline for health and human services, government assistance and local community resources.

The service which handles 150,000 calls annually provides a frontline identification of trends and unmet needs based on the kinds of help most often requested. With the Compassion Fund in place, Bergen County’s United Way will work closely with 2-1-1 Call Specialists to make sure that no one falls through the cracks.

Calls to 2-1-1 confirm that the lack of affordable housing is the highest priority human service need – one that has plagued Bergen County for decades. To work toward a permanent solution, Bergen County’s United Way is creating homeownership opportunities for low and moderate income working families in partnership with non-profit housing developers.

“It is an equity model designed to produce a new municipal taxpayer,” said Jim Healy, Chairman of the Board of Directors. “We provide pre-development financing for acquisition of property and our development partners are not for profits experienced in affordable housing that can get the job done. We have chosen organizations with demonstrated ability to also provide education regarding money management and property maintenance for the new homeowners. As a result, remarkable work has been accomplished that is changing lives forever.”

In Bergen County, United Way is how our community uses its head, and its heart, to lend people a hand – 24 hours a day, every day – wherever help is needed.