Learn about us and what we do best.

Who is the United Way Franklin County? We are a community that cares.

UNITED WAY VISION: United Way envisions a world where all individuals and families achieve their human potential through education, income stability and healthy lives.

MISSION: The United Way of Franklin County, Inc. is dedicated to improving the quality of life in Franklin County by mobilizing people and resources to strengthen our communities and advance the common good. LIVE UNITED: GIVE, ADVOCATE, VOLUNTEER

United Way improves lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good. Our goals are ambitious, but with the help of our communities and by utilizing our core strengths - a national network, committed partners and public engagement capacity - we can reach our goals by 2018:

• IMPROVE EDUCATION (and cut the number of high school drop outs in half);
• help people achieve FINANCIAL STABILITY and get 1.9 million working families ( half the number of lower-income families who are financially unstable) on the road to economic independence
• PROMOTE HEALTHY LIVES (and increase by one-third the number of youth and adults who are healthy and avoid risky behaviors.)

IMPROVING LIVES BY MOBILIZING THE CARING POWER OF COMMUNITIES...United Way of Franklin County, Inc., is a community-based nonprofit organization which was founded in 1938 and CELEBRATES 75 years of LIVING UNITED in Franklin County. From the original five agencies we have grown to our 24 current partners. We work to make positive changes within our communities through cost effective fundraising and accountable distribution of funds. We have been operating in Franklin County for 75 years and our office is located in Greenfield, Massachusetts.

How does the United Way of Franklin County Help?

United Way of Franklin County works to advance the common good in our community. We do that by funding human service programs that offer opportunities for a better life for our residents. By focusing on four key "impact areas" to fulfill our mission to make Franklin County a wonderful place for individuals and families to live, we can work toward our goals:

ENHANCING HEALTH AND WELLNESS:
-Increasing access to healthy food through out support of the food bank and food pantries.
-Supporting nutritional education in programs, schools and communities so people will buy healthier food when it's available.
-Supporting programs that offer food assistance to babies and small children.
-Supporting programs that offer physical activities for children during after-school hours and summer time.
-Supporting programs that provide training in CPR, First Aid, water safety, life guarding, and babysitting skills.

CARING FOR THOSE IN CRISIS:
-Supporting programs that offer immediate relief to people who experience disasters such as major flooding, tornadoes, and house fires.
-Supporting programs that assist people who have been greatly impacted by unemployment and who need help with buying food, paying rent, and obtaining other basic necessities.
-Supporting programs that provide emergency shelter, transitional housing, and eviction prevention services.
-Supporting programs that offer a safe haven for battered women and their children.
-Supporting programs that offer free meals to people who are homeless, elderly, or lonely.

NURTURING CHILDREN AND YOUTH:
-Supporting mentoring programs that match caring adults and responsible teenagers with boys and girls in need of one-on-one mentoring relationships.
-Supporting youth programs that foster increasing positive self-image and a sense of community.
-Supporting programs that assist children in coping with the loss of a parent or other loved one through death.
-Supporting programs that help youth at risk enhance their current and future productivity by improving their academic, business, and life skills.
-Supporting programs that intervene in and prevent child abuse and neglect.

STRENGTHENING FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS:
-Supporting programs that offer peer mentoring to the elderly population as they experience difficulties in aging and in accessing support resources.
-Supporting programs that offer after-school activities and homework help for children.
-Supporting programs that work with at-risk and disadvantaged youth by providing individual counseling, therapeutic groups, and recreational programs.
-Supporting programs that offer positive parenting support to adults with cognitive limitations.
-Supporting programs that strengthen parents' skills so they foster secure, nurturing relationships with their children.