Partners Came Together to Make a Difference

On December 15, Valley of the Sun United Way held Project Connect at Monte Vista Church in Phoenix, where 250 individuals experiencing homelessness or people struggling to make ends meet gained access to life-changing resources all in one place.

Brannon, a branch manager with Wells Fargo was just one of the 30+ local partners who made themselves available to help. “It’s just important to embrace the community and to help people learn how to manage money, grow their money, you know, plan for the future and just give them information to help them be successful with their finances.” Wells Fargo was among the few businesses onsite.

Kristen is Chief of Staff at Vanguard, another Valley of the Sun United Way partner who engages staff to volunteer at these events. She volunteered alongside many of her colleagues and saw first-hand how much of a difference Project Connect makes in someone’s life.

A comment her guest shared stands out in her mind, “I’ll never see you again, but thank you for your help,” as her guest walked away.

Providing Resources for Our Community

Project Connect guests are able to satisfy many of their basic needs as well as get answers to complicated situations. First-time Project Connect guest Valerie, age 53, was able to shower, get her hair cut, eat breakfast, pick out new clothes, secure dog food for her dog, Alice and begin the path to a new life by obtaining an ID and learning about her housing options.

“I talked to a man from housing, he told me what to do as far as getting into the housing. Once I get something like that, the sky is the limit for my own self and for Alice,” Valerie stated.

Thanks to Our Various Partners, We Helped People Like Valerie See That the Sky Really is the Limit

Donations to Valley of the Sun United Way’s Helping the Working Poor fund helps people like Valerie every day. If you donate to this fund, you could receive a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit of up to $400 for single filers and $800 for couples.

Special thanks to United Way Board Members and Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema’s office, Representative Reginald Bolding Jr., District 27, and Representative Kelli Butler, District 28 for their attendance. And thanks to our over 125 volunteers from our partners at AAA, Insight, Maricopa Community Colleges, Nationwide, Wells Fargo, University of Phoenix, United Healthcare Tricare, and Vanguard as well as the LDS Community, for giving back to help help others.