And the winners are...

Spirit of Community
The Spirit of Community award is presented to corporate partners who demonstrate a high level of service to our community through the United Way. Each recipient, in addition to providing corporate support to the United Way encourages their employees to engage with the United Way through special projects. Projects may include Days of Caring with local United Way agency partners; special drives for back to school, the holiday gift drive and food drives. This year's recipients are:
Merrill Lynch
Janssen, LP & Ortho-McNeil Neurologics, Inc.

Spirit of Caring Award
In recognition of an organization's unique campaign spirit, and overall commitment to United Way. This year's recipients are:
Comcast
Bristol-Myers Squibb/ Nassau Park Campus
JC Penney Company
Jose Obando

Gayle B. Crews Award
The Gayle B. Crews award is presented to the employee coordinator who best exemplifies the outstanding qualities of leadership, dedication and enthusiasm of the late Janssen Pharmaceutical employee, Gayle B. Crews.
This year's recipient is:
Michelle Cash of ETS

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On the evening of May 8, the United Way of Greater Mercer County held its Annual Meeting to elect Trustees to serve for the next three years. Elected were:

Ana Berdecia
Thomas Edison State College
John Watson Institute for Public Policy

Francis Blanco
State of New Jersey Department of Commerce

Tanuja Dehne
NRG Energy, Inc.

Matthew J. Graglia, CPA

Jane Kozinski
Saul Ewing LLP

Vito Mastro, CPA
Mastro and Sandler, CPA

Scott L. Puro
Backes and Hill Counselor at Law

Brian Rath
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney

Steven Rodriquez
Smith Barney

Additionally, the following Trustees were elected as officers for the corporation:

Michael J. Conlan
Chairman of the Board
Saul Ewing LLP

Stephen K. Shueh
Vice Chairman of the Board
Alter Asset Management, Inc.

Matthew J. Graglia, CPA
Treasurer

Tanuja Dehne
Corporate Secretary
NRG Energy, Inc.

Scott L. Puro
Corporate Counsel
Backes and Hill
Counselor at Law

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Craig E. Lafferty

Dear Friends,

Can you feel it? Do you hear it? Spring has arrived in New Jersey. The trees are budding; the daffodils blooming; warm breezes can be felt; the birds are singing. Winter is finally over! Families are starting to make plans for outings. The kids are even beginning to think about summer vacation. Spring is a time of renewal. Gardens are being planted. And yet, those less fortunate in our midst still need your help.

The work of United Way is not seasonal. It's on-going and ever-present. For United Way, renewal is about sustaining - keeping our commitment to the community to be there, no matter what the season. With your help, United Way is able to address the needs of the community.

If you are able to lend a hand, please do. Call me at the office to discuss how you can help. I look forward to hearing from you. My telephone number is 609.637.4916. Together, we can do so much more – let's make something happen for our community.

Warmest regards,

Craig E. Lafferty
President and CEO

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The Latino Vision Council of United Way of Greater Mercer County launched its pilot CBO initiative for two Hightstown agencies on Monday, April 2, 2007. The CBO Initiative will focus on strengthening the infrastructure of community-based organizations that serve the growing Latino community in Mercer County through building capacity in the agencies so they can become self-sufficient and effective collaborators. The firm of Grizel Ubarry, Inc. has been hired to conduct an assessment and strategic planning, and to provide coaching for two agencies in Hightstown, New Jersey (Community Action Service Center and Better Beginnings Child Development Center). Both agencies will develop an individual strategic plan and come together through a joint retreat with both agency boards in September to consider the feasibility of collaboration efforts. A policy brief will be developed with lessons learned from the pilot model that can be replicated with other community-based organizations throughout the county. The implemented strategies will help expand the infrastructure of Community Based Organizations to support culturally and linguistically sensitive systems and practices for Latinos in Mercer County.

For more information on the Latino Vision Council efforts in Mercer County please call Mr. Ely Mateo at 609-637-4918 or email ely.mateo@uwgmc.org.

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While the winter of 2007 started out warmer than usual, the cold winds and freezing temperatures arrived in February and March. As the temperature on the thermometer dropped, Comcast launched its “Bundle Up and Share the Warmth” – customer-based initiative to provide winter coats to children, adults, and senior citizens across the State of New Jersey.

Customers responded by purchasing Comcast's high speed internet, cable, and telephone service. In return Comcast donated a brand-new winter coat to United Way. When the campaign was finished, nearly 7,000 new, warm winter coats were donated by Comcast to help those in need across New Jersey's 21 counties.

From Bergen to Cape May to Sussex and Mercer, thousands of needy children, adults and seniors received a new coat to fight off the chill of winter. A warm and hearty thank you to our good friends at Comcast for being such a caring and generous corporation.

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UWGMC has partnered with the Mercer County Office on Aging, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton and the Princeton Senior Resource Center (PSRC) to provide window air conditioning units to seniors most in need. This is the third year that the “Medi-Cool Summer Cooling Program” is able to provide air conditioning units to medically fragile senior citizens. Many senior citizens have to choose between cooling their home and other basic needs, because of their fixed income.

During the month of May, Catholic Charities and the PSRC will screen applicants for eligibility, provide a voucher for an air conditioner, and arrange for clients to pick up the unit at the United Way of Greater Mercer County office at 3131 Princeton Pike, building 4, Suite 113, Lawrenceville.

Eligibility criteria include: aged 60 and above; a disability or illness that restricts normal daily tasks or threatens one's ability to live independently; the risk of harm due to unfavorable environmental conditions or lack of social supports/resources; and income at or below 200% of poverty line with assets under $2,000.

Documents required to determine eligibility include: proof of income, prescription from your primary care physician, proof of assets, and proof of residence. Interested seniors should contact Princeton Senior Resource Center at 609.924.7108 (info@princetonsenior.org) or Catholic Charities in Trenton at 609.394.8847 (mrivera@cctrenton.org) to register and receive their voucher. They then need to arrange with us to pick up their unit by calling Lori Hopkins at 609.637.4914. Our goal is to deliver all units by June 1.

Thanks to the county's generous support of this program, this year we will have 173 units to distribute. We also thank Home Depot for supplying the units at a discount price and offering free delivery, and our two partner agencies for their participation in this program.

Finally, we thank our “Young Leaders” who volunteered their time and effort to unload the units and to help the two agencies distribute the units.

This program addresses two of UWGMC Community Impact Areas - Fostering Self-Sufficiency, and Caring for Seniors and People with Disabilities. The third area, Helping Children Succeed, rounds out the UWGMC “Community Impact Agenda,” which strives to utilize the collective power of caring people to work together toward long-term solutions to our communities' most pressing human care needs. Visit our website for more information: www.uwgmc.org.

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United Way of Greater Mercer County has given high priority to “Helping Children Succeed.” Our Vision is that all children and youth reach their fullest potential in a safe and nurturing environment. Essential to this process is that all children should be ready for school by age six.

In Mercer County, United Way is supportive of providers of quality care and education for preschoolers. We applaud childcare centers who have taken the necessary steps to meet the challenge of becoming accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). This is the highest accreditation for providers of Early Care and Education.

On March 7, 2007, Elaine Moorin joined United Way staff in extending congratulations to the Director and staff at the Carolyn Stokes Day Nursery in Trenton, which recently received their NAEYC accreditation. This visit was also tied in with celebrating Dr. Seuss's 50th birthday. The morning was spent reading Dr. Seuss's stories to the children. United Way gave each child a Dr. Seuss stuffed animal, donated by Kohls Department Store.

Based on the High/Scope Perry Preschool Study, investing in quality education for young children produces great educational, social and economic rewards. “I would like to see the United Way's Helping Children Succeed Vision Council take a more in-depth look on how other centers can be encouraged and supported in moving toward the accreditation process”, said Ms. Moorin, educator, past Chair of United Way's Board of Trustees, and current Chair of the Resource Investment Cabinet, the volunteer body responsible for UWGMC grant-making and monitoring process.

There are one hundred and forty childcare centers in Mercer County, thirty-two of which are NAEYC accredited. UWGMC will be focusing its efforts over the next three years on increasing that number.

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This year's Pack the Pantry was a tremendous success! As a result of everyone's help, hard work and dedication, we were able to collect nearly 3,000 pounds or 1.5 TONS of food that has been given to the Mercer Street Friends Food Bank on behalf of UWGMC YLU! Phyllis and Reggie at the Food Bank have been astounded with all of the donations.

The following local organizations participated in Pack the Pantry: Bristol Meyers Squibb (Lawrenceville and Nassau Park locations), Enterprise Rent-A-Car (4 locations), Homasote Company, Ortho-McNeil Janssen Pharmaceutical Services, Kiddie Academy of Langhorne, Future Business Leaders Council of Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce, Merrill Lynch (Hopewell Campus), St. Francis Medical Center, Saul Ewing LLP, Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Inc. (through TCNJ), Trenton Kiwanis and Williams Gas Pipeline.

The Young Leaders United program is a great opportunity to participate in making a difference in our community while networking for success. The membership contribution to be a Young leader is $500 a year. Young Leaders United have participated in volunteer projects such as Days of Caring, food drives, holiday drives and the back-to-school drive. Last spring Young Leaders United held a networking party at Conduit in Trenton, called Sushi and Sake. The event was a great draw and connected the attendees and United Way to many new people. The Young Leaders United sent out a letter to recruit members to all donors giving between $250 and $1,000 dollars. So far the response from the mailing has been very positive in recruiting new members and in stepping-up existing donors to the $500 level of giving. If you are interested in joining the Young Leaders program please contact Andrea Brobst at 609.637.4905 or andrea.brobst@uwgmc.org for more details.

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This past February, United Way lost a long-time friend and volunteer. Bob Fordyce volunteered for United Way for more than 15 years. The beloved husband of Pat Fordyce, Bob was “Mr. Volunteer” for United Way. Bob spent countless hours helping to tally pledges to United Way, selling 50/50 tickets at Trenton Thunder, and helping Pat distribute books to children through the First Books program. Bob's warmth, humor, and quick wit will be missed. Bob was always quick with a smile. Farewell my friend, farewell.

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The Women United in Philanthropy membership giving level is $1,000 per year designated to UWGMC. Carolee Kueller and Jane Kozinski sit on the New Jersey State Women's Leadership Council Steering Committee. After a year of learning about Women's initiatives and the powerful world of women givers, the NJ United Ways decided to collaborate and start a state program. The committee meets monthly and has decided to work collectively on “friend-raising” and membership events to attract women givers. Once a new member is recruited, the local United Way professionals and volunteers will work with the donor to invest their contribution in one of the United Ways vision councils. If you are interested in joining Women United in Philanthropy, please contact Chairperson Jane Kozinski or United Way Vice President of Resource Development Carolee Kueller. Our first event will be a cocktail party and book signing with Dr. Teena Cahill of Princeton. The event will take place on July, 18 and location is to be determined.

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United Way of Greater Mercer County & Young Leaders United:
Success in School Requires the Right Tools
Summer 2007

Fill a backpack... grow a mind!
Help prepare children who are from low-income families return to school with pride, self-esteem, and a back pack full of supplies!
For more information contact Andrea Brobst 609.637.4905 or andrea.brobst@uwgmc.org

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