In Crises, United Way Has 100 Years of Responding to Emergency Need

 
Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit one year ago, United Way of York County has been working overtime to help communities respond, recover, reimagine and rebuild.  
 
Thanks to generous support, United Way of York County, York County Community Foundation, and our partners were able to respond to a huge unforeseen need in our community right away by establishing the York County COVID-19 Response Fund. Contributions from individuals like you, corporate partners, and philanthropic foundations have helped to raise more than $1,195,000 to support vital services that are crucial to healthy communities.  
 
From the beginning, grant recipients have been identified by surveying and engaging in dialogue with nonprofit and government agencies responding to the impacts of the pandemic. Community advisory committees for Food and for Housing were formed to provide input on priority needs, and include representatives from local nonprofit agencies, health and human service sector experts, and representatives from the community. 
 
Over the past year, your support of the COVID-19 Response Fund has helped:  
  • 683 families receive rental assistance to prevent evictions 
  • 93,000+ households receive emergency food assistance, thanks to 11 nonprofits distributing 5.4 million pounds of food  
  • 4 York County child care centers expand school-aged child care for families participating in virtual learning, enabling their parents to return to work  
  • Code Blue Emergency Shelters to add 65 overflow beds for individuals experiencing homelessness in cold weather  

Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic is not the first example of United Way of York County fulfilling our role in responding directly to community need. We’ve been responding to local needs and society’s most pressing challenges for more than 100 years.  
 
As the York Welfare Federation, our organization weathered the Great Depression in the 1930s, seeing a decline in the annual Campaign but continuing to raise much-needed resources for York County. 
 
In the 1940s as World War II raged on the worldwide stage, The York Welfare Federation voted to create a new organization, The York County War and Welfare Fund, to run a “United Fund” campaign for agencies and war efforts. As a supplement to the Gazette and Daily (a predecessor to the York Daily Record) noted in 1942, “York Countians have always been responsive to the appeals made upon them in [sic] behalf of the victims of distress and disaster.” 
 
And much more recently, United Way of York County was a convener for the York/Adams Long Term Recovery Committee in response to local flooding in 2011, working together to provide physical, emotional and spiritual resources to individuals affected by disaster that are not met by other disaster recovery and relief systems. 
 
In 2016, United Way of York County established the United Way Disaster Response and Recovery Fund to allow the general public to contribute funds specifically to aid residents of York County in the event of a disaster. In this role, United Way worked closely with York County Voluntary Organizations Aiding in Disaster (VOAD) agencies to provide assistance on a case-by-case basis. 
 
 
COVID-19 has presented new challenges for us. Nearly every facet of what makes a community has been impacted by the pandemic, from the health of our residents and businesses to our economy, educational system, and beyond.   
 
Thankfully, United Way of York County was built for this. Our history — and your continued support — gives us stability to be here for the long haul, and the agility to get help where it’s needed most. 
 
And, we don’t do our work alone. Thanks to you, United Way is unparalleled in our power to convene partners, providers and resources to address the needs of communities in crisis. We are in this together, and it’s the strength of our community partners that drives real change. This has never been more important than now. 
 
Thank you to the hand-raisers and the doers who’ve helped to build a stronger, caring community over the past 100 years, and thank you to everyone who continues to step up to help when our friends, families and neighbors are in need. 
 
 
 
 
Celebrating 100 Years
 
United Way of York County celebrates 100 years of service to our community in 2021. We began as The York Welfare Federation, an organization that raised funds on behalf of 17 member agencies.  Today, as United Way of York County, the mission of raising community funds remains the same, but the strategies have broadened in order to meet the growing and changing needs of people living in York County. 
 
Join us this year as we take a look back at 100 years of impact, and look ahead at the future we can build together for York County: A future where every person in our community can thrive. 
 
 
From the archives