The 2015 United Way of Summit County campaign is underway with a new chair at the helm. Stuart Glauberman, President and CEO of Malco Products, will lead a team of volunteers who will engage area employers and community members to help impact quality of life for all in Summit County by supporting United Way’s work in education, income and health.
“We all have a responsibility to provide the resources necessary to ensure that every one in our community has the greatest opportunity to lead a satisfying and productive life,” said Glauberman. “United Way identifies the underlying challenges in our community and tackles the root-causes, not just the symptoms, of our greatest community challenges –education, poverty and preventable chronic disease.”
“Need in our community continues to rise as resources become increasingly scarce,” said United Way President and CEO, Jim Mullen. “The outcome of this equation means United Way must grow more revenue through its annual campaign to continue to grow its long-term community impact.”
A 2015 campaign goal of $13.25 million has been set. If achieved, the result would be an all-time record for United Way of Summit County’s annual campaign. The 2014 United Way campaign raised $12.70 million.
Glauberman has a special interest in United Way’s work to promote early literacy through its Imagination Library program. Imagination Library is a unique early years book gifting program that mails, at no cost, a brand new, age-appropriate book to enrolled children every month from birth until five years of age. The program creates a home library of up to 60 books and instills a love of books and reading from an early age.
“One of the keys to early literacy is access to books,” said Glauberman. “Much research points to a dramatic correlation between the number of books in the home and a child’s future academic achievement.”
Mullen announced earlier this summer that United Way is taking its Imagination Library program to scale throughout Summit County. United Way pays for the books in the Imagination Library program and has been doing so quietly since 2008.
Mullen said, “Nearly 3,000 children have received books to date and this number represents a three-fold increase over the past three months. But with more than 30,000 preschool-aged children in Summit County, this is not enough. We will be working with our donors and our community, corporate and institutional partners get as many books as possible into the homes and hands of Summit County preschoolers.”
To find out more about Imagination Library visit uwsummit.org/imaginationlibrary
To donate or volunteer, go to uwsummit.org.
About United Way of Summit County
United Way of Summit County advances the common good by creating opportunities for a better life for all. Our focus is on Education, Income and Health because these are the building blocks for a good quality of life. We train a spotlight on critical issues, engage with private and public sector leaders and coordinate agendas with partners to leverage Collective Impact. We invite everyone to be part of the change by giving, advocating and volunteering. When we work together in common purpose, we LIVE UNITED. For more information about United Way of Summit County visit uwsummit.org.