Ever wonder where your money goes when you donate to the Valley United Way?
United Way interns Parvati Vaish, Kira Brantley and Liz Alesevich want to show you.
The trio will spend the summer videotaping interviews with both staff, and clients at some of the 24 agencies that receive Valley United Way funding. The edited videos are then posted to the Valley United Way Web site and on YouTube.
They have held three interviews so far and plan to conduct two or three per week.
Their first interview with the Boys and Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley can be viewed here.
Brantley described the project as “a good networking opportunity for non profit agencies.”
Along with spreading the word about lesser known non-profit agencies, the Valley United Way hopes to increase the number of volunteering opportunities available, especially to kids ages 11 to 15.
“There are a lot of middle school aged students who want to help the community, but it’s hard at such a young age,” said Laurel Greco Vicidomino, director of resource development at the Valley United Way.
The Valley United Way Web site offers a search feature where volunteers of any age can search for different volunteering opportunities.
The volunteering opportunities can be posted by the non-profit agencies, at any time so there are always opportunities available.
“With the state of the economy today, everyone can use volunteers,” said Greco Vicidomino. “We’re trying to create community awareness of the volunteer opportunities in the Valley.”
If you’re already a volunteer, you can submit your story along with a video of how you are helping out to the Valley United Way. If they think you “Live United,” you may end up with a free Live United T‑Shirt, and a spot on the Valley United Way Web site and YouTube channel.
