Volunteers + Local Businesses + Caring Community = Radiothon's success!Volunteers + Local Businesses + Caring Community = Radiothon's successWe'vSanta Letters: Make memories that last a lifetime

A personalized letter from Santa is sure to delight children of all ages! This is a wonderful keepsake for your family to look back on year after year.

Simply click on the link below and you'll be on your way to making memories that will last a lifetime!

2011 Santa Letter Order Form

Ordering a Santa Letter from United Way helps support programs that directly benefit children and families. Orders must be postmarked no later than Tuesday, December 6, 2011.

Southbridge Lions Big Band Event

Mark your calendars and pull out your dancin' shoes! The amazing Southbridge Lions Big Band is scheduled to perform on Saturday, November 12th, from 8-10pm at the Southbridge Hotel & Conference Center.

Beginning October 17th, tickets will be available for purchase at Hometown Bank, Savers Bank, Southbridge Credit Union, Southbridge Savings Bank and the Tri-Community YMCA. $30/person - $225 for a table of eight.

Enjoy an evening of entertainment with your family and friends while supporting United Way of Southbridge, Sturbridge & Charlton and its member agencies.

Cash bar. Pub style menu available at Shades Lounge.

Day of Caring Carries Year-Round Theme

Caring for one's community can be expressed in different ways.

For United Way of Southbridge, Sturbridge & Charlton, it has lately meant emergency help for Tri-community residents impacted by the June 1 tornado. But with strong volunteer manpower, our annual Day of Caring on September 14th was our yearly opportunity to nurture nonprofits and help on a whole different level. As summer turns to fall, we help match volunteers with work sites each year to help improve and revitalize areas in need and make the Tri-community an even better place to live.

This year, work inside and outside was performed at sites such as Sturbridge Cooperative Nursery School and Cedar Lake Recreation Area; The Bridge of Central Mass. and Elm Street Congregational Church in Southbridge; and in Charlton, Heritage School and YMCA Camp Foskett. Volunteer work crews from businesses such as Incom, Southbridge Savings Bank and Savers Bank donned work clothes and work gloves, applied insect repellant and got to work pruning branches, painting walls and cleaning floors.

Teams were organized in morning and/or afternoon shifts and the camaraderie, as it is every year, was inspiring. Local businesses like Stop & Shop, Shaw’s and Big Y donated funds for drinks and snacks to make sure volunteers were well fed and well appreciated.

With limited resources, it is often difficult for nonprofits to complete projects needed at their facilities. If not for the important work Day of Caring volunteers perform, these agencies would likely have to divert funds to these jobs that could otherwise go directly to helping people. The Day of Caring is all about showing these groups that United Way and the community in general appreciate their year-round work and dedication. Groups like the Center of Hope, Habitat For Humanity, RRI and Sturbridge Council on Aging work hard every day assisting our neighbors in need and deserve our support.

The great day of community unity wrapped up with a Thank You Cookout sponsored by Southbridge Rotary Club at Camp Foskett, complete with cake and a beautiful lake backdrop. The Day of Caring transmits an important message to local nonprofits and our community as a whole: We get more accomplished when we work together and LIVE UNITED. Consider signing up to help us out next year. It’s a great chance to network, meet new people and help neighbors in need all at the same time.

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Amazing Gifts of Support Received

A special thanks to Southbridge Rotary for their generous donation of $3,300 to support long-term recovery efforts for those affected by the June 1st tornado and to Monster.com and Strings of Hope for their donations of non-perishable food items, toiletries and more to re-stock the shelves at the Tornado Recovery Warehouse at 246 Worcester Street in Southbridge.

Appreciation is also extended to Trinity Catholic Academy students, Grace Martinek and

Anabelle Szydlik, for supporting United Way's efforts to provide tornado recovery assistance. Their fundraising efforts and drive to help others is an inspiration to all!

		Southbridge Rotary President Caron St. Jean presents United Way Executive Director Bonnie Losavio with a donation of $3,300 to be used for Disaster Recovery Efforts in Southbridge. Thank you, Southbridge Rotary, for serving your community and creating a brighter future for your neighbors in need.

We've got questions! Do you have answers?

Last year’s Pub Quiz was a fierce battle of brainpower with 23 teams competing to claim the coveted title "Sharpest Tool in the Shed" but in the end, Tony Detarando, Stephanie Cyr, Eric Cyr and John Lewis of Team Kingsley walked away with the honors.

Now it's time to determine which team will reign as the 2011 Pub Quiz champs. On Saturday, April 30th beginning at 7p.m., teams of four will enter Cohasse Country Club with the dream of earning the title "Sharpest Tool in the Shed". Each team will answer questions at varying levels of difficulty with topics ranging from science, sports and art to music, film and literature. One round consists of 10 questions; the team with the highest score at the end of 10 rounds will be dubbed “The Sharpest Tool in the Shed.” Each member of the winning team will receive a trophy and jacket to mark their superior trivia know-how. And winning team member’s names will be engraved on a plaque to be displayed at various locations throughout the Tri-Community.

We've made registration easy. Simply follow the directions on the registration form and mail it in along with the registration fee of $80 — that’s $20 for each member — less than you would likely spend on dinner and drinks. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis and you must be 21 or older to sign up.

The Cohasse Pub and bar will be open for refreshments and light snacks. Michael Detarando will once again serve as quizmaster for the event.

Each attendee receives a ticket for door prizes; everyone has the option of participating in the 50/50 raffle. So even if you don’t leave with a trophy, you could leave with a fabulous prize. All proceeds from the Pub Quiz and 50/50 raffle will benefit United Way and its member agencies. 

So if you are tired of yelling out Jeopardy! answers to the TV when no one’s around, get some friends or co-workers together and show your knowledge. This is a great way to catch up with friends, help a good cause, and compete until the bitter end!

Volunteers + Local Businesses + Caring Community = Radiothon Success!

Dick Vaughan, Money Matters Radio WESO 970AM, warmed hearts throughout the Tri-Community as he hosted the 2011 Radiothon to benefit United Way of Southbridge,

Sturbridge & Charlton on Saturday, February 12. More than $1,100 was raised in a mere

four hours; the generosity of all who participated will warm hearts thru the coming year.

Agency representatives from Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boy Scouts - Mohegan Council, The Bridge of Central MA, Catholic Charities, Family Promise, Girl Scouts of Central & Western MA, Legal Assistance Corporation of Central MA, Literacy Volunteers, Tri-Community YMCA and Y.O.U., Inc. relayed information about the vital services they provide to folks who live and work in the Tri-Community and impressed upon the listening audience the importance of United Way support.

The guest list also included local dignitaries Senator Stephen Brewer, Southbridge Town Manager Chris Clark, Southbridge Credit Union CEO/President Jeffrey Davenport, Senator Richard Moore and Representative Todd Smola and United Way board member and Sturbridge Division Chair Pauline White. Mr. Vaughan engaged the well-known guests in discussion that revolved around upcoming budget cuts at the state and local level and the dedication of the local business community to support United Way and educate their employees about services and volunteer opportunities available thru United Way agencies.

Dedicated volunteers from Dexter-Russell, Inc., Incom, Inc., Literacy Volunteers, RRI, Savers Bank, Southbridge Savings Bank and Southbridge Schools braved the elements to man donation drop-off stations at Big Bunny Market in Southbridge, Shaw’s and Yankee Spirits in Sturbridge and Ted’s Charlton City Package Store in Charlton while volunteers from the community and The Sturbridge Host Hotel & Conference Center answered phones and greeted guests at WESO. Southbridge Credit Union and WESO also served as a donation drop-off site.

Sponsors of the event included Dexter-Russell, Inc., Incom, Inc., Savers Bank and Southbridge Credit Union.

WESO 970AM - Southbridge
	Dick Vaughan, Money Matters Radio 970AM, spoke with conviction about the importance the services provided by United Way agencies at the 2011 Radiothon. An active member of the community, Vaughan serves on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors for United Way of Southbridge, Sturbridge & Charlton.
Ted's - Charlton City	Big Bunny Market - Southbridge
Lou-Ellen Corkum, Savers Bank	John Looney from Dexter-Russell, Inc.
Yankee Spirits - Sturbridge
Randy & Dot Cote, RRI	Jerry Gowing, Literacy Volunteers
Shaw's Supermarket - Sturbridge
Gerard 'Jigs' LaFleche, St. Anne's & St. Patrick Parish and Dennis Lataille, Southbridge Schools	Joe & Amanda Renaud, Incom, Inc.
Ted's - Charlton City
Sheri Bibinski & Alyssa Jacques, Southbridge Savings Bank

All-Stars at Karl Storz

Employees of Karl Storz in Charlton recently wrapped up their fundraising campaign for United Way of Southbridge, Sturbridge & Charlton, led by their United Way Ambassadors within the company. The Ambassadors, pictured with United Way Campaign Chair Kim Quinn, Charlton Division Chair Arthur Breault and Executive Director Bonnie Losavio, make a tremendous difference in the success of the campaign. Through payroll deductions and gifts of checks and cash, as well as a corporate donation, the company pledged more than $44,000 for United Way. Many employees contributed to this year's campaign, pitching in to help neighbors in need in Southbridge, Sturbridge & Charlton. Karl Storz gift to the community through United Way will bring about lasting change to countless children, families and seniors throughout the year.

Back row left to right: Arthur Breault, Carlos Rodriguez, Bruce Watkins (GM, KSE), Eva Duquette, Lorraine McPherson, Wendy Wetherell, Bonnie Laprise, Lisa Rousseau, Nelson Iturry, Cassandra Smeltzer, Kathy McDowell, Denise Byrne, Michele Morrill, Scott Sanderson,

Kim Quinn Front row left to right: Bonnie Losavio, Jenn Cote, Beth Ann Fox, Janet Burke, Dianne Clark-Cahill, Kathy Hoenig, Tina Seifert

2010 Small Business Initiative: Three towns, three days, three steps!

The United Way of Southbridge, Sturbridge & Charlton launches its 2010 Small Business Initiative on November 16, 17 and 18.

During these three days, we invite small business owners to partner with us in supporting service agencies that benefit the Tri-Community. Some of these agencies include Rape Crisis, Tri-Valley, Inc., Tri-Community YMCA, Boy Scouts, Legal Assistance, and The Bridge. Perhaps local employees, customers or clients have benefited from the crucial services these agencies provide. Overall, their work strengthens our community and meets documented local needs. We get more done when we work together.

Step One: Small businesses will receive a letter and pledge card from United Way of Southbridge, Sturbridge & Charlton. Please consider a contribution. Remember, what's raised, here, stays here!

Step Two: Mail your pledge card with your donation. Or, save a stamp! United Way volunteers will be visiting small businesses on the three days of the Small Business Initiative and would be happy to pick up pledges and thank you in person.

Step Three: Feel good knowing you gave back to the community where your employees and customers live, work, retire and raise children.

Together with the help of small businesses, we can all produce big results in our own backyard, as easy as 1-2-3!

2010 Report Luncheon: Rape Crisis is Making a Difference

Kim Dawkins, Executive Director of The Rape Crisis Center of Central MA served as the guest speaker at the United Way Report Luncheon held on November 4th at The Hilltop Restaurant at Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton.

Cuts in state and federal funding have drastically reduced the staff available to address the needs of survivors of sexual assault. Even with these cuts, the center has expanded its services in Southbridge to include a weekly teen drop-in site at Jacob Edwards Library. Ms. Dawkins impressed upon the volunteers that the service is a true asset to local teens. “We are seeing changes in their attitude, changes in what they believe and changes in their behavior."

Rape Crisis relies on United Way for support each year and in these especially trying economic times the need has never been greater. Ms. Dawkins asked those present to continue to support United Way with their time and wished those engaged in work place campaigns great success.