United Way Worldwide President and CEO Brian Gallagher told a crowd at the MetroHartford Alliance Rising Star Breakfast July 23 that communities need to mobilize around shared goals to create social change.
That’s a message that resonates with Bertram “Bert” Scott, president of U.S. Commercial Markets at Cigna, who was introduced as chair of the United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut’s Community Campaign.
“United Way is about mobilizing people around what is important to them,” Scott said. “Working together, we can continue the positive momentum from last year. I am asking for your support as we gear up for the 2011 United Way Community Campaign.”
Gallagher outlined United Way’s 10-year national goals to cut in half the number of families who are financially unstable, to increase by one-third the number of young people who are healthy and avoiding risky behaviors, and to cut in half the number of high school dropouts. Nationally, one in four kids won’t graduate from high school, and 44 million people live in poverty, he told the audience. Locally, one in five families can’t make ends meet.
“As business and nonprofit leaders, you’re in a unique position to drive this kind of change,” Gallagher told the audience at The Bushnell. “Nonprofits are working with people every day to change conditions, but they can’t do it alone.”
The true measure of success for United Way and other philanthropic organizations is changing lives and communities, Gallagher said. This represents a dynamic shift from the United Way recognized for decades as the nation’s premier fund raiser and distributor.
“There will be no long-term economic success without sustained, enduring human success,” he said. “This is good for business, for government, and for society.”
The local campaign will officially kick off with a noontime celebration at Mortensen Riverfront Plaza in Hartford on Wednesday, Sept. 7. This date also marks the 20th annual United Way Day of Caring, when volunteers from local workplaces will lend a hand at nonprofit organizations across United Way’s 40-town service area.
“I particularly appreciate the fact that United Way Community Investment addresses the underlying causes of the issues that keep our neighbors and our communities from reaching their full potential,” Scott said. “That goes a long way in changing lives and mirrors CIGNA’s goal to build healthier communities.”
Scott joined Cigna in June 2010 and holds executive leadership responsibility for all of the company’s U.S.-based client and individual business, as well as its domestic product, marketing and underwriting divisions. Since 1986, Cigna and its people have contributed over $86.5 million to the United Way.
