Foundations Paper
LANCELOT PALMER
HSM/260
July 26, 2015 FLORENCE WISN
Foundations Paper

Many organizations work hard for the betterment of society. They sometimes with very limited resources provide much needed services for the community in which they serve. One such organization is The United Way of America.
What began in the latter part of the nineteenth century as a need to better coordinate the many local and overlapping charities created to help the poor, as well as, to apply a scientific approach to coordinate the many and diverse charitable fund-raising efforts directed at wealthy contributors and companies. Overtime became Community Chest and Council organizations, later the United Way of America and today United Way Worldwide.
The United Way of America through their vast network of volunteers and local charities, help meet the health and human service needs of millions of people worldwide on a daily basis. As a totally nonprofit organization, the United Way is a little different than most charitable organizations. Instead of having one set of leaders or one common goal, United Way is community-based. This means that each United Way group maintains its own standards and goals specifically tailored to its interests. United Way of America is comprised of nearly 1,300 local sects United Way International is the leadership blanket for 46 countries that have roughly 4,000 United Way organizations United Way Worldwide describes each group as "A volunteer-led, nonprofit organization located in a geographic community that seeks and addresses the root causes of key issues, is accountable for stewardship of resources, and is accountable for short-term and long-term results. Although each United Way stands as a completely independent entity governed by the local volunteers, they all are guided by the same mission statement that the, “United Way improves lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good.”
The programs The United Way supports focuses on education, financial stability and health, because these are the essential building blocks for a good quality of life. They are driven by the overall vision which is, “United Way envisions a world where every individual has an opportunity to succeed, and entire communities thrive as a result. We're getting a little closer everyday, with help from millions of people around the world.” They raise awareness surrounding key issues that affect everyone, provide financial and one-on-one assistance to those who need it most, and promote social and policy change that helps strengthen people and their communities. The volunteers are proactive in many different ways from helping a child learn to read, offering professional skills to help job seekers put together a resume in order to find gainful employment, using their voices to raise awareness and influence policy makers on a subject they are passionate about, to donating money in order to fund life-changing initiatives, United Way is able to impact the lives