Mission

The Mission of United Way is
To improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities.

We Are Creating Lasting Changes in Community Conditions
United Way of Morris County is dedicated to building a stronger community by uniting individuals and institutions to create long-term sustainable solutions to issues that affect us all.

The following story brings to life the challenge of implementing lasting changes in community conditions. This story is an example of how a community working together can change lives. It also represents the need to address both the root and consequences of pressing community needs.

Once upon a time… There was a village near a stream, and everyday the villagers would go down to the water's edge to wash their clothes.

One day, a villager was washing her clothes when along came a baby in a basket. The basket was floating along, heading downstream. Naturally, the woman jumped into the water and grabbed the baby. Being a good person she took the baby home – there to raise her. The next day another basket came along. This basket also had a baby in it and so one of the villagers took him home, too. But then the next day and the next and the next, more babies came along.

WHAT TO DO? This was a compassionate village and people knew their duty, but there was a limit, and only so many resources. The village elders met to think, "what to do?" Finally, one wise woman among them said, "We must go upstream. We must see where these babies are coming from."

And that's the end of the story – normally. We're left to imagine what happens when the people go upstream. Presumably, they go upstream, find the source, and take care of it.

We need to venture upstream in our minds to think about what might happen. On the way upstream, we may encounter obstacles. A swift current might discourage us and make it hard to persevere. Further up, there might be many little feeders, many tributaries that are delivering babies. We could be overwhelmed with all the sources. When we finally get upstream, it's possible that we will get a less than warm reception. We may find someone who is not all that eager to stop the flow of babies. There may be a strong temptation to go back downstream and find ways to handle more babies.

The message in the story is that our efforts to solve community problems are twofold:
1) working preventatively by going after root causes and supporting change, and
2) providing immediate care for those in need. It is time to get our selves together to make these changes a reality in the community.

United Way of Morris County helps bring our communities together to examine the most urgent needs and do what is necessary to improve lives. If it requires fundraising, going to Congress, or just getting people to work together, that is what we do. We look at root causes of problems - it is not enough to feed a hungry family, we work to change the conditions that led to their hunger in the first place.

United Way of Morris County is much more than a fundraiser, and we help the community with more than just dollars. We facilitate community building. Our responsibility to the community includes roles such as advocate for public policy, convener, and program designer.

As an advocate for public policy, United Way of Morris County has urged local and state government to focus on key issues. One such issue is affordable housing. Newspaper articles and government officials have quoted our research and publications addressing the conditions of our community. We are a voice for the community.

As a convener, United Way of Morris County's network of partners and supporters includes people and professionals from all walks of life - corporate, government, educational institutions, non-profit agencies, and the community-at-large. United Way has the unique ability to bring all of these representatives to the table - to focus on what matters most - the lives we change in our community.

As a program designer, United Way of Morris County has a proven track record of establishing essential non-profit organizations in Morris County. In recent years, key organizations that serve the Morris County community such as First Call For Help and their Information/Referral hotline 2-1-1, Dress for Success Morris County, and the Mentor Training and Consulting Center.