About United Way of Laramie County
United Way fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in every community. No matter the obstacles; no matter the odds. We surround a community’s most critical problems, and we fight—for those who need a voice, and those whose names we do not know.
We strive to be a symbol of hope, an agent for change, a leader, a convener, a hand-raiser, a game-changer, and an organization working to improve the quality of life for everyone in our community.
We envision a community where all individuals and families have the opportunity to achieve their full potential, and that fosters hope and opportunity for everyone;
%
where all youth live in a safe environment and prepare to succeed in school and life;
where our neighbors in crisis receive resources and tools to begin productive livelihoods and become stronger families;
where everyone receives effective health care that improves the quality of life;
and where our community sets significant and measurable goals to advance and achieve these fundamental building blocks of human development.
Because change doesn’t happen alone.
Hope isn’t a one-man band.
And there’s no such thing as self taught or self made.
We have one life.
To live better, we must LIVE UNITED.
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of United Way of Laramie County is to responsibly mobilize and leverage community resources to create long-term changes that produce healthy, educated and financially stable individuals and families in Laramie County.
To make a difference, we will:
- Ignite our community, and thereby mobilize people who live and work in Laramie County to action by giving, advocating, and volunteering
- Connect all sectors of society (individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations and governments) to create long-term change
- Raise, invest and leverage the funds to create and support innovative programs and approaches to generate sustained impact in Laramie County
- Continually measure improvement in Laramie County in the areas of education, financial stability, and health
- Hold ourselves accountable to our community
To read our 2017 Report to the Community, highlighting our achievements and financials for that fiscal year, click here.
What does United Way of Laramie County do?
About United Way of Laramie County
United Way History
In 1887, a Denver woman, a priest, two ministers and a rabbi got together.
Though it sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, what happened next wasn’t that the group walked into a bar; what they did do was recognize the need to work together in new ways to make Denver a better place.
Together, that group—Frances Wisebart Jacobs, the Rev. Myron W. Reed, Msgr. William J. O’Ryan, Dean H. Martyn Hart and Rabbi William S. Friedman—came up with an idea that became the nation’s first united campaign that benefitted 10 area health and welfare agencies. They created an organization to collect the funds for local charities, to coordinate relief services, to counsel and refer clients to cooperating agencies, and to make emergency assistance grants for cases that could not be referred. That year, Denver raised $21,700 for the greater good, and created a movement that would become United Way.
Locally, United Way has invested in making Laramie County a better place for families and individuals to call home since 1948.
United Way still provides solutions to our community’s toughest problems—but we’re not your grandfather’s United Way.
Today’s United Way is bringing people, organizations, and communities together around a common cause, a common vision, and a common path forward. In many communities, we’re the only nonprofit building up the cornerstones of education, financial stability, and health—and the only nonprofit bringing people together from all walks of life to be a part of local solutions.
We’re engaged in nearly 1,800 communities across more than 40 countries and territories, where people are powering big ideas and big action by donating, volunteering, and speaking out through United Way.
As we’ve grown up, we’ve become more than a fundraising organization. Rather than measuring our success in dollars raised, we measure our success in actual lives changed.
United Way impacts 61 million lives every year. We can do this because we have spent more than a century developing deep roots and trust in the communities we serve. That strong foundation provides us with the resources, reputation, and relationships needed to bring people and organizations together around innovative solutions.
Over the years, we’ve changed to address the challenges of a changing world, but the one thing that hasn’t changed is our focus on improving lives and strengthening communities.
Donate Today
Your donation has the power to impact your friends; your neighbors; your child’s classmates; maybe even your own family. Every donation we receive goes directly toward fostering hope and opportunity in Laramie County.