United Way's Role

Chile: The United Way has mobilized to respond to the catastrophic earthquake that hit Chile on the morning of February 27.  United Way's local organization in Chile and other United Way members in the Latin American region have mobilized their staff, volunteer leaders and resources in response, and will work together to determine the most pressing long-term recovery needs.

Click here to get an update on United Way's response to Chile.

Haiti: United Way is working with Haitian community networks to determine the most pressing long-term recovery needs. United Way will focus on education, income and health, helping reestablish the educational and health infrastructure of Haitian communities, and to work to improve the income-earning potential of Haitian families.

United Ways' most important role is to assist with long-term recovery efforts. Our expertise in convening all sectors of community will help the Haitian and the Chilean people, respectfully, to determine long-term rebuilding priorities, particularly in the areas of education, income and health.

Our experiences in the tsunami of 2004, the China earthquakes of 2008, and Hurricane Katrina demonstrate the importance of engaging the people who are affected in finding appropriate solutions that meet their needs. In fact, the possibility exists that this approach could help to change community conditions in Haiti and create places that offer people better opportunities going forward.

Click here to get an update on United Way's response to Haiti.

United Way helps rebuild communities following the 2004 tsunami

In the Tamil Nadu region of India, a number of relief organizations and governments were instrumental in the initial relief efforts. United Way worked with local government, NGO partners including SEVAI and HOPE Worldwide, to engage the local people to determine rebuilding efforts the way they wanted. The government funded development of the new infrastructure, including a sewer system. United Way worked with its partners to build 450 permanent homes with toilets for families that had lived in grass huts prior to the tsunami.

In another community, most of the wage earners were fishermen who lost their lives in the tsunami. The remaining residents asked for help to create new jobs and new opportunities for their children, including a school where English is taught. United Way worked with both corporate and NGO partners to help create a campus that today houses an English language school, a training center and a community center. People are learning new skills such as sewing, cell phone repair and masonry. Their children are learning to read and write in English. And micro-loans are providing opportunities for new businesses to be started. All of these efforts are creating a community that will be far more sustainable and economically viable than it was prior to the tsunami.

In Aceh, Indonesia, more than $7 billion has been spent on reconstruction and recovery over the last five years. The United Way affiliate in Indonesia—Yayasan Mitra Mandiri—has worked closely with the Aceh government to determine the biggest needs, find gaps in service and monitor progress in affected communities. United Way Worldwide, Yayasan Mitra Mandiri, Aech local government and Samsung are partners in rebuilding the community. Through this partnership, seven schools were built in 2007 through Samsung's $940,000 gift. In addition, an IT Learning Center was constructed. The IT Learning Center, which opened November 25, 2009, has the capacity to serve 725 people each month and offers certificate courses for 500 youth per year. Samsung also donated $100,000 worth of in-kind donations for the Learning Center.

United Way helps farmers in Sichuan, China regain financial stability following the earthquake

The May 2008 Sichuan, China earthquakes devastated many residents' livelihoods. Arable land was ruined, infrastructures of farms were destroyed, and landslides caused reductions in farmland, forcing farmers to seek new income-generating activities. Following the earthquake in China, hundreds of individuals and corporations generously donated to the United Way Asia Disaster Recovery Fund. United Way is using these resources to address critical issues and long-term challenges through initiatives such as Mobile Community Technology Learning Centers (MCTLC), a partnership with Microsoft and the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation.

The Mobile Community Technology Learning Centers use IT skills and microfinance services to help farmers regain stability in the disaster-hit areas. MCTLC uses technology-equipped vans to travel around disaster-affected areas providing technical and capital support to improve disaster victims' overall employability, while establishing a replicable and sustainable community rebuilding model.

United Way adopts hands-on approach in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina caused severe destruction along the Gulf Coast with the greatest loss of life and property in New Orleans, where 80 percent of the city was flooded by the levee system failure. United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area adopted a more "hands on" approach and expanded its traditional definition of health and human services to partner with non-profits providing essential recovery services in the region. United Way provided refrigerated trucks, building materials, appliances and double-wide trailers to organizations and communities that lost facilities. United Way also operated the Plaquemines Parish Distribution Center, supplying returning residents with food, clothing, household goods and supplies, and books and toys for children. United Way also made grants worth millions of dollars for health and human services programs directly impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands in the community. It also provided relief and rebuilding assistance for people impacted by the hurricane through funded programs as well as through long-term recovery organizations and the Greater New Orleans Recovery Partnership.

New Orleans continues to feel the effects from Katrina, and United Way still supports the people of the Gulf Coast as they rebuild their lives. Schools are reopening, childcare centers are being rebuilt and neighborhoods are coming back.

United Way of Greater Houston meets the needs of Katrina evacuees

United Way of Greater Houston played a key role in the community-wide effort to provide effective services to meet the needs of Katrina evacuees. In phase one, the community and individual agencies organized to provide for the immediate basic needs of evacuees, most notably emergency shelter, food and clothing, as well as other services such as emergency health care and family re-unification.

In phase two, the community organized to remove evacuees from emergency shelters and place them into appropriate housing in the larger community. In addition, the community developed a one-stop evacuee service center, expanded information and referral capacity and began initial efforts to provide an infrastructure for long-term provision of social services. 

In phase three, the community organized to provide a comprehensive, long-term system of social services to help evacuees settle in the community of their choice and achieve self-sufficiency. In 2006, United Way acted to support and create a number of program initiatives organized for the purpose of assisting evacuees achieve self-sufficient settlement in communities.