United Way of Northern Arizona — Memories that YOU Made Possible

You make the work of United Way of Northern Arizona possible and we wanted to share some of our favorite memories of the past year that happened because you generously gave through your donations, leadership, or volunteerism.

The fact that you Step Up for Our Community is visible almost everywhere you look.

You were part of making The Crown – the Flagstaff Shelter Services project that renovated a hotel to create a housing solution for people without shelter – a reality. You made it possible to help Flagstaff Family Food Center and Grand Canyon Kitchen to buy new freezers. You were instrumental in the Northland Family Help Center’s youth shelter.

As our Chief Finance and Operations Officer Heidi Hanson put it to me the other day: “This is why I work at UWNA. We can leverage the average $25 donation and add it together with others to make a huge impact for those organizations with boots on the ground.”

Our Campaign Resource Coordinator Christine Pierce thinks of you often when she goes to KinderCamp™ “Bridging Over” ceremonies in Flagstaff, Williams, and Pinetop-Lakeside. The ceremony is to celebrate that these preschoolers are ready for kindergarten after the four-week summer session.

“It’s such a transformation from when they first come to camp,” she said. “This is why we do this! To see these kiddos come into their own and become more confident and be excited about school.”

Although much of the support for KinderCamp comes from grants and partnerships with many collaborating partners and organizations, it is also made possible by individual donations from people like you who know how important early childhood development is to northern Arizona.

And of course, this thank you message would not be complete without a lot of gratitude to all of you who stepped up and volunteered throughout the spring and summer, when our community was most vulnerable to wildfires and floods.

Collectively you worked for hundreds of hours cleaning up debris after the Tunnel and Pipeline fires, and filling sandbags as we prepared for monsoon season.

“People never tired of giving an hour – or two or four – of their Saturdays to help those in need,” said Sybil Smith, UWNA’s Volunteer Coordinator.

These are just some of the memories that you made possible in the past year. Thank you for your support and we look forward to working with you in 2023 as we continue to mobilize our communities to make lasting, positive changes in northern Arizona.