Through Community partnerships help, United Way uses our convening power to share leadership and develop ideas and collaborations to create lasting systems change. We invest staff time and expertise, but do not fund or seek funding for these initiatives.
Gun Violence Prevention
In 2022, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that for the first time in U.S. history, gun violence ranked as the primary cause of child deaths. That same year, the American Medical Association adopted policy actions that recognized gun violence as a national “public health crisis.” In 2023 and 2024, the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, in partnership with The Pittsburgh Foundation and the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute of Politics, presented three public forums that featured community leaders and experts offering pathways to solutions to gun violence. Following this series, the three organizations released a summary of the sessions and recommendations to save children’s lives and restore public health.
Westmoreland Housing Advisory Board
United Way leadership staff serve on the executive committee of the Westmoreland County Housing Advisory Board, which brings together multiple stakeholder groups who meet, collaborate and directly report to the Westmoreland County Department of Human Services on ways to address the county’s most pressing housing needs.
Western Pennsylvania Early Literacy Team (WPELT)
Literacy is the building block upon which the rest of a child’s education is built, but by grade three many children in our region are not reading at grade level. Through WPELT, United Way brings together individuals, school district representatives, community organizations, libraries and others invested in early literacy . We meet multiple times a year to share resources and network to mobilize the community to promote early literacy activities for children. Members share collective resources such as literacy kits and free books, which are provided to families at all income levels to instill a joy of reading at an early age.