By Angie Matthiessen, Executive Director
With summer just around the corner, many of us are looking forward to vacations, beach days and time with family. My family and I have some fun things planned for the coming months and I’m especially looking forward to making memories with my daughter before she heads off to college. It’s a bittersweet season – filled with joy, but also change.
While summer brings excitement for some, it brings added stress for many in our community. When school is out, families who rely on free and reduced meals are left facing food insecurity, working parents struggle to find and afford childcare and the gaps in resources and support grow even wider.
Because of you, there is good news. Your support shaped the outcomes of this past year. Investing in Community Resiliency, after hurricanes Helene & Milton, we acted fast — providing $353,065 in assistance to 276 households, helping families stabilize their housing, keep the lights on, and access basic needs like food and fuel.
Through our Ageless United initiative, 229 volunteers were mobilized, contributing 6,149 hours to impact our vulnerable community.
Our Reading Buddies increased learning gains for elementary students 89% in reading and 90% in math.
Through our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, 1,173 families accessed free tax preparation services and put more of their refund dollars back into household budgets with an economic impact of $1,472,120.
At our 2nd Annual United at Work Summit, nearly 200 attendees and 59 business partners participated in this 1-day conference, which launched the impactful Workplace Thrive Academy workshops focused on mental health.
Through the 2025 Workplace Thrive Academy, 45 leaders from 23 local businesses are receiving training to support employee mental health and improving outcomes for thousands of ALICE workers in Charlotte County.
Right now, there are even more neighbors facing challenges and they need you. Your renewed support this summer means more kids learning to read, more seniors feeling connected, more families standing strong after crisis and more hope where it’s needed most.
As we launch our 2025-2026 summer campaign, we’re calling on you – our trusted partners, supporters and friends to help us continue the work that changes lives every day. Every gift counts. Every dollar stays local. Every person matters. Our goal is simple and powerful: to make sure every person in our community has the chance to live a healthy, stable and successful life.
Whether it’s a one-time gift, recurring donation or corporate support, your contribution stays local and directly supports programs that create long-term solutions – not just quick fixes. Together, we can write the next chapter for Charlotte County – a chapter rooted in compassion, resilience, and opportunity. Where neighbors are helping neighbors thrive, while instilling hope in each other, that despite the challenges of today, our best days are ahead of us.
The future we want starts with the choices we make today. Let’s choose to care. To give or learn more unitedwayccfl.org/ChoosetoCare
For more information about United Way of Charlotte County’s mission: Mobilizing the power of our community to break the cycle of poverty, please contact Angie Matthiessen, Executive Director. She can be reached at director@unitedwayccfl.org.