Happy Holidays!

I love everything about the holiday season from the music – A Charlie Brown Christmas, anything Sinatra, that Band Aid song, Last Christmas by Wham! (but only by Wham!), and Nat King Cole – the food, the eggnog, and gather all our family and friends around the cozy tree.

Last weekend, my 10-year-old daughter Elsa (she was named after her grandmother before the first Frozen movie came out) was a snowflake in our community production of The Nutcracker. It was amazing to see her hard work pay off!

Our family is fortunate to have access to all of this joy. And every family, regardless of their circumstance, has the right to access joy, not just “basic needs,” during this festive season – and during any season really. It’s that theme of access to joy and the dignity of it that seems to keep popping up as I travel around the Greater Triangle. Here are just a few examples of how our partners are spreading that access, joy, and dignity to others:

• Maggie Kane and her team at a Place at the Table, a “pay what you can restaurant,” has served gourmet meals to thousands who have come through her doors this year.
• Nicholé Morgan and her organization called TheGifted Arts is providing arts opportunities – just like the ones my daughter Elsa enjoys – as a viable mechanism to inspire active, life-long learners.
• Peter Morris and his team at Urban Ministries of Wake County runs a community pharmacy that distributes over $4M worth of critical medicines with an annual budget of less than $800K.

And that’s just several examples from United Way of the Greater Triangle’s 84 total nonprofit partners who are committed to doing their part to eradicate poverty and increase social mobility in the Greater Triangle.

Our movement at United Way of the Greater Triangle is growing. Our fundraising efforts are trending up this year and we’re so grateful for that. But our mission ultimately isn’t about numbers or financials, it’s about making sure that ALL people in our community can enjoy the gifts of access, dignity, and joy during this holiday season and every season to come.

Have a wonderful holiday with your family and friends. THANK YOU for everything you do!

Eric Guckian
President & CEO
United Way of the Greater Triangle