Union County Neighbor to Neighbor becomes the United Way of Union County’s 27th Partner Agency September 14, 2018
Union County Neighbor to Neighbor is The United Way of Union County’s (UWUC) newest partner agency.
Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N) matches its members with volunteers to help with household tasks and transportation. Members join for a small monthly fee and can access social and wellness programs.
In addition, members also have access to pre-screened service providers at a reduced cost.
Tessa Fite serves as the program manager for the agency. She explained that all volunteers are background checked and
complete an in-person interview. Members complete a home visit prior to joining, to ensure they are a good fit for the program and that their homes are a safe
environment for the volunteer.
“This process protects both the members we serve and our volunteers, assuring that each volunteer is offered assignments
matching the volunteer’s interests, skill and availability,” Fite said.
Neighbor to Neighbor grew out of the United Way of Union County’s Community Care Day which has been held
annually since 1997. The one-day event joins volunteers with area service projects countywide, however the popularity of the event encouraged a small group of volunteers to
answer the question “What would it be like if Community Care Day was all year long?”
Neighbor to Neighbor was officially established in 2016 and has completed over 780 service requests for its members.
Examples of service requests include social visits, house cleaning, grocery shopping, helping with computer set-up,
landscaping, transportation to medical appointments and laundry.
“The value of helping neighbors makes sense in our community. We have a culture that cares and stands ready to
serve, we simply didn’t have a vehicle to make the connection,” Holly Novak, N2N Board Chair, said, “Neighbor to Neighbor brings neighbors together with
willing volunteers. Thanks to the partnership with United Way, support for financial sustainability is in place to assure continued success of the program.”
A N2N member said they were very grateful for the non-profit’s services as it has allowed them to get groceries, visit the doctor, and reclaim part of their life.
UWUC is excited to be working with N2N and is continuing to restructure Community Care Day with plans to update its format.
“We are considering breaking it up into a series of smaller ‘Care United’ events to be held throughout the year instead of a one day event,”
Dave Gleeson, UWUC Board Chair, said.
Shari Marsh, UWUC Operations Director said UWUC wants to evolve and meet the needs of our community.
“Neighbor to Neighbor is a more flexible and versatile way to allow volunteers to meet the needs of the elderly and disabled throughout the year vs. just one day,” Marsh said,
“This will allow the United Way of Union County to focus on specialized volunteer service projects throughout the year because the needs of individual
requests are being met by Neighbor to Neighbor.”
Novak said partnering with United Way of Union County is vital as the UWUC is recognized as a source for credible, valuable, service oriented programs.
“We consider our organization truly fortunate to have been offered access to United Way as our fiscal agent in our earliest days, grant funded
through the a UWUC Venture Grant as we celebrated our first full year and now the opportunity to be a partner for the future,” Novak said.
To learn more about Union County’s Neighbor to Neighbor visit ucn2n.org or contact 1.877.354.8262 or ucn2nohio@gmail.com.
Left to Right:
Jim Cesa, Beth Seiter, Linda Fisher, Heather Adcock, Holly Novak, Shari Marsh, Theresa Scheiderer, Corinne Bix and Dee Greene
