ADDISON COUNTY — United Way of Addison County has joined #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving that harnesses the collective power of individuals, communities and organizations to encourage philanthropy and to celebrate generosity worldwide. UWAC will be asking for support of the Vermont 2-1-1 program, which provides access to vital resources in times of personal crisis to all Vermont residents.
Dial 2-1-1 from anywhere in Vermont and you will reach a highly-trained contact specialist to assess your needs and provide referrals to the resources in your community. Every day, contact specialists help callers find assistance for complex issues such as financial problems, substance abuse, suicide prevention and more. Available 24 hours a day every day of the year.
As of the end of September 2016, this resource had already provided 24,195 referrals. On November 29, #GivingTuesday is held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday to kick-off the holiday giving season and inspire people to collaborate in improving their local communities and to give back in impactful ways to the charities and causes they support.  
Here in Addison County we have seen the success and impact of VT 2-1-1 many times.
A 47-year-old woman called 211 in November 2015, looking for assistance with her mortgage payment. She contacted 211 several times in the past searching for in-home assistance for her aging mother. She had never called to request services for herself and was somewhat reluctant to ask for help. She did not qualify for Mortgage Payment Assistance, as she was not yet in the process of legal foreclosure.
She was behind on her payments and stressed about the situation reaching the crisis point of foreclosure. The 211 Call Specialist referred her to Neighborworks for Mortgage Foreclosure Counseling. The caller had never heard of the agency or the services Neighborworks provides. She was eager to make contact and indicated she would call them right away.
During a follow up call in December, she stated, “I thought the 211 service was great. I called for help with foreclosure, and the connection you helped me make allowed us to work it out so my children and I can stay in our home. Thank You!”
92Y —  a cultural center in New York City that, since 1874, has been bringing people together around its core values of community service and giving back — conceptualized#GivingTuesday as a new way of linking individuals and causes to strengthen communities and encourage giving. In 2015, the fourth year of the movement, #GivingTuesday broughttogether over 45,000 partners in 71 countries and helped raise nearly $117 million online in the U.S. alone.
“We have been incredibly inspired by the generosity in time, efforts and ideas that have brought our concept for a worldwide movement into reality,” said Henry Timms, founder of #GivingTuesday and executive director of 92Y. “As we embark on our fifth year of #GivingTuesday, we are encouraged by the early response from partners eager to continue making an impact in this global conversation.”
Those who are interested in joining United Way Addison County’s #GivingTuesday initiative can visit www.unitedwayaddisoncounty.org/give211. For more details about the #GivingTuesday movement, visit the #GivingTuesday website (www.givingtuesday.org), Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/GivingTuesday) or follow @GivingTues and the #GivingTuesday hashtag on social media.