United Way of Greater Waterbury

CAMPERSHIP MATTERS

Since 1969, Campership has been sending children from lower income families to summer camp free of charge, thanks to the efforts of the Greater Waterbury Campership Fund in partnership with the United Way of Greater Waterbury. With the recent change of ownership at the Republican-American, a legacy fundraising and promotional partner was lost. Give Local is your opportunity to help ensure this program continues!

Attending camp is often the highlight of a child's summer! To make sure everyone gets a chance to experience it, the program offers Campership to children ages 5 - 18, who are members of lower-income families in the United Way service area of Bethlehem, Cheshire, Middlebury, Prospect, Southbury, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown, Wolcott, or Woodbury.

Campership enables children to attend one session of summer camp, and they are awarded on first-come, first-served basis. The more we raise, the more children get to experience summer camp!

2026 camp application window is open, and we're looking forward to another great year of smiles, friendship, and experiences.

Help keep this important program going into the future by leveraging your gift through Give Local!

Thank you in advance for your support!

Who We Are

The Flexible Assistance Fund is an ongoing effort that was launched in November 2011 and has existed for over nine years. United Way acts as fundraiser and fiduciary for the community collaborative that implements the program. Since inception of the program in 2011 to December 31, 2020, $662,070 has been awarded to 553 households, which includes 962 adults and 927 children, resulting in a 100% success rate in preventing shelter entry. In addition, 92% of households remained in stable housing at the 3 month follow-up and 90% were stable at the 6 month follow-up period.

All households served will be low/moderate-income and over half will be at or below 30% of Waterbury’s Area Median Income, most all will reside in the City of Waterbury and about 67% of those served will be minorities (African American race or Hispanic ethnicity).

Emergency shelter is also expensive, not only in terms of public cost ($4,000-$5,000 for a family’s typical-length stay of 60 days), but also the stress experienced by adults and children. Homeless children experience more health problems and lower academic achievement than children with stable housing. Likewise, adults with mental health and substance abuse challenges have a better long-term prognosis if they are living independently. With Waterbury shelters consistently at (and often over) capacity, a longer-term solution is needed. The most cost-effective strategy is preventing households from becoming homeless in the first place, and the Flexible Assistance Fund does exactly that.