United Way Women United Closes Financial Gaps for Local Families

United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut galvanized more than 800 area professionals and raised more than $335,000 through Women United’s 14th Annual Power of the Purse Luncheon and Silent Auction presented by Hartford HealthCare, celebrated on June 12, 2025. The event’s keynote speakers, the Pulitzer-winning journalist, Andrea Elliott, and Dasani Coates, the young woman at the heart of “Invisible Child”, reflected on the challenges thousands of American families faced when living in poverty. The funds raised at Power of the Purse help United Way-supported initiatives that close financial gaps and create opportunities to lift people out of extreme and working poverty through job training, financial education, free tax preparation and asset building.