United Way 2-1-1 Celebrates 10th Anniversary

United Way celebrated the 10th anniversary of its 2-1-1 Call Center Thursday.

Representatives from the United Ways serving Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties were joined by local officials to not only celebrate the milestone but pledge to promote the free service.

Alana Sweeny, president and CEO of United Way Westchester and Putnam said the helpline has meant a lot to the community.

“Since 2005, the 2-1-1 Call Center in White Plains has helped nearly 400,000 callers with hundreds of thousands of service requests,” she said.

“As we celebrate this milestone, we would like to thank government leaders for their support and ask them to help us continue to advocate by taking a pledge to promote the call center within their communities.”

Throught the “2-1-1 Pledge,” United Way is asking government officials to put a link on their websites to the Hudson Valley 2-1-1 website, find ways to share information with their constituents and create a personal video to post on social media using the hashtag #UW211.

The 2-1-1 helpline is a free, confidential and multilingual service open 365 days a year, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. It answers questions related to food assistance, elder care, housing and shelters, utilities, abuse prevention, suicide, recycling, foster parenting, veteran services, medical assistance and more.

To find out more about United Way’s 2-1-1 helpline serving the Hudson Valley, visit www.hudson211.org.

Photo caption: (From left) Peter Harckham, Assistant Director, NYS Office of Community Renewal; Michael Piazza, Commissioner of the Putnam County Departments of Mental Health, Social Services and the Youth Bureau; Alana Sweeny, President and CEO of United Way Westchester and Putnam; Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino; Putnam County Executive MaryEllen Odell; and Michael Kaplowitz, Chair of the Westchester County Board of Legislators. Photo credit: Courtesy.