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New phone line offering help with food, housing, health in St. Lawrence County

Posted 12/14/15

United Way of Northern New York brought the national 2-1-1 phone referral number to St. Lawrence County, created the United Way Boys and Girls Club Endowment and increased grants to local nonprofits …

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New phone line offering help with food, housing, health in St. Lawrence County

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United Way of Northern New York brought the national 2-1-1 phone referral number to St. Lawrence County, created the United Way Boys and Girls Club Endowment and increased grants to local nonprofits by 32 percent in 2015, the organization reports. Jeff Buckingham, left, vice president of Lights on the River, accepts a check from Shane Laurie, plant manager of Cargill Inc. in Gouverneur. Cargill employees watching are, left to right, Tyler Hitchcock, Randy Morrison, Jordan Briggs, Chad Gaebel, Paul Williams, Mike Wagner and Frank Davis. 

In February, United Way brought the national 2-1-1 phone referral number to St. Lawrence County.

Like 9-1-1 for emergency calls, 2-1-1 is a referral number for callers seeking help with food, housing, health care, etc.

Users can also go to www.211cny.com to view services available in the region.

In June they announced grants totaling $70,000 to St. Lawrence County nonprofits, an increase of 32 percent from the year before.

United Way brought nationally recognized environmental speaker Bob Deans to Clarkson University in September to speak on how national politics is affecting the debate on climate change.

Also in September, they recognized UPS in Potsdam with the Macsherry Community Spirit Award for its year-round support of the United Way. United Way-sponsored A food drive and provided food to pantries in Star Lake and Gouverneur as well.

In October, they announced the creation of the United Way-Boys and Girls Club Endowment, which will eventually produce funds for the clubs in Ogdensburg and Massena.

An estate planning and guardianship seminar was held in November for families with children who are disabled. The session was live-streamed from the Jefferson-Lewis BOCES to the St. Lawrence BOCES in Canton so that providers and parents could attend. A second session is planned in April for Gouverneur and Massena.

This month United Way secured a $3,750 grant from Cargill Inc., which has a plant in Gouverneur, and gave it to Lights on the River. The money will provide food to pantries throughout St. Lawrence County.

In 2016 United Way says it hopes to include St. Lawrence school districts in its campaign. The St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce will be partnering with them to assist school districts in distributing campaign information and the collection of donations.