United Fund Volunteer

Illustration of a black torch with white text on the torch and a red flame in the center of the button with black text above it and red text below it on a white background.

The United Way was founded in the late nineteenth century by a Denver woman, a priest, a rabbi, and two ministers. The charity was established to raise funds to help community members. The money was given to local organizations, relief funds, and emergency assistance grants. The first campaign that Denver United Way conducted raised $21,700. By 1948 there were more than 1,000 United Way community organizations across the United States. They became an international organization in the 1970s. The United Way in more recent years has held influential fundraising campaigns for events such as September 11^th. The local drives for funds are all organized by volunteers. The vision of the organization is to help create “a world where all individuals and families achieve their human potential through education, income stability and healthy lives.”