United Way of Tucson has awarded
$207,500 to local agencies to-date
with more funds on the way!
United For Southern Arizona
COVID-19 Fund Updates
Your United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona is excited to share weekly updates related to our United for Southern Arizona COVID-19 Fund . This fund is already helping local individuals and families in our community during this critical time of need, demonstrating that your generosity has the power to make a positive impact in the lives of others. THANK YOU to everyone who has given and volunteered during this time of need. T his community has shown that it is ready and willing to unite for our friends, families and neighbors. Read on for individual stories of impact, volunteer opportunities and other important updates.

Highlights from the past week:

  • Thanks to our amazing community's generosity, this past week, the United for Southern Arizona COVID-19 Fund received $9,325 in donations and this past Tuesday, Arizona Gives Day, individual community members raised $3,017 bringing total commitments and funds raised to $412,342!

  • United Way of Tucson has contracted with the following agencies to provide urgently needed services:
  • Catholic Community Services
  • Community Food Bank
  • Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona
  • DIRECT Center for Independence
  • Green Valley Assistance Services
  • Habitat for Humanity
  • Higher Ground
  • Interfaith Community Services
  • La Frontera
  • Our Family Services
  • Pima Council on Aging (PCOA)
  • Primavera
  • Sahuarita Food Bank
  • (more pending)

  • $207,500 of assistance has already been sent out to our partnered agencies and to people who need help now.

  • So far, four partner organizations have used funds to fulfill 14 different requests for critical needs. This support has reached 50 people in the Southern Arizona Community, including 19 children. The average amount of support received by household is $603.24.

Community Stories:
Housing Assistance
The Southern Arizona community is in urgent need of assistance during this difficult time of quarantine, job loss and health concerns. Thanks to the generous support of our funders and donors like you, United Way of Tucson has been able to help individuals and families in need. The majority of support distributed to community members this past week has been for housing assistance. With the start of the new month, housing payments has been the greatest need for many families.
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From Habitat for Humanity:
 “Due to COVID-19, my job laid me off and I am having hard time paying for my mortgage this month. I am a private caregiver, caring for an 89-year-old man at his home. Due to COVID-19, his daughter is now working at home and my service is no longer needed. My wife is also not working, and we have 3 kids plus my little sister staying with me. I don't know when I will be returning back to work. I applied for unemployment and haven't got any response from them yet.”
Food Assistance
“When this email came through, I was beyond ecstatic. Our foodbank has fed an average of 160-180 families per week before this crisis. During the last few weeks, those numbers have increased to nearly 300 families each week! That number will keep increasing with many people experiencing reduced work hours, lay-offs, and other issues. I have personally spoken to many people over the phone who have said that without our support, they would not know where their next meal would come from.

Please send our many thanks to everyone at the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona and all the partners who have made this possible. This very generous grant will help us continue our mission during this stressful time for many families in our community.”

- Carlos Valles, Executive Director at Sahuarita Food Bank
and Community Resource Center
Food Distribution
This past Monday United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona was happy to partner with Higher Ground and Bayer employees to provide volunteers for their food distribution program. Volunteers assisted with packing food boxes full of food and other vital essentials for 15 families in need. Each volunteer then loaded those boxes up and delivered them to each family. One driver reported, "the family was so shocked and thankful, they couldn't stop waving at me and thanking me for bringing supplies to them. I'm so glad I was able to help in some small way during this crisis."
Family Needs Distribution
This past week we collected and distributed 1,000 diapers, 40 reusable/fabric diapers, 48 packages of baby wipes, over 60 books, household safety items (electric outlet covers, cabinet locks, small fire extinguishers, and first aid kits), hygiene kits, thermometers, some toys and oral health education bags that our corporate volunteers put together (perfect because they have coloring pages, crayons, and books). These items were picked up at the United Way of Tucson building by supervisors and home visitors of four different programs that collectively serve around 320 families.

Volunteer Highlights:
Thank you to all the individuals and companies who have been volunteering and keeping Tucson United during this unprecedented time.

  • Virtual Food Drive for Sunnyside Pointe Senior Program: 13 volunteers signed up to send food and hygiene products.
  • YWCA: 24 volunteer drivers from the U of A College of Medicine signed up to deliver meals to low-income families throughout April.
  • Pima County Health Dept: 2 volunteers signed up to donate PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to support the supply drive that Pima County is currently running.
  • Diaper Bank: GEICO and Tucson Federal employees promoted the Diaper Bank online for AZ Gives Day.
  • PCOA: Texas Instruments sent thinking of you cards to a number of seniors that are home bound.
  • Sunnyside Pointe Senior Program: Texas Instruments sent thinking of you cards to low-income seniors.
Volunteer Opportunities for You:
We need your help to keep
 Southern Arizona United
Your support right now is crucial to alleviate the financial hardship many are facing today. For nearly 100 years, your United Way of Southern Arizona has been fulfilling our mission of mobilizing the community to solve real-time problems. Your gift to this fund will quickly support a child, family, or older person with what is essential right now. Together, we can help each other and our community emerge stronger than ever. With our non-profit partners, United Way will continue to deliver emergency services and resources for individuals and families who need help today.  When we LIVE UNITED, we can achieve more than any single entity can alone. When you GIVE UNITED, you can change lives.