Wondering which way to turn when you need a helping hand? Looking for your ideal volunteer opportunity? Call Anna Porter, our new Community Outreach Coordinator.
Anna joined the United Way staff in October following a stint as a Health Coach at JABA. She has also worked as a lifeguard at the Brooks Family YMCA.
In her role as Community Outreach Coordinator, Anna manages the United Way’s Information & Referral service. Thousands of callers each year rely on the United Way to steer them toward a program that meets their needs. That might be an in-house program like Early Learner Scholarships or Prescription Relief. Or it could be a service offered by another nonprofit agency. The United Way’s 75 years of experience in the community’s nonprofit sector make it uniquely qualified to provide the referral service.
Anna also manages the United Way’s volunteer website, CvilleVolunteer.org. This site allows agencies to post local volunteer opportunities and allows community members to find those opportunities and track their hours and their impact in the community. As our volunteer coordinator, Anna runs point for the area’s largest volunteer event, the United Way Laurence E. Richardson Day of Caring.
Also on Anna’s plate is the management of the Santa Fund, which buys clothes and school supplies for students in the public schools of Albemarle, Buckingham, Charlottesville, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, and Orange.
Once the Santa Fund wraps up, Anna will be helping folks schedule their free tax preparation appointments, starting on January 3, 2019. The United Way’s Cville Tax Aid program provides tax return assistance and promotes the use of the Earned Income Tax Credit for households making less than $55,000 a year. The 2019 Tax Aid season runs through April 15, 2019.
Anna attended Lafayette College in Easton, PA earning a B.S. in Psychology with a concentration in writing. She earned a master’s degree in psychology from Brandeis University, with a focus on social determinants of health.
Although she’s only been on the United Way staff for a short time, Anna feels like she’s found a home. “Working with just nine other people, you really get to sense the pulse of the organization and see the impact in the community,” she said. “There is a great sense of neighborliness here, and I have the sense we all Live United in our lives outside the office.”