Join your colleagues who are Hopeful for thriving communities

UNE's Charitable Giving Campaign

United Way of Southern Maine brings together the people, ideas, and resources to respond to emerging needs and tackle the persistent issues preventing individuals and families from achieving economic stability and leading healthy lives. Together, we can connect community members to the resources needed to address challenges head-on and meet our community needs to create a thriving Southern Maine.

2023 Virtual Bus Tour — United Way of Southern Maine

Visit five of the many organizations making an impact with your UNE charitable giving donation to United Way of Southern Maine (UWSM). 

Take Action Today

UNE’s 2023 United Way Campaign Runs From November 3 to December 1

Discover UWSM's goals and purpose and determine the impact you would like to make.

To make a contribution through our electronic pledge form follow the instructions below.

  1. Log into https://une.okta.com/
  2. Select the PeopleAdmin application
  3. Access Records Self-Service by going to the three dots in the upper left of the screen
  4. Select Employee Records, then Available Forms
  5. Select the UNE Charitable Giving Campaign form
  6. Complete the fields on the form and select Save Final at the end of the form to authorize your payroll deduction. Deductions will take place for payrolls falling between January 1 to December 30, 2024. Forms are due by November 30, 2023.

To make a direct contribution with a check, credit card, or cash:

  1. Download and complete the UNE Charitable Giving Campaign form (PDF).
  2. Print and sign your completed form.
  3. Return the completed and signed form and any checks or cash by November 30 to Human Resources at 716 Stevens Avenue, Portland, ME, 04103; via intercampus mail; or scan and email payroll deduction pledges to hr@une.edu.

Congratulate yourself for your leadership in advancing the common good in our communities and in the state of Maine!

Two volunteers for United Way moving boxes
Two kids hug at a United Way event

United Way of Southern Maine

The mission of UWSM is to improve people’s lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community. We are uniting individuals and organizations around our community’s shared vision, Thrive2027, three 10-year goals to improve education, financial stability, and health for every person in Southern Maine. And, because we believe everyone has a role to play in building a thriving community, we actively seek to engage donors, advocates, and volunteers to create measurable long-lasting community change.

  • Through United Way programs like the Day One’s Street Program, unhoused youth under 21 have access to low barrier mental health and substance use counseling.
  • Biddeford Ready, with the help of United Way funding, prepares Biddeford children from birth to age 5 to thrive in school and beyond.
  • 211 Maine helps Mainers connect find local programs find resources when you don’t know where else to go.

See how UWSM uses your dollar for education, financial stability, and health (PDF)

View the UWSM 2022–2023 Community Report to see what your contributions made possible

Two students hold up trash bags as they clean up a beach
Two students smile as they hold up trash bags for a Save the Waves cleanup event

The UNE's Partnerships by the Numbers

While annual contributions are vital to the United Way effort, the generosity of UNE faculty, professional staff, and students never ceases as they work with United Way and local agencies to expand our connections and deepen the impact we make within the local communities.

50

coats donated to Maine Needs in 2022 by UNE students

1,200

books collected at the 2021 fun run for the Learning Works organization

15,000

stuffed animals collected and donated by UNE's Teddy Bear Toss since 2017

  • Since 2017 UNE's Teddy Bear Toss has collected and donated more than 15,000 new/gently used stuffed animals and more than $7,000 to support local agencies.
  • The 2022 Fun Run Food Drive collected over 250 food items to assist families facing food insecurity.
  • UNE students donated 50 coats in 2022 through Maine Needs, Portland.
  • The 2021 Giving Tree event donated more than 200 new unwrapped gifts to the Seeds of Hope to assist families in providing for their children at the holidays. Look for upcoming information on this event as we plan to help even more families this year.
  • The 2021 Fun Run book collection collected more than 1,200 new and gently used books for the project with Learning Works organization through their partnership with United Way of Southern Maine.
  • In 2020, UNE partnered with United Way and the Biddeford Police Department last winter for our first Coat Drive. We contributed more than 30 coats out of the 250 coats that were collected regionally.
  • The 2019 Fun Run school supplies drive provided area students with pens, pencils, notebooks, rulers, glue, crayons, markers, and many more items needed for successful engagement in the classroom.