NORWICH – The 2008 Chenango United Way campaign was a success, with the organization meeting and exceeding its goal, despite the troubling economy. Now, with a new campaign director on board, the organization is hoping to see another successful year.
Former Campaign Director Victoria Mitchell left United Way earlier this year after she was offered another job. Bryne Lewis Allport, of Greene, was recently hired as the new campaign director. Born and raised in Scranton, Pa., Bryne was introduced to the Chenango County area when she was an undergraduate at Binghamton University. After finishing her master’s degree in theology and philosophy of religion, Allport and her three children moved to Greene.
“I’ve done a lot of volunteer work over the last ten years in the area of church work and community, social service work,” Allport said. After finishing her masters, Allport explained she had the desire to return to the community work she experienced while volunteering. “I had the heart to get back into the community volunteerism and activism. I was missing that during the intensity of my masters,” she said.
As the new campaign director for the CUW, Allport will be in charge of the mechanics of the campaign. Currently, Allport is working to organize the third annual Day of Caring – an event that solicits volunteers to work at local non-profit organizations for a day – and will be working to expand the youth and school involvement in the CUW program. “Victoria Mitchell put us in a really good place,” Allport said. “There is a lot of volunteer retention, and things are already well begun. I feel good going in to this campaign.”
Although Allport is just delving into her role as campaign director, she said one thing she would like to see is more involvement from business and residents in the Greene area. “I would love to see Greene become more involved,” she said explaining that she hopes living in the area will help her develop relationships there. “I’d love to see them blossom into a leadership role for that end of the county.” Allport also said she plans to work on a youth service packet to get young people more involved in the campaign.
“I’m so excited to be here working with this United Way. They’ve done such a good job of addressing the community needs and bringing people together to solve the community issues,” Allport said.
CUW Executive Director Elizabeth Monaco said she is excited about having Allport on staff and the many things that she will bring to the organization. For more information about the CUW, visit the organizations web site at www.chenangouw.org.