NORWICH – Every year, the Chenango United Way sets aside a portion of money raised during its fall campaign to give to local food pantries and soup kitchens.

“We had raised approximately $8,000 in 2008 toward this purpose,” said Elizabeth Monaco, Executive Director and Chief Professional Officer for the Chenango United Way. “Then we heard that Frontier Communications had decided to run a special promotion titled ‘The Great Frontier Donate: Let’s Talk Up A Cause’ initiative.”

From May through October of 2009, for any new residential or business customer who chose a Frontier service which included long distance, or when an existing customer upgraded their long distance service to a Frontier bundle, such as Frontier Business Unlimited, a donation would be made to a local United Way.

The $8,000 allocated by the Chenango United Way, coupled with the efforts of Frontier, succeeded in raising over $16,000 this year, which was distributed to 18 Chenango County food pantries and soup kitchens.