This year marks the 125th anniversary of the United Way and, in a floor statement (see video) honoring the occasion, U.S. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) notes that the “success and strength” of the partnership “between the United Way and America’s workers cannot be overstated.”   

Members of Laborers Local 563, Minnesota Laborers Employers Cooperation & Education Trust (LECET) and the Minneapolis Building and Construction Trades recently teamed up with volunteers from Minneapolis companies to build a new playground at Sheridan Arts Magnet School.

The Writers Guild of America, East and the Wounded Warrior Project have joined forces in a project that pairs military veterans and their family members with award-winning writers, empowering them with storytelling skills to share their post-war experiences.

Read the full story here, part of the AFL-CIO In Our Communities feature highlights.

Since 1947, the AFL-CIO and the United Way have helped families and communties recover from natural disasters--and more recently from the disastrous effects of the great recession. We continue to work together to provide services where they’re needed and when they’re needed.

In this new video, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka urges people to “give, advocate and volunteer with your local United Way.”

When it comes to education, few would dispute that youngsters who have access to high-quality child care and early learning opportunities have a better chance at lifelong success.

Now, two research reports show that unions are playing a big role in helping child care providers bring the highest level of care to the children and families they serve. Another study calls for more effective public investment in early childhood education.

The Letter Carriers (NALC) 20th annual food drive was another huge success. As of this week, NALC members collected more than 70.5 million pounds of food during the union's Stamp Out Hunger drive May 12, but with the tallies still coming in, this year’s total tops last year’s 70.2 million pounds.

The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO partnered with the United Way of Erie County last week to host an unemployment resources fair for jobless workers as part of Project Back on Track, a new program intended to help the unemployed. Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Richard Bloomingdale says several more resource fairs are planned around the state.

Guide Dogs of America changes lives—thanks to the Machinists (IAM) union and, of course, some dedicated best friends.

Watch the video and share it with your friends.

Squash (lots of it), peppers, green beans and tomatoes will be sprouting soon at the 11,200-square-foot community garden in Monroe, Mich., planted recently by workers at the Chrysler Dundee engine plant, members of UAW  Local 723. The annual community garden provides fresh produce to community food pantries, Godworks Community Meals and local families hurt by the economic downturn.

A partnership between the the Crawford/Richland County Central Labor Council of the AFL-CIO and Ashland University is increasing access to the Black Fork Wetlands for student research and other community members in north-central Ohio. As a new feature in the AFL-CIO In Our Communities notes, the council, made up of 3,500 members in two counties, is raising funds to build an Environmental Studies Center at the wetlands site, a project that has lain dormant on Ashland University’s drawing boards for several years.