United Way of New York City

Soon the guests began to appear, many dressed as colorfully as the flowers, complete with sparkling earrings and multi-hued scarves. The delight in the room was palpable, with many old friends greeting each other happily, thrilled with the cause and also delighted to be playing hooky on a working day. Everyone sipped water with fresh lime wheels, freshly brewed coffee, wine—or even a cocktail. There was a lot to celebrate.

While the organization is 87 years old, United Way of New York City (UWNYC) definitely doesn’t show its age. Founded in 1938 at the tail end of the Great Depression when Rockefeller rallied the titans of industry—Vanderbilt, Hearst, Morgan, and Carnegie, some of whose families and corporations remain represented on the board today—it is a nonpartisan effort. What began as an organization focused primarily on collecting and distributing funds has evolved into a comprehensive nonprofit addressing four key programmatic areas: health, justice, education, and food and benefits.

UWNYC functions as what Melissa A. Browne, Senior Vice President, Chief Development Officer describes as “a scaled platform for advocates.” The organization leverages its relationships with corporate partners and government officials to amplify the impact of smaller community groups that might otherwise go unheard of.

“We have the microphone,” Browne says. “We can give that microphone to smaller nonprofits.” This organization can advocate for their constituents and will bring community members to Albany and Washington D.C. to champion better healthcare, education, benefits, and policies like the Farm Bill.

Perhaps most importantly, Browne emphasizes the organization’s focus on supporting the “lifeline of New York City”—the small, grassroots nonprofits that address specific community needs. “Sometimes people think of the big ones, the Robin Hood Food Bank, etc., but really, there’s nonprofits that are two people. It’s a mom and her husband who saw community violence happening in their neighborhood and said, ‘We’re going to do something about it.'”

In 2024 alone, in partnerships with other organizations, UWNYC provided over 5,000 free preventative health screenings, engaged with more than 50,000 community members through health education, health literacy, and wellness events, and trained over 70 community health navigators, health advocates, and partner staff on critical health topics.

The organization’s food security efforts have been equally substantial, working in collaboration to deliver more than 21,000 food boxes through school partnerships in 2024. 

And they partnered to distribute 75,000 books across New York City through their Books from Birth program, which provides free monthly books to families with children from birth through age five.   

The lunch is a time to celebrate all of this success, because as Browne says, “We don’t want to just get bogged down in the need. There is momentum, we’re making inroads and this lunch is a great way to celebrate all that we’ve done, all that collective power.”

This year’s honorees represented diverse sectors of leadership: Jo-Ann Yoo, Senior Advisor of the Asian American Federation; Dr. Jennifer Ashton, Founder and President of Ajenda, a women’s wellness company; and Kelly Koyama-Garcia, SVP, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of Louis Vuitton Americas. Their recognition underscores UWNYC’s commitment to celebrating women who drive positive change across different spheres of influence.

The guests began to filter downstairs and it wasn’t long before the entire room was completely filled. The lights darkened and the Emmy-Award-winning journalist for Spectrum News NY1 Cheryl Wills took the stage. She was funny and glamorous in a stunning white dress and joked about being on the job for over 35 years and mentioned the sad passing of Civil Rights activist, Hazel Dukes, 92.

Soon, President and CEO of UWNYC, Grace C. Bonilla took the stage. Hair up in an attractive 1960s updo and dressed in shades of light pink and raspberry sorbet, she spoke about how she took two buses as a child to the library, in order to reach her beloved section of young adult fiction where the world opened up to her. UWNYC recently opened a library in a homeless shelter and Bonilla notes, “Parents should not have to choose between literature and putting food on the table.” 

Next up was Yoo, who spoke about her mother, who worked on a factory line at Hewlett Packard but still gave part of her paycheck to the United Way, and persuaded many of her friends to do the same. Yoo, momentarily overcome by emotion, said her mother believed, “You have to gather all the little pieces of dust to create a mountain.”

Then Aston took the stage. The acclaimed doctor who was once an anchor of Good Morning America and the first female Chief Medical Correspondent at ABC spoke in searing detail about the lack of medical support in women’s health issues. And, finally, Koyama-Garcia talked about how much she enjoyed mentoring younger women.

The on-stage remarks were rounded off with a huge shout out to the 22 Rising Stars who have shown leadership, innovation, and impact in their lives and careers. This program is for women nominated by their companies, business partners, or families, and the emerging leaders are invited to convene several times a year, building relationships that have led to new career opportunities and deeper involvement with United Way.

After all those good vibes, it was time to get down to the real business of lunch (a delicious roast chicken and tasty Spanish wine) and raise some money for all this good to continue. Paddle raises started at $10,000 and went down to $100 with auctioneer TiWanna Kenny skillfully calling out each one. The buzz grew and grew until there was a frenzy of participation and it felt like the entire room had joined in. 

By the end of the lunch the exciting news was announced, UWNYC had beat their previous fundraising record, topping out at $1.1 million. The room erupted in applause and everyone seemed to be smiling. 

The crowd strolled through the room back into the glorious spring day, maybe grabbing a mini-brownie or raspberry jelly on their way out.

Whoever said that women don’t make the world go around clearly never got the chance to attend one of the UWNYC luncheons. 

Consider donating to this good cause and joining their efforts. Learn more at United Way of New York City.