Courtesy Brian Bearor (2021)
Brian Bearor
Little more than a week after starting as executive director of Tri-County United Way, Brian Bearor spoke passionately about his goals for the organization in the wake of economic despair caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bearor, who started just before Labor Day, plans to implement the Live United model: identify community needs, help solve the challenges, find necessary resources, then evaluate the projects to ensure they are impacting the community as planned.
“We want to create solutions that create social change,” Bearor said. “That’s how we really make an impact and make our community better.”
“Live United” means identifying those communities that are teetering on the edge, such as mothers and fathers in single-parent homes that are “one blown tire away from a crisis,” he said.
He said the United Way was looking to support local agencies and other nonprofits to be able to help better. The organization must identify community needs and current resources, and then organize those so they can care for and build one another up. After that, they measure the effectiveness of the programs to make sure they are working.
The pandemic has not made his job easy.
Since March 2020, Tri-County United Way’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program filed more than $3 million in tax returns for low-income families and individuals; supported more than 60 agencies with 2,500 hours through its Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, the nation’s largest volunteer network for people ages 55 and older; and secured more than $60,000 in grant funding to support local food programs.
“It’s amazing, the work that the team and the volunteers have done during this difficult time,” said Bearor, who joined United Way after a 30-year career with YMCA branches around the country.
The organization responded to shifted needs in the community because of the pandemic, he noted.
“There has been an increase in use of food banks and pantries and the need for child care has grown during COVID,” he said. “We are finding ways to support those centers and nonprofits that are supporting families.”
Bearor cites as particularly effective VITA’s work in securing stimulus funds by filing tax returns for those who in the past didn’t earn enough to be required to do so.
“These are stories that need to be told for two reasons: We want people to know about the impact of organizations like United Way on the community, and we want others to hear them and realize they can get help,” he said.
He said that the United Way’s role is to support funded agencies and other nonprofits at a higher level.
“They’re getting asked to do more, there are more people who need their services,” he said.
Because of COVID-19, United Way had to rely on fewer volunteers, although donations rose.
That generosity when it’s most needed is what Bearor loves about the region.
He said: “I was born and raised in this community, and that’s one thing that’s unique about it, what makes it special: We take care of our own.”
Tri-County United Way covers Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties.