Union Representing Charter Oak State College Embraces Community Giving

Members of AFSCME Local 1214, representing employees at Charter Oak State College, the state’s flagship online college in New Britain, have plenty of reasons to be thankful.

In keeping with their tradition of supporting community causes, throughout the year, the union’s Giving Committee donated $550 to the Malta House of Care Mobile Medical Clinic, which provides high-quality, free primary health care to uninsured adults in Greater Hartford; and $550 to Hands On Hartford, which serves Hartford residents in need of food, housing & related services.

“Our union has a strong sense of the importance of giving back to the community,” Local 1214 President Wanda Warshauer, the Director of Academic Services at COSC, explained. “It’s an honor for us to give back to the communities we serve as unionized state employees and higher education advocates.”

Representatives of Malta House and Hands on Hartford appreciate Local 1214’s community-mindedness.

“We are grateful to the members of AFSCME Local 1214 for helping us bring critically needed primary health care to the neighborhoods where it is needed most,” said Michelle Murphy, Executive Director of the Malta House of Care Foundation. 

According to Murphy, Malta has provided just over 6,000 free patient visits to uninsured adults this year. “Because we are an independent non-profit – we get no local, state, or federal aid – we rely completely on the generosity of others to fulfill our mission,” she said. “Every single gift matters tremendously to us – and we put every single penny to very good use.”

L-R: Local 1214 Giving Committee member Laura Duquette; Kate Shafer of Hands On Hartford; Local 1214 President Wanda Warshauer; and Local 1214 Giving Committee member Kate Griffin.

Kate Shafer, Communications & Development Manager for Hands on Hartford, said the union’s donation will support HoH's Backpack Angels program, which supplies meals to under-served Hartford school children.

“The kids appreciate that somebody cares. They like to know they’re not completely alone. They’re better able to learn when they have regular meals and they’re not distracted by worry about whether there’s enough food at home,” Shafer commented.

Over the years, Local 1214 Giving Committee has tapped into its treasury to support a variety of to charitable endeavors, including the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain, Foodshare, the St. Francis Hospital Foundation and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.  Local 1214 member Paul Morganti chairs the Giving Committee. Union members include Laura Duquette, Sarah Ellis, Susan Graham-Handley, Kate Griffin, Susana Orozco, and Nancy Taylor.

“We recruit union members to serve on the committee and to give us creative ideas for donations that will have local impact,” Morganti, the Associate Registrar at COSC, explained.

“It all started with a desire to do something, as union members, to make our communities better,” added Taylor, the Assistant Director of Corporate Outreach at COSC, who helped create the Giving Committee.

Noting how unions are sometimes portrayed negatively by the media and vilified by billionaire-funded think tanks, Warshauer said it’s important to change that perception in part through community engagement.  

“We have a responsibility to make our communities better, not only through our service to the public but through financial support and volunteer efforts that improve the lives of people less fortunate than we are,” she said.