During his visit to Hartford this week, United Way Worldwide President and CEO Brian Gallagher spoke at the MetroHartford Alliance Rising Star Breakfastabout the need to mobilize the community around shared goals to create social change.

At Thursday’s breakfast, United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut also announced Bertram “Bert” Scott, president of U.S. Commercial Markets at Cigna, as its 2011 United Way Community Campaign Chair.

Gallagher outlined United Way’s 10-year national goals to cut in half the number of families who are financially unstable, to increase by one-third the number of young people who are healthy and avoiding risky behaviors, and to cut in half the number of high school dropouts. Nationally, one in four kids won’t graduate from high school, and 44 million people live in poverty, he told the audience. Locally, one in five families can’t make ends meet.

“As business and nonprofit leaders, you’re in a unique position to drive this kind of change,” Gallagher said. “Nonprofits are working with people every day to change conditions, but they can’t do it alone.”

The true measure of success for United Way and other philanthropic organizations is changing lives and communities, Gallagher said.  This represents a dynamic shift from the United Way recognized for decades as the nation’s premier fund raiser and distributor.

“There will be no long-term economic success without sustained, enduring human success,” he said. “This is good for business, for government, and for society.”

Gallagher, acareer veteran of the United Way system, became president and CEO of United Way of America in 2002 and of United Way Worldwide in 2009.

United Way Worldwide is the leadership and support organization for the network of nearly 1,800 community-based United Ways in 40 countries and territories. It advances the common good, creating opportunities for a better life for all, by focusing on education, income and health. The United Way movement mobilizes millions to action-to give, advocate and volunteer-to improve conditions in their communities.  For more information about United Way, please visit: LIVEUNITED.org.

United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut is a nonprofit organization that has been meeting human care needs in 40 towns across central and northeastern Connecticut since 1924. For more information, visit unitedwayinc.org.

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Brian Gallagher speaks at Rising Star Breakfast from UnitedWayInc on Vimeo.