"It take more than bullets" was the first campaign slogan of the Charlottesville and Albemarle Community War Fund. The visionary Board of Directors of Charlottesville's Chamber of Commerce established the fund in war time 1943. They strongly believed that, "both the homefront and warfront must be maintained giving fighters, our allies and their families the will to win". The community quickly and generously responded to the inaugural 59 day campaign by raising $75,138 for 17 national war relief agencies (such as the USO and British War Relief) and 10 local agencies. A particularly appreciated feature was the Fund's economy of operation and its consolidation of many campaigns into one.

During the ensuing six decades, the organization focused on "making life better right here at home"."Home" extended well beyond Charlottesville and Albemarle to the counties of Greene, Nelson, Fluvanna and Louisa and was reflected in a 1976 name change to United Way Thomas Jefferson Area, as it is known today. Across the region, dedicated volunteers, businesses and a wide variety of organizations established a rich tradition of truly caring communities as they devoted thousands of hours and millions of dollars to help their neighbors in need.

James Kennan United Way Historian

Today's United Way is strengthened by the many "lessons learned" in meeting the varied and often unexpected challenges of the past. These include four military conflicts, constant cultural shifts, devastating natural disasters and economic downturns. Populations served significantly expanded and diversified while the area's economy changed from agriculture/industrial to service/technical. To ensure responsiveness to the area's ever-changing human needs, innovative approaches emerged such as private-public partnerships, collaborations, service centers, and tailored information & technology networks. With their strong sense of stewardship, astute and dedicated volunteers working closely with professional leadership have been at the forefront. In the process, they have clearly advanced today's United Way Thomas Jefferson Area's overall capabilities to meet what history assures us will be the many challenges of the future.

As United Way prepares to celebrate 65 years of community service, we begin to organize and evaluate our past. Click on any of the links below to be taken to documents with key information on our organization's history.

65th Anniversary booklet, Draft

Campaign Slogans

Board and Campaign Chairs '43-'07

1950's print ad