‘Connected we are stronger. This is not a slogan. It is a strategy for rural success’

Photos by Ginny Kropf: (Left) Kathy Blackburn, left, and Gabrielle Barone share a light moment during the gathering Wednesday night sponsored by Orleans Community Connects. (Right) Dean Bellack, board president of Orleans Community Connects (formerly United Way) and director Nyla Gaylord addressed invited guests to an informal gathering Wednesday night at Zambistro’s. Its purpose was to explain the name change from United Way.

MEDINA – Invited members of the community shared conversation and camaraderie at a gathering Wednesday night at Zambistro’s, during which leadership of the former United Way explained the new mission and reason for the name change to Orleans Community Connects.

The evening began with introduction of officers from Jodi Gaines, who was a longtime member of United Way of Eastern Orleans (when there were two United Ways in the county). Gaines now continues her membership, having served as president several terms and is now treasurer of Orleans Community Connects.

Virginia Kropf started as a member of United Way of Western Orleans around 2000-01 and later also became a member of Eastern United Way until the two merged in 2011. She continues to serve as secretary, a position she has held for more than a decade.

Jerome Pawlak is vice president, having started as a member of Eastern United Way in 1985. He remembers his dad’s grocery store in Albion supporting United Way when he was a youngster helping in the store.

Dean Bellack, president of Orleans Community Connects, speaks to a gathering of local residents who attended an informative meeting Wednesday at Zambistro’s.

President Dean Bellack attended his first meeting in 2019, at which the current director announced she was leaving. Bellack stated he had just retired from his company and sold it and he would be willing to step in as director until a new director could be hired. He served in that position until Nyla Gaylord was hired, who serves as director today.

Other board members are Barry Flansburg, Richard Hellert, Amit Misra and David Gagne.

Wednesday’s program continued with a brief history of United Way by Kropf. She shared how the agency was founded in the 1960s by Van Hungerford and several friends as the Community Chest. It was Hungerford’s belief there ought to be one agency in the county to which people could donate, thereby eliminating all the individual requests an organization would get.

United Way of Western Orleans shared an office with the American Red Cross, first above where Avanti’s is now, then in an office on the west side of Main, until moving across the street when Kennedy Brothers closed in 2000.

At some point they shared an office with the Medina Chamber of Commerce, until merging with Eastern to become United Way of Orleans County. They met at various locations, including the Crooked Door, Swan Library and the former Washington Mutual complex, until being offered permanent space (and their current office) at Orleans County Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Kropf said she couldn’t count the times she has told someone that money donated to United Way in Orleans County, stays in Orleans County. And that will remain true under the new name.

Nyla Gaylord, executive director, spoke next and said the evening celebrated an important milestone in the agency’s evolution into Orleans Community Connects.

“This isn’t just a new name,” Gaylord said. “It reflects our growing role as a connector of people, ideas and resources, all focused on strengthening Orleans County.”

Dean Bellack greets MarcAnthony Bucci from the Buffalo Community Foundation and Katie Brisson from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. They attended Orleans Community Connect’s get-together, along with Maura Dewan of the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.

Gaylord said the agency’s new journey began when Bellack stepped into the role of executive director.

“After retiring from a long career as a manufacturer’s representative, he brought those same strengths that defined his career – relationship building, community connections and a talent for bringing people together,” Gaylord said. “Almost immediately, Dean started contacting foundations in Buffalo and Rochester to ask for money.

“Almost immediately, foundations in Rochester and Buffalo reached out to us, asking for help to distribute emergency funds for rent, utilities and basic need,” Gaylord said.  “We immediately convened nonprofit leaders from across the county to coordinate how those funds would reach families in need. It was a defining moment – one which showed how powerful our local network could be when we worked together.”

When foundations asked what rural counties needed, Orleans’ answer was “digital literacy.” Then grants were written and received to address digital literacy in Orleans County, resulting in the Orleans Digital Literacy Initiative.

 Gaylord explained how she spent her own time while working as director of Ministry of Concern to write a grant, which resulted in funding of a grant writer at United Way for five years. Shortly after she joined United Way. She stepped into the role as executive director in July 2023.

“As someone who spent more than 30 years working in nonprofit administration and has lived in Orleans County my entire life, I felt called to help guide this next chapter,” Gaylord said.”

This would be addressing a previously neglected homeless population, supporting countywide outreach during the rollout of a new broadband system, convening a community conversation on housing and addressing a housing shortage. United Way also was involved in establishment of a warming center in Albion, a model which is now being replicated in Brockport and Warsaw.

Photo courtesy of Dawn Winkler: Clockwise from left, Kathy Blackburn, Sally Mathes, Carol Bellack and Ginny Kropf enjoy hors d’oeuvres and conversation during Orleans Community Connects gathering at Zambistro’s. Kropf has been a member of United Way (now Orleans Community Connects) for an estimated 25 years and secretary for at least a dozen years.

Partnering with consultant Nick Coulter and former county legislator Ken DeRoller resulted in forming the first Affordable Housing Summit last fall. Coulter is now working with a local developer to help move affordable housing projects forward.

All this work was made possible by the Greater Rochester Health Foundation. Today Orleans Community Connects’ programs include Caregivers Revitalize, Connect Orleans broadband research, Highmark CHEFS nutrition education and Housing Development consulting services.

“Board member David Gagne said Orleans County needs to help itself, and that is exactly what we are doing,” Gaylord said. “We are bringing partners together, identifying solutions and building the systems that will strengthen this community for years to come. That spirit of collaboration, responsiveness and local problem solving is what inspired our new name, Orleans Community Connects. Because the truth is simple – when we connect, great things happen.”

Dean Bellack concluded the evening by explaining where the organization is going and why that direction matters to every donor, every elected official and every business leader here.

“At the center of Orleans Community Connects is a simple truth – connected we are stronger,” Bellack said. “This is not a slogan. It is a strategy for rural success.”

Bellack said we all know the challenges – a shrinking population, rising costs, limited staff and a competitive grant environment.

“These pressures affect our towns, our villages, our nonprofits and our businesses,” Bellack said. “And they affect the long-term stability of our county. But when we connect our efforts – when we stop duplicating work and start aligning resources, we can accomplish far more than any one entity can do alone.”

The first major initiative Orleans Community Connects is launching is a series of collaborative meetings with every town and village in Orleans County. These will be structured, working conversations, not ceremonial gatherings, Bellack said.

“When we understand the full landscape, we can begin to coordinate instead of compete,” Bellack said. “We can align projects, strengthen applications and bring more funding into Orleans County.”

At the same time, Orleans Community Connects is preparing to take a major step forward by establishing their own internal capacity very soon. This will include professional grant writing support for towns, villages and nonprofits; coordination of multi-partner projects; administrative support for complex state and federal applications; and the ability to move ideas into action with consistency and follow-through.

“As we grow, it is important to be clear about our commitments,” Bellack said. “OCC will continue charitable giving to the most deserving nonprofits in Orleans County, funded through special events, just as we have always done. We will not send one penny outside the county. Every dollar stays here.”

Above all, Bellack said to accomplish their growth in Orleans County they need leaders at the table.

“To accomplish our goals, we need two to four additional board members who share our mission and who understand the value of coordinated, countywide impact,” Bellack said. “We especially need one or two individuals with town or village government experience, and a treasurer with strong financial expertise and experience with grants. This is an opportunity to help shape the future of Orleans County in a meaningful, lasting way.”

‘We are not asking for charity. We are asking you to join us, because the return on this investment will be felt in every corner of Orleans County.’ – Dean Bellack

Bellack closed by explaining, like United Way, Orleans Community Connects needs community investment in order to grow.

He said he was not asking for gifts.

“A gift is charity,” Bellack said. “An investment is belief. An investment says, ‘I expect this to grow. I expect this to produce results. I expect this to benefit the people who live and work here.’ We are not asking for charity. We are asking you to join us, because the return on this investment will be felt in every corner of Orleans County.

“That is the future we are building. A future rooted in connection and driven by collaboration, where every community has the tools, the support and the resources to succeed. We thank you for believing in this work. Thank you for your leadership. And thank you for being part of what comes next.”