United Way of Southwest Virginia Announces New Staff Roles for the New River Valley

Christiansburg, VA (September 26, 2023) - United Way of Southwest Virginia (UWSWVA) continues to invest in people and resources to support communities in the New River Valley.

“United Way has been supporting the New River Valley community for 60 years, and while the faces and names have changed over time, our organization’s dedication to this region has not,” explained Travis Staton, CEO and President of the United Way of Southwest Virginia.

To better support the growth in the region, UWSWVA has recently promoted Whitney Caton to serve as the Community Impact Manager and hired Leia King as a Workplace Giving Coordinator in the New River Valley. Both roles are housed in the New River Valley office and bring the number of staff that live and work in the area to seven.

Caton’s new role oversees operations, community impact activities, and coordination of nonprofit agency partners in the New River Valley.

“Whitney has been with United Way since 2019 and most recently served as the lead for our professional development programming,” Staton shared. “She is a long-time resident of New River Valley and has a lot of experience building and supporting communities. We are excited to see her apply those skills to help the region thrive.”

King is a Radford University graduate and moved to the New River Valley from Wythe County 10 years ago. In her new role, she works with employers to launch workplace giving campaigns, sponsor charitable activities, and connect their business and philanthropic goals to local community needs.

United Way is kicking off several workplace giving campaigns this month, and many people will get to meet King in person. As a workplace giving coordinator, King travels the region, meeting with employees about how to connect their charitable goals with local needs.

“We are so excited to have Whitney and Leia on our team and in service to the New River Valley,” said Heather Nicholson, a member United Way of Southwest Virginia's Board of Directors and a New River Valley resident. “This region is unique within the Southwest Virginia footprint, and we want to ensure we have the people and skills to support it.”

The United Way provides multiple programs and services in the New River Valley area including:

• 655 hours of intern opportunities through the Ignite program

• Social-emotional education for 136 students and reading support for 175 students

• 40 early childhood care and education sites in the NRV work with United Way to ensure an estimated 3,000 children receive high-quality care

• A mixed delivery program that facilitated $1 million in childcare assistance so that 107 families could receive free childcare.

To learn more about the work of United Way in the New River Valley, visit UnitedWaySWVA.org/our-work/new-river-valley

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United Way of Southwest Virginia fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in Southwest Virginia because they are the building blocks for a good quality of life. Through an initiative-based cradle-to-career approach, United Way of Southwest Virginia is creating sustainable solutions to address the challenges facing tomorrow’s workforce. United Way convenes cross-sector partners to make an impact on the most complex problems in our region. Through collaboration with government, businesses, nonprofits, and individuals, United Way innovates for positive, lasting social change. With a footprint that covers nearly 20% of the state of Virginia, United Way of Southwest Virginia programs and initiatives serve the counties of Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Lee, Montgomery, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe, and the cities of Bristol, Galax, Norton, and Radford.