You build the future of this community
by helping our youngest children! Success By 6
is a community-wide initiative of United Way to
ensure that by age six, all children in Onondaga
County possess the necessary mental, physical,
social and emotional development to successfully
embrace educational and social opportunities for
growth and learning.
A Brief History
Success By 6 originated in Minneapolis, Minnesota
in 1989. It began with a conversation between
chairman of Honeywell Industries and the president
of United Way of Minneapolis. Initially, they
were concerned about the quality of the local
labor pool and the need for of skilled, job-ready
people entering the workforce. They realized that
creating employable adults actually begins in
the early stages of life, when a child is most
inquisitive. Investing in children would reap
benefits for a lifetime. Together, they aimed
to make a measurable impact on those early years.
Local Roots
The desire to help children succeed is an important
value in Onondaga County. In 1991, Bill Donlon
(then President and CEO of Niagara Mohawk) and
Mary Ann Shaw (associate to the Chancellor of
Syracuse University) sought to improve the lives
of children in our community, who suffered a high
infant mortality rate and a low immunization rate.
To help combat these issues, Donlon and Shaw began
a local Success By 6 in Syracuse, NY.
Our Governing Body
The Success By 6 Policy Council was created to
bring leaders from business, government and non-profits
together. Their goal was to ensure that all children
from birth to age six would gain the skills needed
to reach their potential. The Policy Council of
Success By 6 is made up of community leaders,
five action teams, two support teams, and two
staff members.
Success By 6 partners with local
businesses, government, health, human services,
education, labor, religious, volunteer, and neighborhood
leaders to work toward this goal. Many of these
leaders serve on the Success By 6 Policy Council
or one of its action teams: Educare; Children’s
Health; Family Supportive Policies; Hunger; and
Literacy.
For more information on Success By 6, please contact
us or visit our website.
United Way’s Success By 6
P.O. Box 2129
518 James Street
Syracuse, NY 13220-2129
Phone: (315) 428-3028
Fax: (315) 428-2204
Web: www.unitedway-cny.org/sb6
Email: twisnieski@unitedway-cny.org
Terry Wisnieski, Executive Director |
