Ashley Chambers came to Reading from Western Pennsylvania in 2004 to attend Albright College. Upon graduation, she chose to make this community her home. She’s spent most of her time since graduation working with the United Way.
Since college, your jobs have focused on serving the community. Tell me about that experience and how it led you to your current role with the United Way. I began my career working for United Community Services in Reading. I eventually became their executive director, and in that role I was a non-voting board member of the United Way. I also volunteered for the United Way for about 10 years. I then worked as a children and youth services director for Congreso de Latinos Unidos in Philadelphia. When I saw the VP of community impact job for the United Way posted in December 2019, I applied. I was hired, and I started in March 2020, two weeks before the pandemic caused disruptions and remote work.
What volunteer roles did you have with United Way? I volunteered with the Community Impact Office, the office I’m working for now. I reviewed applications for agency partners. I served on grants committees, and I served on the technology committee.
I attribute my ability to successfully onboard during the pandemic to being a volunteer in this department for so long because I was already familiar with the functions of my department.
What do you enjoy most about your role with United Way? In my role, I work with a team that identifies community needs, works with agency partners and oversees grants. The Ready.Set.READ! initiative is also part of my office. I enjoy working with people to improve the community. I also enjoy being able to provide the funds to make changes. As a funder, I believe we can truly make impactful change. It makes me happy to go to work every day knowing we’re fulfilling our mission to make Berks County better for everyone.
How can people get involved with the United Way? My office maintains the volunteer center, and we can help people identify an opportunity they’re interested in. Some examples of experiences we’ve connected people with in addition to Ready.Set.READ! are mural paintings in the city, our annual Day of Caring with various community projects, and the Big Cheese where volunteers package food for Helping Harvest food bank. Businesses can work with us on grant reviews, focus area panels, and they can even create a “wish list” that identifies their volunteer needs to help us connect them with volunteers.
When you have some downtime from all of the work you do for our community, how do you relax and have fun? I enjoy cooking and trying new recipes, working out and listening to audiobooks.
Learn more.
Nurturing Young Readers. The United Way is expanding its Ready.Set.READ! program to early childcare centers in addition to schools to help encourage reading at an even younger age.
Investing in Our Community. In 2021, the United Way of Berks County raised more than $11 million to support community needs and programming in the county.
