UNITED WAY OF SOUTHERN KENTUCKY ANNOUNCES OVER $508,000 IN INVESTMENTS IN EDUCATION, HEALTH, INCOME AND SAFETY NET PROGRAMS IN WARREN COUNTY
(September 10th, 2020) – United Way of Southern Kentucky announced today that it is investing a total of $508,500 in Education, Health, Income and Safety Net programs and services for its July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021 funding period in Warren County. 31 local programs provided through 21 service providers will receive the allocated campaign dollars and donor designations.
To receive funding from United Way of Southern Kentucky, programs had to align with the four areas deemed most important by a community research project conducted by United Way that began in 2012 and included nearly 5,000 surveys, 55 Community Conversations, and large amounts of secondary data. The four broad areas of most concern were defined by the community as: Education, Income, Health, and Safety Net. Programs were also evaluate on the following IMPACT criteria: Innovative, Measured, Partnered/Collaborative, Accountable, Community-centered, and Transformative. This includes an emphasis on programs that provide services within a best practices framework, that are collaborative and integrated into the fabric of other community education, income, health and safety net efforts, that consider the goals, needs and aspirations of the communities they serve, and that are innovative.
In September of 2019, organizations with programs impacting UWSK’s strategic imperatives in each of the defined Community Impact issue areas (Education, Income, Health, and Safety Net) were asked to submit a Letter of Intent indicating their desire to complete a full application request for funding. Across the region, 74 total Letters of Intent were submitted requesting $2,116,743 in funding. Upon review by the Letter of Intent Committee, 68 of those that were submitted were invited to complete the full application across the 10-county BRADD region.
In March 2020, Warren County specific programs who had the opportunity to complete the full application moved forward to a full application review and virtual visit with the Allocations Committee. With the full review by the Allocations Committee and recommendation to and approval by the UWSK Board of Directors complete, funding will now be awarded to the programs selected.
2020/21 marks the fifth funding cycle for the new community impact plan in these areas. The Community Impact plan was originally developed to create long-term community change and serve as a road map for United Way and its partners on how to build a better community that provides opportunity for all. At its core, Community Impact harnesses the power of the entire community to create significant, sustainable improvements, and thus it requires many community partners working together to solve complex, systematic problems.
Allocation dollars were determined based on the work of 108 volunteers working specifically in their home counties of Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Monroe, Simpson, and Warren. In total, these volunteers invested approximately 800 hours in the process which began with training sessions for all volunteers. This time generated an impact of $19,336 in service to our community (based on National Rate of Volunteer Time: $24.17 per hour). Volunteers reviewed programs, finances, governance, and outcomes to develop the recommendations for program investments.
In total, $878,203 will be invested across the 10-county BRADD region as part of the 2020/21 funding cycle to 118 total programs through 46 services providers.
Specifically, investments made into Education programs were made with the primary goal in advancing United Way’s BIG BOLD GOALS in Education:
KINDERGARTEN READINESS BIG BOLD GOAL: Increase BRADD area kindergarten readiness scores to 75% by 2020. Scores were at 49.4% when the goal was established. Most recent scores have been updated to 54.8%.
COLLEGE & CAREER READINESS BIG BOLD GOAL: Increase BRADD area college & career readiness scores to 80% by the year 2020. Scores were at 65% when the goal was established. Most recent scores have been updated to 72.1%.
In WARREN COUNTY, $508,500 was allocated by volunteers led by Warren County Allocations Committee Chair Tad Pardue.
EDUCATION: $254,250
Kindergarten Readiness: Led by Committee Chairs Kenly Ames & Joe Tinius
Barren River District Health Department HANDS Program $5,000
Down Syndrome of Southcentral Kentucky I Can! Early Literacy and Kindergarten Readiness $5,000
Family Enrichment Center Parents as Teachers In-Home Parent Education $24,550
Family Enrichment Wee Care Child Care Center $50,000
The Foundry Christian Community Center Preschool Academy $50,000
Warren County Public Schools: Little Learners Mobile Classroom $18,000
College/ Career Readiness: Led by Committee Chairs Dr. James McCaslin & Lee Alcott
Bowling Green High School – Transition Readiness $8,000
Boys & Girls Club of Bowling Green The CLUB Teen Center $24,700
Junior Achievement of Southcentral Kentucky: Essential Skills Initiative – Preparing At-Risk Youth for Success $8,000
Warren County Schools: College/Career Transition Readiness: Connect Students to Success $16,000
WROTE Foundation Bridging the Gap After-School/Summer Enrichment Program $45,000
INCOME: $20,340
Workforce Development: Led by Committee Chairs Scott Taylor & Jon Thomason
Refuge Bowling Green Hand Up, Hand Back $14,340
SKYCTC Foundation CDL Program $6,000
HEALTH: $132,210
Access to Affordable Health Care: Led by Committee Chairs Mark Langevin & Thomas Manco
BRASS Safety First $6,000
HOTEL INC Street Medicine $17,500
Kentucky Legal Aid Barren River Long Term Care Ombudsman $15,105
Kentucky Legal Aid Benefits Counseling $20,000
New Beginnings Therapeutic Riding, Inc. $7,500
Safe Home & Community: Led by Committee Chairs Tom Flynn & Angela Dossey
BRASS Emergency Shelter & Crisis to Protect & Empower (ESCAPE) $22,000
CASA of South Central Kentucky Court Appointed Special Advocates $10,000
Hope Harbor Community Violence Prevention & Education $12,105
Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Shelter & Crisis Aid to Protect & Empower (ESCAPE): $22,000
SAFETY NET: $101,700
Access to Basic Needs: Led by Committee Chairs Karen Foley & Jan Peeler
Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland BackPack Program $11,000
Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Legal Assistance $25,000
HOTEL INC Homeless and Housing Services $22,500
HOTEL INC Manna Mart Food Pantry $8,000
Megan’s Mobile Grocery $8,000
St. Joseph Conference St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry $1,775
Transportation: Led by Committee Chairs Scott Taylor & Jon Thomason
International Center of Kentucky Transportation Service to Refugees and Immigrants $11,500
BRASS Shelter Transportation Assistance Program $5,425
Down Syndrome of South Central Kentucky: We Transport! $8,500
As a result of last year’s funding in Warren County, United Way funded programs were able to share some of the following examples of outcomes during the Allocations process (a select few only listed below in addition to many others):
- Wee Care Childcare: 100% of children served tested Kindergarten Ready in August 2019.
- The Foundry Christian Community Center Preschool Academy: 21 of the 24 students rising to kindergarten were deemed ready in August 2019.
- Kentucky Legal Aid Benefits Counseling: Established health insurance coverage or avoided medical expense valued at $584,909.
- Barren River Long Term Care Ombudsman:1621 Residents of long term-care received direct assistance/education in navigating the long-term care system, Medicaid/Medicare, and improving long-term care.
- Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland BackPack Program: 470 food insecure students in Warren County received food during the 2019-2020 school year.
- Hotel INC Manna Mart Food Pantry: Served 1,000 households through the Manna Mart and Food-for-All Community Garden during their fiscal year 2019.
“As we move into year five of our work in Education, Income, Health and Safety Net it is so exciting to see the impact and movement forward being made, particularly in Kindergarten Readiness and College & Career Readiness,” said Debbie Hills, President & CEO of United Way of Southern Kentucky. “The investments we are making now are changing the course of our community for the future. And now more than ever with the many challenges that families in our community are facing, the work is vital to creating and sustaining a successful community. We are grateful for the phenomenal organizations that have partnered with us in this work and are equally excited to see new organizations join us each year. We look forward to continued movement forward in this year and beyond.”
For more information on how you can make the choice to LIVE UNITED through giving, advocating and volunteering, log on to the United Way of Southern Kentucky website at www.liveunitedtoday.com.
United Way of Southern Kentucky (UWSK) is a local, independent, non-profit organization that works to identify and address the issues that matter most, change conditions and improve lives. The mission of United Way of Southern Kentucky is to be the leader in bringing together the resources to build a stronger, more caring community. United Way is focused on the building blocks for good quality of life – Education, Income, Health and Safety Net. Therefore, the vision of United Way is a Southern Kentucky where all residents are educated, healthy, and financially stable. Incorporated as a charitable non-profit entity in 1956, UWSK has long served a major role in the community by bringing people together to create opportunities that make a measurable difference in the quality of life for people where they live and work.
