United Way announces $45 million investment in community
I received the following wonderful news from our friends at the
http://www.unitedwaydallas.org/
Congratulations to Gary Godsey and the entire UWMD team. What an amazing accomplishment!
A testament to the generosity of our community,
Through a rigorous allocations process, more than 330 community volunteers spent more than 16,500 hours determining where the funds would be distributed to create the most impact and improve lives in our four-county service region. This year,
“We feel incredibly fortunate and grateful to our supporters for giving back to the community through United Way when they may have been unsure of their own financial futures,” Gary Godsey, President and CEO of UWMD, said. “Our community partners have seen a 20 to 40 percent increase in the demand for services over the last eight months and they depend on
Division of Funds:
- Education: $10.4 million
o Focus on programs that help youth succeed from early childhood through high school graduation
o For example, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas’s Project Learn will receive nearly $334,000 which offers an approach to education that incorporates a curriculum to address the primary areas to assist youth in passing the TAKS test. It also uses strategic learning techniques throughout all areas in the clubs such as targeted enrichment programs for math, science, writing, reading and technology.
o Includes UWMD programs: Born Learning, which is designed to help parents become their child’s first teacher so they are better prepared for kindergarten; Destination: Graduation, a program that focuses on parental involvement, mentoring and counseling and SAT preparation in order to decrease the dropout rate, D:G expanded to middle schools this spring thanks to a generous $500,000 grant from the AT&T Foundation; and TLC Camp for Youth, a free summer program for lower income children and teens.
- Income: $7.1 million
o Focus on programs that help families move from survival to financial success
o For example, Catholic Charities of Dallas, Inc.’s Comprehensive Assistance, Information & Referral Services will receive more than $285,000 to provide material assistance such as food, clothing, and financial help with rent or utilities, for relief during crisis situations for eligible families who live in designated service areas; the program also helps clients develop a plan for greater self-sufficiency.
o Includes UWMD programs: Earn it! Keep it! Save it! a financial stability initiative in partnership with the Office of the Mayor. Utilizing the Earned Income Tax Credit, trained volunteers help low-income, hard working individuals file their taxes free of charge; and Learn & Earn a customized financial stability initiative designed to give residents of
- Health: $10 million
o Focuses on programs that help others attain and maintain good health
o For example, the Bridge Breast Network’s Bridging Access To Breast Healthcare Services program will receive nearly $285,000 to provide healthcare access to diagnostic and treatment services for breast cancer to uninsured, underinsured and low-income women and men in UWMD’s four-county service area.
- Disaster Preparedness Fund: This fund was created in 2007 as a result of a dearth of disaster preparedness when hurricane Katrina evacuees came to
- Finally, $6.3 million will be provided to other
UWMD raised more than $58.4 million during the 2008-09 campaign. Because of the poor economy, approximately 12 percent of these pledges have been estimated to be uncollectable, thus leading to a 3.9 percent decrease in investment funds this year compared to the 2007-08 campaign. UWMD has reduced its annual operating budget by 6.4 percent to accommodate for these uncollectable funds as well. UWMD administrative cost is approximately 15.3 percent making
