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Strengthening Families and Neighborhoods |
Celebrate Neighborhoods! A pilot Neighborhood-Based Investment Strategy
United Way of Champaign County has adopted the overarching goal of strengthening families and neighborhoods in our community. Families and the environments in which they live are essential to the well-being of Champaign County. We know that over 26,000 people in Champaign County live at or below the poverty line. In addition, 46% of the nation’s kindergartners are not ready to enter school and are at-risk for failure. Youth are faced with many decisions, including those that affect their safety and their future. Between the hours of 3pm and 6pm, the majority of youth delinquency occurs showing that after-school hours are critical times for youth to be around positive role models and be engaged in healthy activities.
What matters most at United Way of Champaign County is what matters most to our community’s families. We strive to provide resources to families so that they can easily access help in a time of crisis, find safe places for youth to learn and grow, and provide quality early learning experiences for their children. By mobilizing the resources families need, we can provide services that will help them to move away from crisis and towards self-sufficiency.
By becoming more deliberate in our program investment strategy, United Way is able to make decisions to fund programs and initiatives that provide lasting change instead of just quick fixes. We seek to encourage individuals and families to access community resources before they are in a crisis situation. While we will continue to provide programming for the most vulnerable populations (children, seniors, people with disabilities, etc.) in our community, we strive to help all people meet their own basic needs through gaining full-time employment, finding permanent housing, obtaining quality childcare, having access to healthcare, and learning through programs that teach family positive interaction, provide support, and maintain community.
At United Way, we believe strong families make a strong community and we are committed to helping families be strong and healthy in Champaign County. To learn more about our initiatives and the programs we fund, please visit the other tabs in the “Your Impact” section of our website.
Photo courtesy Banana Stock Ltd.
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