Elizabethtown, KY– United Way of Central Kentucky (UWCK) announced 2018 community investments of over $937,000 that will provide opportunities for more people in Hardin, Breckinridge, Grayson, LaRue, and Meade Counties to move out of poverty. Thirteen agencies with sixteen programs serving Grayson County were awarded $402,910 of these funds.
United Way of Central Kentucky is the most impactful local funding source for organizations that improve Education, Financial Stability, and Health, and while meeting Basic Needs. UWCK considered applications from the entire community and evaluated their alignment with United Way’s impact strategies when allocating funds raised through the 2017 annual campaign. Grant awards continued to reflect a focusing of resources to accomplish United Way’s goal of moving more families out of poverty through employment. The Community Investment process looks for quality programming and results, integration of services, collaboration with other organizations, and leverage of grants through matching funds or volunteer services. Grayson County was represented on this committee by local representatives: Alfreda Weedman and Bill Oldham.
“United Way creates success stories by empowering people to achieve their fullest potential,” said 2018 Community Investment Team Chair Trena Floyd. “The Community Investment Team is a great example of United Way’s commitment to providing maximum value for each dollar entrusted to us. Our volunteers spent over 1,000 hours reviewing the applications with great care, ensuring alignment with our mission to help people become self-sufficient.”
Organizations serving Grayson County residents that were awarded funding for 2018-2019 include:
• Grayson County Schools: $8,000 to support United Way Born Learning Academies which engage parents in improving school readiness and provide hygiene products to students in need
• Circles of Grayson County: $7,910 to support startup of a program to move low-income adults out of poverty through mentoring and wraparound services
• Big Brothers Big Sisters: $50,000 to provide supportive mentoring relationships to at-risk children
• Central Kentucky Community Action: $5,000 to help struggling families achieve financial stability through Community Collaboration for Children
• Feeding America: $77,000 which includes funding for local students who rely on the Backpack program to keep them from going hungry over the weekend and delivery of produce from the Farms to Foodbanks program
• Grayson County Alliance: $50,000 to prevent hunger through the food pantry
• Grayson County Ministerial Association: $10,000 to improve the self-sufficiency of those struggling to meet their basic needs
• Legal Aid: $2,500 to provide legal services to help families prevent foreclosure and eviction, be protected from domestic violence, and put clients back on the path to financial stability through expungement
• Community Health Clinic: $70,000 to provide healthcare for the working poor who fall through the cracks in the changing insurance system
• Silverleaf Sexual Trauma Recovery: $40,000 to provide counseling to children who have suffered sexual abuse to prevent future mental health and substance abuse which can stem from untreated trauma
• SpringHaven Domestic Violence Program: $60,000 to provide safety for survivors of domestic violence as well as the advocacy, education, and resources needed for them to regain their independence and self-sufficiency
• Tri-County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA): $22,500 to provide abused and neglected children in the Breckinridge, Grayson, and Meade County court system with trained volunteer mentors who advocate for their best interests and help them find safe, permanent, and loving homes
• 2-1-1: continued contract with Metro United Way to operate the local 2-1-1 hotline, which provides information and referrals to community resources with 24/7 service for all residents in UWCK’s region
“The Community Investment Team is dedicated to implementing the mission of United Way of Central Kentucky, through allocating funding to those organizations that will bring the most value to our communities,” said CIT member and 2017 Campaign Chair Chad Sarver. “The CIT is focused on granting funds to those organizations that have proven their vision of eliminating poverty through meeting basic needs, education and financial stability. Our community members have continued to rally together in such a fantastic way, providing funding and volunteer time to move our less fortunate members to self-sustainability. We are very blessed to live in such a giving community.”
