UNITED WAY OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE VALLEY INC
1100 FIFTH AVENUE, COLUMBUS, GA 31902 www.unitedwayofthecv.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: THE MISSION OF UNITED WAY IS TO LEAD AND UNITE OUR COMMUNITY RESOURCES IN TRANSFORMING LIVES. FUNDING IS BASED ON MEETING A COMMUNITY NEED, MEASURABLE OUTCOMES, AND GOOD STEWARDSHIP. UNITED WAY OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE VALLEY RANKS 96TH OF 1,150 UNITED WAYS NATIONWIDE BASED ON TOTAL REVENUE.

UNITED WAY'S PURPOSE IS TO IMPROVE PEOPLE'S LIVES BY RAISING FUNDS FROM OVER 20,000 DONORS AND PARTNERTING WITH MULTIPLE AGENCIES TO COLLABORATE, FUND PROGRAMS, AND IDENTIFY SOLUTIONS THAT ADDRESS BASIC NEEDS, HEALTH, INCOME AND EDUCATION.

UNITED WAY IS FOCUSED ON FOUR PRIORITY AREAS THAT WE BELIEVE ARE ESSENTIAL BUILDING BLOCKS FOR A GREAT LIFE: BASIC NEEDS, INOME, HEALTH AND EDUCATION. OUR APPROACH IS UNIQUE BECAUSE WE INVEST IN PROGRAMS THAT MEET A NEED, ACHIEVE RESULTS AND ARE GOOD STEWARDS OF RESOURCES. VOLUNTEERS, WHO ARE DONORS AND LEADERS, REVIEW AND ASSESS PROGRAMS TO DETERMINE FUNDING. EACH YEAR, PEOPLE ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY BENEFIT FROM PROGRAMS AND INITIATIVES MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH GENEROUS CONTRIBUTIONS. OVER THE PAST YEAR, UNITED WAY FUNDING ENSURED HELP WAS AVAILABLE TO MEET THE GROWING NEEDS ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY. COVID-19 RESPONSE: IN RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC, UNITED WAY OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE VALLEY AND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE VALLEY PARTNERED TO LAUNCH THE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE FUND TO PROVIDE FLEXIBLE RESOURCES TO ORGANIZATIONS IN THE COLUMBUS AREA WORKING WITH OUR MOST VULNERABLE CITIZENS. THESE POPULATIONS INCLUDE MEMBERS OF COMMUNITIES WHO ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY COVID-19 AND THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THIS OUTBREAK. THIS PHILANTHROPIC RESPONSE WORKS CLOSELY WITH CROSS-SECTOR COMMUNITY LEADERS AND OTHER PHILANTHROPIC RESOURCES TO RAPIDLY DEPLOY RESOURCES TO LOCAL COMMUNITY BASED ORGANIZATIONS RESPONDING TO THE PANDEMIC. UNITED WAY AND THE COMMUNITY FOUNDATION HOST WEEKLY CORONAVIRUS COMMUNITY CALLS. FROM THESE CALLS, WE HAVE ADDRESSED ISSUES AND IDENTIFIED NEW AND EMERGING NEEDS AND GAPS IN SERVICES, HELPED AGENCIES FILL CRITICAL NEEDS FOR VOLUNTEERS, DEVELOPED SOLUTIONS TO PROVIDE MEALS TO STUDENTS DURING SCHOOL BREAKS, QUICKLY OPENED AN EMERGENCY SHELTER TO SERVE INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, AND INCREASED COLLABORATIONS TO SERVE MORE PEOPLE IN NEW, CREATIVE AND EFFECTIVE WAYS. IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS, THE FUND MADE GRANTS TOTALING $1,021,782 AND PROVIDED 61 GRANTS TO 44 DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS. THROUGH THIS INITIATIVE, WE ARE REBUILDING FOR BETTER, MORE EQUITABLE, AND MORE RESILIENT COMMUNITIES.

UNITED WAY PROGRAMSSTUFF THE BUS - EACH SUMMER, UNITED WAY PARTNERS WITH LOCAL COMPANIES AND THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE TO DONATE, COLLECT, SORT AND DISTRIBUTE SCHOOL SUPPLIES TO THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN IN NEED. IN 2019, 7,452 BACKPACKS WERE COLLECTED, STUFFED WITH SCHOOL SUPPLIES, AND DISTRIBUTED TO 43 TITLE I SCHOOLS IN MUSCOGEE, HARRIS, CHATTAHOOCHEE, MARION, TALBOT AND TAYLOR COUNTIES IN GEORGIA AND RUSSELL COUNTY AND PHENIX CITY SCHOOLS IN ALABAMA. THIS INITIATIVE HELPS CHILDREN START THE YEAR WITH THE SUPPLIES THEY NEED.READ UNITED - UNITED WAY KNOWS THAT CHILDREN WHO READ AT OR ABOVE GRADE-LEVEL ARE MORE LIKELY TO SUCCEED IN SCHOOL AND IN LIFE. THIS IS ESPECIALLY CRITICAL IN THIRD GRADE, WHEN CHILDREN TRANSITION FROM LEARNING TO READ TO READING TO LEARN. TO IMPROVE GRADE-LEVEL READING, UNITED WAY LAUNCHED READ UNITED AT THE START OF THE 2017-18 SCHOOL YEAR. READ UNITED MATCHES COMMUNITY AND CORPORATE VOLUNTEERS WITH THIRD GRADERS TO HELP THEM GET ON TRACK WITH GRADE-LEVEL LITERACY. OUR SCHOOL PARTNER IS MOUNT OLIVE INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL IN FT. MITCHELL. EACH YEAR, STUDENTS PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROGRAM DEMONSTRATE IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR READING ABILITY.COMMUNITY SCHOOLS UNITED - COMMUNITY SCHOOLS UNITED IS A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN UNITED WAY AND LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO TRANSFORM SCHOOLS INTO A PLACE WHERE STUDENTS, FAMILIES, STAFF AND THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITY WORK TOGETHER TO ENSURE ALL STUDENTS THRIVE. OUR STRATEGY FOCUSES ON THE WHOLE CHILD BY PROVIDING ACADEMIC SUPPORT, SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING, HEALTH AND WELLNESS, FAMILY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, ADN A SAFE AND SUPPORTIVE CLIMATE.YOUTH PROGRAMS - YOUTH UNITED AND UNITED WAY YOUTH CAMP ARE TWO INITIATIVES THAT HELP STUDENTS LEARN ABOUT NEEDS IN OUR COMMUNITY, UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF VOLUNTEERING, AND GROW AS LEADERS. THE JUNIORS AND SENIORS OF YOUTH UNITED POSITIVELY IMPACTED THE COMMUNITY BY DONATING THE FUNDS THEY RAISED OVER THE YEAR TO FEED STUDENTS DURING SPRING BREAK. THIS YEAR, UNITED WAY YOUTH CAMP HOSTED 21 7TH GRADERS FOR A THREE-DAY EVENT THAT INCLUDED VOLUNTEER PROJECTS, AGENCY TOURS, AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT.EMERGING LEADERS UNITED (ELU) RECOGNIZES YOUNG LEADERS WHO VALUE THE IMPORTANCE OF PHILANTHROPY AND BELIEVE IN AND SUPPORT THE WORK OF UNITED WAY OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE VALLEY. INDIVIDUALS UNDER THE AGE OF 40 WHO MAKE A YEARLY GIFT OF $365 OR MORE ARE ELIGIBLE TO JOIN. ELU MEMBERS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPLETE HANDS-ON VOLUNTEER PROJECTS AND NETWORK WITH PEERS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS. ELU CURRENTLY HAS 292 MEMBERS.WOMEN UNITED IS A LOCAL AFFINITY GROUP COMPRISED OF FEMALE DONORS GIVING $250 OR MORE TO UNITED WAY. THIS GROUP OF WOMEN FOCUSES THEIR EFFORTS ON THE PLATFORM OF "WOMEN HELPING WOMEN". THROUGH THEIR ANNUAL "POWER OF THE PURSE" FUNDRAISING EVENT, WOMEN UNITED FUNDS TWO PROGRAMS: THE UNDERGARMENT VOUCHER PROGRAM AND THE WOMEN UNITED SCHOLARSHIP. THE UNDERGARMENT VOUCHER PROGRAM PROVIDES VOUCHERS FOR WOMEN IN NEED THROUGH A PARTNERSHIP WITH GOODWILL INDUSTRIES OF THE SOUTHERN RIVERS AND J.C. PENNEY. THE WOMEN UNITED SCHOLARSHIP IS FOR NON-TRADITIONAL FEMALE STUDENTS SEEKING EDUCATION FOR GREATER EMPLOYABILITY OPPORTUNITIES. LAST YEAR, WOMEN UNITED PROGRAMS COLLECTED 2,798 UNDERGARMENT ITEMS FOR WOMEN IN NEED, FUNDED 135 UNDERGARMENT VOUCHERS AND AWARDED THREE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR NON-TRADITIONAL FEMALE STUDENTS. HOME FOR GOOD - HOME FOR GOOD FUNCTIONS AS THE BRIDGE BETWEEN SERVICE PROVIDERS, AS WELL AS BETWEEN SERVICE PROVIDERS AND THEIR CLIENTS. THIS ASSURES THE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE USE OF A COLLABORATIVE SYSTEM TO MOVE INDIVIDUALS OR FAMILIES FROM HOMELESSNESS TO PERMANENT, STABLE HOUSING. BECAUSE OF THE COLLABORATIVE WORK BETWEEN HOME FOR GOOD AND OUR PARTNER AGENCIES, AS OF MARCH 2020 THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS IS DOWN 15% FROM THE PREVIOUS 12-MONTH PERIOD.211 - 211 UNITED WAY OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE VALLEY (211UWCV) IS AN INFORMATION AND REFERRAL SERVICE CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH THE RESOURCES THEY NEED AS THEY FACE EVERYDAY CHALLENGES AND EMERGENCIES. 211 IS A FREE AND CONFIDENTIAL SERVIE AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE IN OUR COMMUNITY. 211UWCV MAKES IT EASY FOR PEOPLE TO GET OR GIVE HELP. RESIDENTS CAN DIAL THE EASY-TO-REMEMBER THREE DIGIT CODE OF 2-1-1, TEXT THEIR ZIP CODE TO 898-211 OR SEARCH THE COMPREHENSIVE DATABASE ONLINE AT WWW.211UWCV.ORG TO CONNECT TO A VARIETY OF SERVICES. DURING THE LAST YEAR, 211 HANDLED 9,799 CALLS, GAVE 24,096 REFERRALS, AND ANSWERED 1,276 TEXTS. THE TOP REFERRALS WERE FOR UTILITY ASSISTANCE, HOUSING AND FOOD.

UNITED WAY VOLUNTEER CENTERTHE VOLUNTEER CENTER CONNECTS INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS WITH AGENCIES IN NEED OF VOLUNTEERS ON BOTH AN ON-GOING BASIS AND FOR SPECIFIC PROJECTS. THE VOLUNTEER CENTER COORDINATES VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES FOR CORPORATE TEAMS, ALLOWING THEM TO HELP OTHERS AS THEY ENGAGE IN TEAM BUILDING. THE VOLUNTEER CENTER ALSO RECRUITS VOLUNTEERS TO HELP SUPPORT UNITED WAY INITIATIVES AND PROJECTS. THROUGH THE VOLUNTEER CENTER, CORPORATE VOLUNTEER GROUPS DONATED 1,731 HOURS OF SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY WITH A VALUE OF OVER $44,000.

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