St John United Way

Programs: In a time when nonprofit dollars are more important than ever, st. John united way's allocation process strives to be an objective and fair approach to supporting vital programs throughout st. John the baptist parish. The process includes all agencies requesting funding to submit an application, which are reviewed by the staff and volunteers. Agencies requesting funding are interviewed by key united way and community stakeholders to learn more about fiscal practices and programs. St. John united way focus remains on programs targeting education, income and health. In 2012, over 39 percent of funding supported programs focused on education. Most notably is the dolly parton imagniation library, which provides all children in st. John parish, age birth to five, with a free age appropriate book delivered directly to their homes each month. Sjuw began this program in april 2012 and has provided over 13,000 books to children in st. John parish to date. This program is proven effective in increasing a child's love for reading and increasing the frequency that parents read to their children. Other impact areas supported were income at 13 percent, health at 37 percent, and basic & emergency needs at 10 percent. St. John united way also honors donors' wishes to send designations outside of the parish. This represents an additional 5 percent of allocations funding. All decisions regarding funding are made by the st. John united way board of directors after reviewing recommendations from volunteers and staff.

in august 2012, flood waters caused by hurricane isaac damaged over 7,000 homes in st. John the baptist parish. St. John united way played an integral role in the relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts in st. John parish since the hurricane. Sjuw worked with partners such as la 2-1-1, american red cross, second harvest food bank and catholic charities to coordinate relief services of food, shelter and supplies to residents in need. Sjuw provided $60,000 in emergency funding to provide these services in st. John parish. Additionally, sjuw was integral in developing the st. John the baptist parish long term recovery group. Sjuw provided a principal donation of $125,000 to the group to assist in coordinating and providing assistance to residents recovering and rebuilding after the storm. Since august 2012, the sjbp long term recovery group has assisted over 1,200 residents with recovery and rebuilding projects. Sjuw serves as the fiscal agent for the sjbp ltrg.