United Way Of Hunterdon County

Programs: Financial stability: a family of four must earn about 82,000 to be self-sufficient in hunterdon county and that doesn't include extras like dinner out or holiday gifts. Approximately one quarter of households in hunterdon do not earn enough to be self-sufficient or struggle to stay self-sufficient. Of those, over 20% represent our target "alice" population - asset limited income constrained, but employed. Initiatives and programs that lead households to financial stability and positively impact our economic development continue to be vital to our community, and to alice. Uwhc is making significant inroads toward the community goal to improve the financial stability of 10,000 hunterdon county residents by 2020 - 10 by 20 is how we live united. Thanks to the generous support of our donors/investors and our volunteers, we have been able to assist more than 7,000 people advance on that road to self-sufficiency in 2016-17. Hunterdon thrive, a unique outcomes-driven initiative, is in its third year of its pilot phase. Hunterdon thrive provides alice with system navigation, coaching and goal setting while at the same time gathering individual and community-level data to: 1. Measure progress against the community goal of 10 by 20; 2. Identify system gaps and needs as well as areas of success that would benefit from increased support; and 3. The outcomes of the pilot years will be published in a peer-reviewed journal as the first step in providing a sustainable model that can grow in hunterdon and elsewhere. Outcomes of the key initiatives and programs supported through grants and the generosity of our donor-investors helping us reach our community goal: -hunterdon thrive is working towards its goal of reaching 300 clients by may of 2018; as of august 2017 there were 133 referrals and 34 'thrivers- having achieved or set financial goals. Hunterdon thrive may not engage huge numbers of individuals but the power of creating behavior changes among those it does engage is far reaching. Every individual who is empowered to change their financial situation long-term, contributes ten- fold to the overall stability of our community. -the volunteer income tax assistance (vita) free tax program generated almost 1. 8 million in income tax refunds and credits for more than 1,240 individuals with the help of 67 irs trained volunteers. Low to moderate income households also received the earned income tax credit and other tax credits that boost their income while saving them preparer fees. Vita is the cornerstone of uwhc's financial stability work and connects clients to hunterdon thrive, financial coaching and other resources. -uwhc's holiday hands program helped ensure that 2,735 adults and children in our community had a brighter holiday season. The program increases financial stability by reducing financial pressures on lower-income families, elderly residents on fixed incomes, single parents, and people suffering from illness who are struggling with medical bills during the holiday season and winter months. . Donors' financial investments in united way helped strengthen the portfolio of financial stability programs the organization supports including financial coaching, affordable child care, shelter, the food bank, legal services and job training. This select group of programs was identified as an efficient approach to improving the financial stability of 10,000 residents by 2020. Plans for the coming year: uwhc is utilizing data collected to fine-tune and implement programs and system changes that will provide the greatest return on investment for alice. Financial coaching will be the entry point for all clients who participate in the hunterdon thrive initiative and a robust roster of financially-focused workshops and programs are under consideration or in development.

education: education is fundamental to the health and wellness of a community. An educated community is vital for sustained economic growth. Uwhc supports a range of efforts to ensure everyone in our community has access to the educational supports they need -from mentoring programs to literacy training; ensuring all students have the tools they need to start the school year ready to learn; and teaching the next generation of volunteers and philanthropic leaders. Current initiatives: -youth 4 united way: a distinctive partnership with hunterdon central regional high school, the youth 4 united way program celebrates a decade of raising awareness among students of community needs. Furthermore, it provides a forum to determine how they will contribute to meeting those needs. This service learning program has a curricular component that encourages students to develop the skills required to create and lead an effective service plan. -student united way: a campus based community change organization, led by students, launched in the fall of 2016. Student united way is a partnership between united way of hunterdon county, hunterdon central regional high school, and the community at large. Student united way members are part of an international network of young people working to advance the common good. It is an opportunity for students to engage in something bigger than themselves and take the lead in bettering their communities by giving, advocating and volunteering in the areas of education, income and health. -tools 4 school: the tools 4 school program has been ensuring students are prepared for educational success by providing necessary basic school supplies since 2004. For the 2017 school year uwhc and 225 volunteers served over 1300 students. The program saved families over 52,000 in school supplies. Additionally, united way ran its fourth kids cut-a-thon providing free haircuts for 81 children so they could go to school looking their best too -board development primer: uwhc believes in the value of training volunteers to be effective leaders. This in-demand program defines board roles, responsibilities and boundaries to better prepare new board members or reinforce the governance and fiduciary roles for existing board members. The ultimate goal is to encourage the recruitment, development and retention of community leaders on boards and committees throughout the community. Plans for the coming year: -latino coalition: the latino coalition continues to focus on outreach to the growing latino population through a pilot mentorship program in collaboration with the hunterdon central regional high school's esl program and rvcc's latino orgullo. The goal is to provide mentorship support to latino students to guide them towards educational and workforce readiness. The mentorship program will be the cornerstone of a broader educational strategy in partnership with raritan valley community college and partner agencies within the latino coalition and interested stakeholders. -donors' financial investment in united way also supported workforce development and educational programs including career services, career education and awareness programs and literacy education.

health: hunterdon is a healthy community; however, there is always room for improvement and a need to focus on health disparities and the difficulties of access to healthcare, especially within marginalized communities. Current initiatives and programs: -tiro: (technical interventions for the reduction of obesity) focuses on better meeting the needs of the latino community, and obtaining program grants aimed at decreasing health disparities within the latino community. To that end, uwhc continues to partner with the hunterdon healthcare system, the ymca of hunterdon county, shoprite of hunterdon, basecamp 31 and the faith-based community to expand tiro. The tiro program curriculum provides 6-week faithful families eat smart move more sessions for parishioners of st. Magdalen's and templo internacional de restauracion churches. The curriculum includes nutrition education classes, healthy cooking demonstrations, physical activity classes, and health literacy education. Tiro advocates for congregations to establish health committees that work toward policy and environmental changes for parishioners. The annual health fair continues to expand and include a variety of community members focused on health and wellness. -hunterdon diaper bank: a key program in support of united way's health focus, the hunterdon diaper bank helps growing families stretch their budgets and connects them to other community resources as needed. The average cost for a year's supply of baby diapers or incontinence supplies is 1,200. Almost 14,000 diapers were collected and distributed to families and individuals in 2016-2017. The hunterdon diaper bank centralizes the fundraising and distribution of free diapers to struggling parents and caregivers through existing service providers, including local food pantries, daycare centers, social service agencies and shelters. -discount prescription program: uwhc partners with familywize to offer free prescription drug discount cards to hunterdon county residents and employees. Plans for the coming year: -latino behavior risk factor surveillance survey (brfss): uwhc will be distributing the findings from the most current latino behavior risk factor surveillance survey (brfss). Hunterdon county's latino/hispanic community continues to grow and thrive. In fact this population has more than tripled over the past 30 years and now accounts for 6. 3% or approximately 7,500 of our neighbors. -partnership for health: uwhc will continue to play an active role in the hunterdon county partnership for health. In existence since 1995, the hunterdon county partnership for health (pfh) comprises approximately 30 members representing community organizations and individual residents who all have the common goal to see a thriving, healthy hunterdon. The vision of the pfh is simple: every individual of hunterdon county has a state of optimal physical, mental, spiritual, and social well-being, which allows the individual to pursue the most fulfilling life possible, and not merely a life absent of disease or infirmity. Pfh includes representation from leaders across diverse community stakeholder groups including healthcare, government, law enforcement, business, education, public health, social services, faith-based organizations and members of the community. The focus of the pfh is in the second year of its three year focus on encouraging a healthy weight. -donors' financial investment in united way also supported healthy eating programs for seniors and substance abuse prevention programs.

community support services: united way supports programs and initiatives that reflect hunterdon county's unique demographic, social, and geographic makeup and support efforts that encourages an informed, safe and caring community. Current initiatives: -nj 2-1-1 partnership: when someone doesn't know where to start, they can remember three numbers, 2-1-1. Dial "2-1-1- or visit nj211. Org anytime, seven days a week for help in navigating available assistance services - everything from finding a local shelter during a flood or power outage to sources for rental assistance. In our state the 2-1-1 system is managed by the nj 211 partnership, a subsidiary of the united ways of new jersey which, in 2002, was designated by the board of public utilities as sole administrator. This confidential service is supported by local united ways throughout new jersey in partnership with the state of new jersey - department of human services, office of homeland security and preparedness, and the department of children and families. Nj2-1-1 is an active partner in the hunterdon thrive initiative. Donors' investments in united way of hunterdon county raised awareness of and access to critical community resources. Plans for the coming year: -uwhc will continue to review our collaborations and initiatives to ensure they are supporting community needs and assisting uwhc in reaching its 2020 goals as well as begin to assess community needs and identify goals beyond 2020. -voad/coad (volunteer/community organizations active in disasters): united way of hunterdon county will be chairing and lead the voad/coad efforts, bringing together stakeholders to better prepare and support recovery efforts in the event of a disaster. -community volunteer center: united way of hunterdon county's community volunteer center will continue to be a hub of volunteer activity. It will welcome an increased number of community organizations including norwescap, hunterdon county anti-racism coalition, safe communities, hunterdon county division of senior services, hunterdon ymca and nami. The community volunteer center will fine-tune operational and strategic plans to ensure that the space is optimally used for purposes that support uwhc and the greater community. The committee also will begin to explore ways the center can be used as an incubator for philanthropic initiatives and social entrepreneurial ventures.