United Way Of Jackson County Inc

Programs: United way of jackson county (uwjc) unites people, resources and expertise to understand the complexities of poverty and create solutions that drive financial stability. Specifically, uwjc focuses on programs and partnerships in education, income, health, and supports that create more financially stable households throughout jackson county. Education uwjc aligns with cradle2career to ensure all jackson county students meet state education requirements and graduate college- or career-ready. Uwjc manages energizing education (ee), a collective approach to promoting literacy that uses in-school mentoring and family engagement to help students read at or above grade level by 4th grade. Studies show that students who gain solid literacy skills by 4th grade are up to four times more likely to graduate from high school, pursue post-secondary learning, and find a rewarding, lifelong career. Energizing education students consistently show improvement in reading proficiency. Other funded programs: big brothers big sisters mentoring; child care network first scholarships for quality child care; girl scouts heart of michigan outreach to underserved populations; jackson county intermediate school district attendance improvement; and lily missions center after-school programming. Income uwjc supports programs that promote economic strength and independence for jackson county residents, up to 40% of which are in or near poverty. A key partnership supported by uwjc is the financial stability program with community action agency, which tackles a number of issues facing financially vulnerable individuals and families, including debt reduction, responsible home ownership, financial management and self-sufficiency. Financial freedom classes yielded 100% success rate in improving knowledge of financial management. Other funded programs: volunteer income tax assistance for low-to-mid-income households; adult guardian and conservator services for vulnerable residents through family service & children's aid; juvenile diversion program through family service & children's aid, focused on school attendance, family relationships and recidivism; assisted living for low-income senior women, in partnership with jackson friendly home; assisted living for low-income senior men, in partnership with john george home; legal services of south central michigan to provide legal support for very-low-income households; mediation and eviction diversion services with legal services of south central michigan; domestic violence shelter through aware; and basic needs support through the salvation army. Health uwjc aligns with the health improvement organization to improve and sustain community health, especially among vulnerable populations. Uwjc is a supporter and partner with breakout drug education through family service & children's aid. Breakout drug education is a school-based drug prevention effort targeting middle and high school students. Some 77% of students who completed the program said there is "little or no chance" they would drink or use drugs . Other funded programs: sexual assault and trauma counseling programs through aware; community mentoring with big brothers big sisters of jackson county; outpatient mental health counseling through catholic charities; mental and behavioral counseling for families through family service & children's aid; teen pregnancy prevention initiative with the jackson county health department; dance 4 a healthier jackson, a partnership with the jackson school of arts; and project access, a partnership wth the medical society, allegiance, lifeways and dozens of doctors and other medical providers to provide comprehensive medical care for the uninsured. Supports uwjc works with local nonprofits to ensure a strong, community-wide network of services. Key to these supports is uwjc's engagement with central michigan 2-1-1, which provides referrals to a wide array of support systems for people in need. In addition, uwjc works with the nonprofit network to provide technical assistance, volunteer resources, and consulting and training to uwjc partner agencies to build stronger governing boards and financially stable organizations. In addition to these investments and partnerships, uwjc provides donors with the option to direct their contributions to specific charitable organizations, whether or not those organizations are partners with united way. About 135,000 in direct designations were received through the annual campaign, processed (with processing fees deducted) and distributed to those designated agencies.