United Way Of West Central Minnesota

Programs: United way impacts education, health and basic need to help our friends, family and neighbors. Education; making sure that our children come to school prepared to succeed, supporting them throughout their school career, and helping people of all ages gain job skills, creating a ripple effect of success throughout our united way communities. Health; promoting access to affordable quality physical, mental, and dental health care; promoting independent living and quality of life programs, and promoting access to programs that teach healthy behaviors and promote wellness to prevent future problems. Basic needs; supporting agencies that provide building blocks for a good life for individuals and families in west central minnesota.

united way coordinates and funds the dolly parton imagination library program. United way has over 2,000 preschool children enrolled (from birth to age 5). These children receive an age appropriate book through the mail each month. The program is designed to help children build vocabularies and discover reading. It also builds bonds between parents and adult relatives and the children as they help foster the love of reading. There is no cost to families to enroll their child and the child receives 12 books a year until their 5th birthday. This is one way united way's education initiative helps prepare children for kindergarten.

empower: women united is an initiative of the united way and unites women in our communities. The purpose is to educate women about our community's most pressing needs, engage women as philanthropic leaders and active community investors and empower women to be a part of positive change in our community. Their current focus is to address the issue of preparing area children for kindergarten. Empower began nine years ago in kandiyohi county to address the issue of only 50% of kindergarten-aged children being ready to start kindergarten. The litchfield branch of empower began seven years ago. The kandiyohi county empower group utilizes the dollars they raise in four different ways: 5% to support imagination library; 15% for getting educational materials into the hands of parents and funding preschool backpacks that have tools to help prepare preschoolers for kindergarten; 30% of the funds are used to provide early childhood grants addressing school readiness. The remaining 50% goes toward the "growmobile," which is a mobile program that provides onsite preschool in targeted regions in our communities year round. The litchfield empower group hosts events to raise money and awareness in litchfield and the surrounding communities. This group uses the funds raised to pay for transportation costs for area children whose families are unable to provide safe and reliable transportation to and from preschool.