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Family Support, Child Advocacy and Support for Homeless Youth Focus of 2016 United Way Funding
 
This year, United Way of Hampshire County is awarding over $750,000 in three-year funding to 10 area programs that best demonstrated their ability to make a significant and lasting difference in the lives of children in the region.
 
"Hampshire County Youth Outreach, a program of DIAL/SELF provides outreach and case management to homeless teens," explains executive director, Phillip Ringwood. "In just Northampton and Amherst alone, there are documented cases of over 80 homeless school aged youth."
 
The objective of the grants is to nurture the healthy development of children and youth through approaches that are preventative in nature; address needs early and engage whole families. 35 organizations pursued funding this year, in the area of Children, Youth and Their Families, and after an extensive process, involving hundreds of experts and community volunteers, the United Way Board of Directors announced the awards in May.
 
DIAL/SELF received a $15,000 grant for each of the next three years to provide services to homeless youth in Hampshire County.
 









United Way is happy to announce our new volunteer initiative called,
United Way Volunteers, Connecting People/Changing Lives.

 "United Way Volunteers" will make it easier than ever to connect volunteers with our partners and other non-profits through service day activities. We have partnered with RSVP, a program of the Hampshire Council of Governments, to develop volunteer opportunities throughout the county.

This collaboration kicked off recently with Smith College employees getting their hands dirty at Grace House, a program of the Center for Human Development. This ambitious service-day involved renovating the grounds of Grace House with clean up, plantings, landscaping and a new vegetable garden. It was a joyous and rewarding day for volunteers and residents alike.

For more information on getting involved in United Way Volunteers, please call our office at 584-3962.

A message from our Campaign Co-Chairs

The story of this Campaign began back in September when we introduced ourselves, and shared how our love of Hampshire County fueled our enthusiasm for co-chairing this Campaign. Ultimately, the work of the Campaign will always be about the dollars we raise and invest in our community. This year, however, we challenged ourselves to both meet the Campaign goal of $1.3M while also identifying ways to diversify our base of support, to build collaborations, and to make a positive difference in people's lives in a way that moved beyond just financial support.

Here are some of the highlights of the 2016 Campaign....

Read more...

2nd ANNUAL DIAPER DRIVE KICKS OFF JULY 16


Diaper duty to begin soon...our drive kicks-off on July 16 and runs until August 13.
Click here for more information.