Greetings!

All quarter, we've discussed how United Way strives to make our community healthier by talking about health programs we fund and about FamilyWize, the prescription discount program.

Even though we are wrapping up highlighting our health programs, the work our partners do lasts all year long. Here are three success stories from our health partners from earlier this year.

*Names have been changed.
"Taylor* is in 3rd grade and has been receiving individual counseling from BrainPower this year. Goals identified for counseling included assisting her with building self-confidence, feeling more empowered and decreasing perfectionist tendencies. When she first started meeting with her current BrainPower counselor, she would spend the entire session setting things up and organizing materials which reflected her perfectionist tendencies. This would look like spending the whole time selecting paint colors and pouring paint in a tray when the objective was to paint a picture.

"Now she is able to get through entire activities and has frequently repeated 'It's okay if it's not perfect, as long as you try your best.' Now she appears much more self-confident and even asks the BrainPower counselor to spend time with her in the group rather than requesting as much one-on-one time."
- Girl's Place, Inc.'s BrainPower
"While delivering backpacks to Boulware Springs, a little boy ran up to me and gave me a hug. He wanted to say thank you for all the food he receives weekly in his backpack. 

"When we deliver the backpacks, the teachers and school staff are always so gracious to thank us for what we do for the kids. This surprised me and meant so much to me, to feel the hug and love of this child's gratitude."
- Catholic Charities' Weekend Hunger Backpack
"Lacey* is a 58-year-old woman from Alachua County. She has Medicaid and takes the Medicaid bus to ACORN for all her visits, which usually results in a long wait for the bus to return after her dental treatment procedures. She needed two crowns and unfortunately Medicaid would not cover them. With our sliding scale fees, she was able to afford them and move forward in her dental treatment.

"Recently, she told our front desk that she has a lot of anxiety with riding the Medicaid-provided transportation and she appreciates the accommodations we made for her to get both of her crowns done at the same time, so that she would have less visits, something we typically are not able to do."
- ACORN Clinic's Dental Home for Low-Income, Rural Children and Families