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A Message From the President & CEO

To our neighbors in the Big Bend –


What an incredible year it has been! While we’ve certainly felt the impact of major storms and increased calls for help in the Big Bend, I am so proud of our community and team for stepping up to the plate and ensuring that this year was one of our most impactful yet. I’d like to thank all our partner organizations for helping us enact positive change and emphasize just how grateful we are to everyone who has given to our organization in any form. Whether you’ve given money, time, or supplies, know that every little bit helps and allows us to continue our work helping our neighbors who need it most.



From our signature events like the Annual Community Meeting and Campaign Kickoff, Women’s Leadership Breakfast, and Annual Community Golf Classic to the support we receive for our community projects, it is clear that the network of United Way supporters extends throughout the Big Bend. We wholeheartedly thank you and wish you a relaxing and enjoyable holiday season and start to 2025.


Always grateful for your support,

UWBB PARTNERS WITH SECOND HARVEST OF THE BIG BEND FOR THIS YEAR'S HOLIDAY FOOD DISTRIBUTION

As the end of the year approaches, families that are struggling begin to look for ways to keep traditions alive. One of the most common holiday traditions involves a nice meal, and this year we partnered with Second Harvest of the Big Bend, providing funding & volunteers from our team for food distributions to help carry on this tradition for families in the Big Bend. There are multiple distributions scheduled this month. Take a look below to see how our team members helped out!

FLORIDA OFFICE OF FINANCIAL REGULATION COLLECTS TOYS FOR BIG BEND CHILDREN

We're so thankful to receive this donation of toys from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation! They operated their own toy drive this year and were able to collect a large amount of toys to help children of the Big Bend have a happy holiday season this year by donating them to Family Promise of the Big Bend. Thank you to everyone who participated in this drive and happy holidays!

VITA VOLUNTEERS NEEDED AND TRAINING UNDERWAY

Your neighbors need your help, and so do we! Our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program is seeking volunteers for the 2025 tax season, and trainings are starting soon! No tax experience is necessary, and it's a fantastic way to create positive change in the community.


Trainings began December 13th, so sign up as soon as possible!

Interested? Click the button below to sign up for VITA volunteering, or contact Samantha Sager via our website.

SIGN UP HERE

A LOOK BACK AT A CHALLENGING YEAR

This year has been one of our busiest yet! Whether it was our annual events, responding to natural disasters, or our community impact projects, we were everywhere this year! Click the link below to view a slideshow documenting how active we were in the Big Bend in 2024!

VIEW OUR YEAR IN REVIEW

UNITED WAY OF THE BIG BEND'S CAMPAIGN IS NOW LIVE

Our campaign is active, and now is the time to give! In the new 2024 ALICE Update, the most recent statistics show that on average, 55% of households in the Big Bend region cannot afford the basic costs of living. This number equates to now over 94,310 families struggling day-to-day in the Big Bend. One of our five outcome areas is in Skills Development where we strive to shrink the ALICE population & below by focusing our collective resources on Economic Development through Workforce Enablement helping individuals to learn skills to support themselves & their families. Your support allows us to continue providing these resources to our community partners across the Big Bend!

GIVE TODAY

ReadingPals NEEDED FOR 2024-25 SCHOOL YEAR

Donate one hour of your time per week to help change the lives of struggling readers in the Big Bend

School is back in session for counties in the Big Bend, which means thousands of schoolchildren are back in class and ready to learn! Did you know that children in our local schools struggle with reading and language skills? That’s why our ReadingPals program, operated in conjunction with The Children’s Movement of Florida, has been implemented throughout the state and has been in operation since 2011 for children up to third grade. This program has had a fantastic impact on the Big Bend, helping thousands of children meet their reading goals annually.

For more information about our ReadingPals program, contact Samantha Sager at samantha@uwbb.org or by phone at (850)-414-0856

LEARN MORE

MATH SKILLS NEEDED TO HELP STRUGGLING YOUTH

The 2024-2025 school year has started in counties throughout the Big Bend! Unfortunately, for many students this means another year of struggling with math skills. Mastering skills like timed testing, blind memorization, and speed pressure is difficult for so many children, but our MathPals program is here to help!

MathPals creates a creative and encouraging environment for learning math by matching caring mentors one-to-one with students who are in need extra help developing essential mathematical skills. Want to help us develop the next generation of students into math-conquering scholars? Just one hour a week can help inspire confidence and make an impact locally.

For more information about becoming a MathPals mentor, please contact Samantha Sager via our website.

JUMP IN!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE UWBB TEAM!

We've had a successful year of giving back at the United Way of the Big Bend, and we can't wait to see what 2025 brings! Our community showed its resiliency this year and now it's time to celebrate the holiday season as the calendar comes to a close. From our entire family to yours, we hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season and New Year in 2025!