Monday, Oct. 9, 2017
United Way of the Columbia-Willamette is launching a new community investment brand, United for Impact, which aims to showcase the collective work to invest in our region’s kids so they are free from poverty in order to be free to reach their potential.
Today also happens to be the United Nation’s International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
United for Impact represents our collaborative focus in reducing childhood poverty in our region and highlights the strength of our partners and the extraordinary value they bring to making schools, families and communities stronger for kids.
Poverty is complicated and we know we can’t fix it on our own. That’s why we’ve aligned forces with a coalition of nonprofit partners, donors and supporters to invest in our region’s kids, especially kids and families of color, under the United for Impact community investment brand.
“We know that our region’s biggest problems can’t be addressed by any single organization. That’s why at United Way we’ve built our capacity to serve as a community problem-solver to drive a coordinated, collective approach to the work,” said Keith Thomajan, President and CEO of United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. “By bringing the right partners to the table – from nonprofits to government agencies, from corporations to schools, as well as donors and volunteers – we’re improving outcomes and creating real change for kids and families who need it most.”
Our region’s poverty rate is down, yet poverty is still growing for too many kids. We continue to struggle with helping the kids who need it most stay in school and graduate. And, our region’s housing crisis has many families on the edge. The system is not working for ALL of our region’s kids, which has an effect on all of us.
“YWCA’s mission is to eliminate racism and empower women. We know that racism is a root cause of the issues we address as an organization,” said Stephanie Barr, Director of Programs. “Being a part of United for Impact has highlighted that providing safe, inclusive and accessible services is a critical part of advancing our mission. Through our work with United Way’s collaboration, we have learned more about who we are serving and we have identified ways we can more meaningfully address the root causes of the barriers faced by the families we serve.”
Last year alone, United Way partnered with 48 nonprofit organizations to provide solutions for 160,000 kids and families to the challenges created by poverty. Together with 12,000 donors and more than 500 corporate partners, we were able to raise almost $6M toward reducing childhood poverty in our region.
Together, we are United for Impact.
“Being a part of United for Impact has highlighted that providing safe, inclusive and accessible services is a critical part of advancing our mission.