United Way of Acadiana Inc

United way of acadiana granted $410,296 to support a total of 15 community programs and initiatives in the form of pact grants and other grants that focus on education, earnings, and essential focus areas. United way of acadiana targets its grantmaking to increase the number of young people who graduate from high school on time; to help hard working, low-income families become more financially stable by building and sustaining appreciating assets; and to help residents meet their basic needs after temporary financial setbacks or wide-scale disaster. Dolly partons imagination library (dpil) provides a free, new, age-appropriate book each month to enrolled children from birth up to 5 years of age. Research shows that the best way to help children learn to read is to read to them; yet most homes in poverty have only 4 or fewer books. Dpil helps families give their children an environment that is rich in education experiences and encourages parents to spend time reading with their children.united way of acadiana is helping to implement franklin coveys the leader in me in all interested schools in our service area. Based on steven coveys the 7 habits of highly effective people, the leader in me is a school-wide process that transforms the culture of the school and instills students with the key skills that businesses and educators have identified as vital for success in the 21st century. The leader in me reached students in 67 schools in the acadiana region. Studies have proven that implementation of the leader in me, even in high-poverty schools leads to increased student attendance and decreased discipline issues, with the end result being higher academic performance.united way of acadiana focuses on focuses on increasing awareness of the earned income tax credit (eitc) and increasing access to free volunteer income tax assistance (vita). Donors to uwa may designate that their gift be directed to a united way serving another community in louisiana or another state or to any 501(c)3 organization provided that organization meets the requirements of the usa patriot act of 2011. Uwa forwarded $56,826 to other not-for-profits including other united ways per these donor designations.