United Way Of Coastal And Western Connecticut Inc

Community impact initiatives: where gaps in critical services exist, united way develops direct service programs to meet the needs of alice households. This includes several initiatives that focus on early childhood education, youth enrichment, access to healthy food, and financial stability. United way also pilots and incubates initiatives, including the food farmacy of greater danbury, a food is medicine initiative designed to improve health outcomes and lessen food insecurity. United way serves as the backbone to three collective impact initiatives, stamford cradle to career, bridgeport prospers, and danbury collective, all three of which are focused on long-term systems change for youth and families from cradle to career.education: united way of coastal and western connecticut is dedicated to making quality child care and enrichment activities accessible to low- and moderate-income families. Through cora's kids family child care initiative, we expand access to affordable high quality child care in greater danbury and greater new milford. Since its launch, cora's kids has supported over 110 child care providers and 600+ children. Today, families have greater access to the child care they need and providers have started and grown their businesses.united way also provides funding to child care centers and after school programs, as well as covers the cost of out-of-school enrichment activities through the alice enrichment fund. Since the enrichment fund's inception in 2017, we have supported 1,600 children and provided more than $463,000 in financial assistance. Health: united way takes a multi-faceted approach to support alice individuals and families facing food insecurity. Through our healthy savings program, we provide direct cash assistance, offering $10 per week for fresh produce. Since 2019, more than 2,200 families have benefited from over $625,000 in fresh produce, with an average of nearly $25,000 spent on produce each month in 2023. As the convening entity for the stamford food collaborative and the danbury food collaborative, united way brings together roughly two dozen members, including food pantries, food banks, shelters, grocery stores, hospitals, and other agencies. Together, they strategically address food insecurity through collaborative efforts such as creating food resource guides for danbury and stamford, organizing food rescue initiatives with local retailers, and securing joint grants to enhance pantry capacity and modernize data tracking.additionally, united way launched the food farmacy of greater danbury, enrolling 115 patients with hypertension and food insecurity. Providing them with healthy, nutritious food to support their well-being. Physicians and healthcare providers "prescribe" healthy foods, allowing patients to fill their prescriptions at the food farmacy twice a month. Patients receive support from a dietitian, a program administrator, and a community health worker to connect them to other essential services, along with monthly healthy cooking classes. Financial stability: as part of our financial stability efforts, we fund agencies to provide financial literacy support, helping them develop household budgets, improve their credit scores, and set savings goals. Last year, we helped over 4,900 families save $448,000 on their prescriptions; we saved 3,689 tax filers over $1 million in tax prep fees and secured over $4 million in earned tax refunds.volunteerism: united way works with companies and nonprofit partners to coordinate volunteer activities across our region. In danbury, united way operates the save program (seniors add valuable experience), which provides income-eligible danbury residents over the age of 65 opportunities to volunteer 100 hours per year in local nonprofits and city agencies and in return, receive a property tax credit. In 2023-2024, 29 seniors volunteered, providing 6,341 volunteer hours to 15 danbury agencies, resulting in tax savings of $20,300 for danbury seniors. Volunteer committees in stamford, danbury, and new milford bring together corporate and community volunteers to address community needs and assist with projects around education, financial stability, and health. This includes projects like back-to-school supply drives, holiday meal drives, grant review committees, and our annual day of action. In 2023-2024, united way held its day of action across 6 communities with 350 volunteers completing projects for 16 nonprofits-in a single day.