Food Access Saturday: Uniting to Support Working Families
The economy may be improving since the Great Recession, but millions of people are still struggling to get by because of underemployment, stagnant wages and rising costs of living. According to the California Poverty Measure (CPM), 78% of Californians who are struggling with food insecurity live in families with at least one working adult. In 2015, United Ways of California published a report that identified that despite being employed; approximately 4,561 residents of western Nevada County do not earn enough salary to afford the basic necessities of health care, housing, transportation and nutritious food. Without a living wage, often one necessity must be sacrificed for another.
In keeping with its goal of making impactful change, United Way of Nevada County continually analyzes the biggest needs of the Nevada County community. The United Way of Nevada County Community Impact Committee determined that community members who are employed and just struggling to get by, that can hardly make rent or pay childcare costs, have difficulty accessing nutritious food from the local distribution agencies to feed their families. Currently in Nevada County, supplemental food is only distributed Monday through Friday during traditional working hours. If struggling families are working during the traditional work week they may not have time to pick up this food. Through data, surveys, and community meetings, the United Way Community Impact Committee has been analyzing this challenge and working with the local community to fill this gap in services.
For several months, United Way has worked with Interfaith Food Ministry (IFM) to research, collaborate and develop a program to support the working individuals and families challenged with food insecurity. “It is a pivotal time at United Way as we look at starting a program that could have a very big impact on helping to feed those households that are struggling to get by in Nevada County.” said Megan Timpany, Executive Director of United Way of Nevada County.
On May 13th, United Way, in partnership with IFM, will begin a 6 month trial of distributing food on the 2nd Saturday of each month to resolve the glaring gap in providing food to the “working poor.” United Way will be providing a majority of the funding and manpower while IFM will provide the facilities, supervision, volunteers and some additional funding. The program, FoodAccess Saturday: Uniting to Support Working Families is specifically designed for working individuals and families who need supplemental groceries. The collaboration encourages those who have been struggling with food insecurity, but due to working traditional hours, have never received supplemental food support from IFM to participate in Food Access Saturday. Current IFM clients, who are working and find it difficult or sometimes impossible to come during the weekly distribution, are welcome to participate on Saturday. For more information contact United Way at 274-8111 or admin@uwnc.org.
Annual Funding Process Has Begun at United Way of Nevada County!
United Way of Nevada County’s annual Community Impact Process for calendar year 2017 has begun. Allocations will be distributed from the United Way of Nevada County Community Impact Fund. Duringthis process, current United Way partners may apply to continue partnership and/or request funding. Additionally, other qualified local agencies may apply to become new partners of United Way. Applications will be available for any community based, non-profit 501(c)3 organization that has provided Health & Human Services to the residents of Nevada County for at least 3 years.
UWNC has streamlined the application into one application for new partners, renewal of partners and requests for funding. All applications are due on April 6th, 2017. Applications will be made available the week of March 6th. All applicants will be reviewed by The UWNC Community Investment Committee, the UWNC Board of Directors, and the 2017 Citizen Review Teams made up of volunteers from the community. This review process will include site visits with all the applicant organizations by the Citizen Review Teams. Megan Timpany, Executive Director of UWNC said “The UWNC community investmentassessment process is an integral part of due diligence for UWNC donors.” Any community member that is interested in being on a Citizens Review Team should contact UWNC. Any Health and Human Service Non-Profit agency that has questions about the application process can also contact UWNC at 274-8111.
United Way of Nevada County’s mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community. UWNC will be concentrating on the Basic Needs of those in our community which include Food, Emergency Shelter and access to Health Care. Currently the funding priorities for the annual UWNC community impact funds are existing UWNC programs, new UWNC programs and Partner funding. United Way of Nevada County strives to assure individuals and families in Nevada County are able to meet their Basic Needs. UWNC envisions a community where all individuals and families achievetheir desired potential through healthy lives, education and income stability.
United Way's Share the Warmth Collection Drive was a Huge Success!
United Way of Nevada County, with help from the community, held a collection drive to “Share the Warmth” with those in need in Nevada County. They collected donations of women’s, men’s and children’s socks, gloves and warm hats. They received a wealth of donated socks, gloves and warm hats to be distributed to individuals throughout Nevada County. United Way was able to mobilize the community to help those in need during the cold winter months.
Thanks to this generous community that came out to support this effort. A big thank you goes to the following businesses for participating in the Share the Warmth collection drive: Ensemble Design, Telestream, Walker’s Office Supplies, JC Penney, B&C True Value Home Center, Penn Valley Mini Storage, Lake Wildwood Community Center, AAA, Hospice of the Foothills, FedEx, Texas Instruments, Nevada City and Grass Valley City Hall, Stanford Mortgage, Nevada County Superior Court, The Union newspaper, Partners Family Resource Center, the County Rood Center and the Nevada City and Penn Valley Chamber of Commerce locations.
Currently United Way of Nevada County is focusing on helping the community of Nevada County in the area of Basic Needs, including Food, Emergency Shelter and Access to Health Care. United Way envisions a community where all individuals and families achieve their desired potential through healthy lives, education and income stability.
United Way Mobilizes the Community
for Impactful Change
In keeping with its goal of making impactful change, the United Way of Nevada County is constantly analyzing where the biggest needs are in Nevada County. Once those needs and gaps have been discovered, the United Way of Nevada County’s Community Impact Committee works on the best way to fill those gaps. One gap, the Community Impact Committee discovered over the past year, is the need to help the struggling poor in Nevada County receive food during hours that they are at work.
These community members are people that are just struggling to get by. They are constantly dealing with increased rent, increased childcare and increased health care costs. In a report done by the United Ways of California, 4,561 households in Nevada County are living below Real Cost measures. Real Cost Measures are measures that estimate the income that is needed to meet the basic needs for a given household type in a community. Food, Housing, Health Care, Transportation, Childcare, and Taxes are all taken into consideration when looking at the Real Cost measures.
Community members that are working and just struggling to get by, that can hardly make rent or pay childcare costs, occasionally need to pick up food from the local distribution agencies. Currently in Nevada County, food is only distributed Monday – Friday during working hours. If they are working Monday - Friday they may not have time to pick up this food. The United Way Community Impact Committee has been analyzing and looking at how to fill this gap. Interfaith Food Ministry (IFM) recently reported to United Way that over 60% of their clients are working, yet they still can’t afford to pay for food.
There is a program in the planning stages for a potential United Way program that would distribute food on Saturdays. Through the collaborative efforts of the United Way community Impact Committee and Interfaith Food Ministry this program could come into fruition in the spring of 2017. Currently collaborations and discussions are happening around the County to help make this a reality. “It is a pivotal time at United Way as we look at starting a program that could have a very big impact on helping to feed those households that are struggling to get by here in Nevada County.” said Megan Timpany, Executive Director of United Way of Nevada County.
During the 2015 – 2016 funding cycle United Way of Nevada County also helped Interfaith Foods Ministry with another need. The organization needed to purchase more nutritious sources of protein for their clients. In the past, other than holidays, IFM has not been able to provide their clients a consistent source of protein, other than milk, eggs, tuna, beans, or peanut butter. They have been able to supply fruits and vegetables, but not a consistent source of nutritious protein. United Way saw the need and allocated $9,000.00 towards this particular need. The funds awarded to IFM were spent on providing increased access to nutritious lean protein for their clients. Collaborations and communications have started to become much stronger in the area of food insecurity in Nevada County. Together as a community we can make a stronger impact in helping those in need. For more information contact United Way of Nevada County .
21st Annual Nevada County Book Sale to Benefit
United Way of Nevada County
Nevada County is holding its 21st annual Book Sale at the Rood Government Center Lobby, located at 950 Maidu Ave in Nevada City. The Book Sale began October 11th and runs through November 11th. All proceeds go to United Way of Nevada County. Prices range from $.50 -$4, and the sale is open to the public; Mon-Fri, 8am-5pm. There are a variety of books on hand, including children’s, cookbooks, fiction and non-fiction. This event is just one of many Nevada County is holding to benefit United Way of Nevada County.
The County is still accepting donated books, in good condition, until November 4th. You may drop off your donated books inside the east door in the Rood Center Lobby.
For more information, please call or email Lelia Loomis: (530) 265-1498 or lelia.loomis@co.nevada.ca.us.
The United Way of Nevada County’s mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community. United Way of Nevada County envisions a community where all individuals and families achieve their desired potential through Healthy Lives, Education and Income Stability. To that end, our service priority is to strive to assure individuals and families in Nevada County are able to meet their basic needs for: Food, Emergency Shelter, and Access to Health care. More information can be found at our website - www.uwnc.org.
Addressing Food Insecurity among Seniors
Over the past three years United Way of Nevada County
allocated $53,350 to senior food programs
According to a 2015 study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, California is a leading state in which seniors have become among “the hidden poor”. The study found that nearly 1 in 5, or about 772,000 of California’s older adults cannot afford basic needs such as food, housing, transportation and health care. However they often do not qualify for assistance. According to an Area 4 agency on Aging census, there are over 28,000 seniors living in Nevada County.
Many of the seniors served by Nevada County’s Gold Country Community Services’ Meals on Wheels program do not always have enough money to buy food, eat fewer than 2 meals per day, and eat very few fruits & vegetables. Seniors in the Truckee area that are serviced by Nevada County’s Sierra Senior Services, not only have a hard time affording food, but during the winter they have a hard time getting to locations that have food due to bad weather conditions. United Way of Nevada County views these senior food insecurity issues as a community problem and has focused efforts on helping to make a positive change for this population of the “hidden poor.”
Over the last several years, United Way of Nevada County has been supporting two partner agencies offering major programs in Nevada County that are helping to alleviate some of the struggles that some seniors face. One of the programs provides seniors with emergency food bags; the other provides frozen food to seniors on weekends and holidays when meals aren’t normally delivered. Due to the funding received from United Way of Nevada County, Sierra Senior Services, located in eastern Nevada County, will now be able to deliver emergency food bags to over 280 seniors considered living at risk during the winter of 2016/2017. The bags will contain meals that were specially designed for seniors, consisting of items low in sodium and saturated fats, with a shelf-stable life, and water. The emergency food bags will be delivered to a very large geographic area of over 862 square miles.
With the support of United Way funds, the second program, a Gold Country Community Services program serving western Nevada County has helped to improve senior’s lives by adding a frozen meal service to the Meals on Wheels program. This program provides frozen meals to home-bound seniors with the greatest need. With the frozen meal program, seniors who qualify for the Meals and Wheels program but cannot get meals on the weekends, now have food in their freezer to help them with their struggles in acquiring food during the weekends and on holidays.
This year United Way of Nevada County allocated a portion of the United Way Community Impact Fund to the struggles that seniors have to face in the area of food insecurity. While working to make an impact in the community, over the past three years, United Way of Nevada County has allocated more than $53,350.00 from the Community Impact Fund to programs that address seniors struggling with food insecurity. United Way’s current service priority is to strive to assure that individuals in Nevada County are able to meet their basic need for food, emergency shelter and access to health care.
Results from the 2016 United Way of Nevada County
Grills ‘n’ Grilles Event
United Way of Nevada County held its 10th annual BBQ event, “Grills ‘n’ Grilles” on Saturday, August 27th. The event was held at Western Gateway Park and about 500 people showed up to view the beautiful foreign, classic and electric cars and sample grilled delicacies. The 2nd Derek Sorensen Memorial Disc Golf Tournament took place earlier in the day. A Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS) sanctioned competition was held in conjunction with a Backyard BBQ competition. People voted for their favorite Backyard BBQ team and favorite vehicle. A team of expert judges chose the winning “Critics Choice” in the Backyard BBQ competition and the KCBS winning teams. The KCBS Grand Champion was team “Smokey Luv BBQ” lead by Kevin Barteaux and Reserve Champion was Jeff Clark and “The B Team”. To view the rest of the winners of the KCBS competition, go to www.kcbs.us/events (scroll down to the event).
The first place winner of the 2016 Backyard BBQ People’s Choice 1st place award went to “The Rib Doctors” headed up by long-time Backyard BBQ-er Kristian Hockinson. Second place went to “Interfaith Food Ministry BBQ Kings” and third place went to “Gold Country Community Center Silver Servants”. The Backyard BBQ Critic’s Choice 1st place went to “The Cooking Dead”, headed up by Mike Brocco, with Rib Doctors and Lil Pig BBQ coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively. The Gold Country Community Services team also won the Spirit Award for their positive energy, creativity, and spiritedness.
The “Best in Show” winner in the Car Show was a 1956 Chevy Nomad owned by Jane Ammerman. If you didn’t make it to this fun event, you missed out on some delicious barbecue and food vendors. The attendees enjoyed great music by Crossing 49 while children played in the Kid’s Area. Great raffle prizes were given out during the event. All of the proceeds from this event go to the United Way of Nevada County Community Impact Fund, which goes towards making an impact in the areas of Basic Needs; emergency shelter, food insecurity and access to healthcare.
2nd Annual Derek Sorensen Memorial
Disc Golf Tournament Results
The second annual Derek Sorensen Memorial Disc Golf Tournament was held during United Way of Nevada County’s Grills ‘n’ Grilles event on August 27th. It was held at Western Gateway Park. During the tournament, a beautiful memorial bench was placed at Hanging Oak Disc Golf Course in memory of Derek Sorensen. His mother, Debbie Evans said “Derek was a best friend to many and a friend to all. Derek was very passionate about life and cared for the people that he met throughout his life. He enjoyed many Sports but disc golf was one of his favorites. In his loving memory a beautiful bench was placed on Hole #4, which was Derek's favorite hole on the course. Derek is loved by his family and friends. He's missed terribly.”
The big winners of the tournament were; Allison & Mike Jones, who took 1st Place in the Coed Division, Jere Eshelman & Mike Loya won 1st Place in the Pro Division shooting -10, Alex & Matt who took 1st Place in the Advanced Division and Trevor & Brian who won 1st Place in the Amateur Division.
All of the proceeds from this event will be going to the United Way of Nevada County Community Impact Fund which will go towards making an impact in the areas of Basic Needs; emergency shelter, food insecurity and access to health care. United Way of Nevada County’s mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community.
United Way of Nevada County's
8th Annual "Day of Action"
On April 22nd, United Way of Nevada County held its 8th Annual "Day of Action". Many generous volunteers helped make the event a huge success. Despite the fact that there was torrential rain most of the day, walls were painted, rooms were cleaned and organized at many locations. A diverse group of volunteers joined in on this wonderful day of volunteering. Along with the many adults that participated, Bitney Prep students also helped make the day a success. Company employees from businesses such as Telestream and JC Penney showed up to help non-profits in the community with their special projects. Shirley Kinghorn, Executive Director of Divine Spark said, "Thank you for organizing the volunteers to come to The Streicher House Day Center. It was a huge help and success, the house has been completely transformed. The clothes closet got totally organized, the office got organized, phones and computers set up, pictures were hung, refrigerator and big freezers were cleaned and organized, windows washed and floors mopped. We now are just about ready for an open house it looks so good. All the volunteers were amazing, took charge and did the jobs beyond expectations."
Volunteerism is an essential ingredient to helping local communities grow. United Way of Nevada County's mission statement is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community. United Way of Nevada County envisions a community where all individuals and families achieve their desired potential through healthy lives, Education and Income Stability. United Way's service priority is to strive to ensure that individuals and families in Nevada County are able to meet their basic needs for food, emergency shelter and access to health care. If you think you'd like to participate in next year's "Day of Action", please contact us at admin@uwnc.org or 274-8111.
Annual Funding Process Has Begun at
United Way of Nevada County!
United Way of Nevada County's annual Community Impact Process for calendar year 2016 has begun. Application packets are available for any community based, non-profit 501 (c) (3) organization that has provided health and human services to the residents of Nevada County for at least 3 years. Funds being distributed will come from the United Way of Nevada County Community Impact Fund.
During the United Way of Nevada County Community Impact Process, three different types of applications will be available from United Way of Nevada County (UWNC). On February 24th, the Funded Partnership applications became available; this application is only available to current UWNC partner agencies. Annually, United Way's individual funded partners have received between $1,500.00 to $20,000.00.
If a current UWNC partner does not request funding for this year, they must apply as a non-funded partner to remain affiliated with UWNC. Non-Funded Partnership applications and Affiliate Partnership applications will be available the week of March 14th. A potential partner agency must apply to become an Affiliate Partner before being considered for funding from UWNC.
All applicants will be reviewed by The UWNC Community Investment Committee, The UWNC Board of Directors, and the 2016 Citizen Review Teams made up of volunteers from the community. This review process will include site visits with all the applicant organizations by the Citizen Review Teams. Megan Timpany, Executive Director of UWNC said "The UWNC community investment assessment process is an integral part of due diligence for UWNC donors." Any community member that is interested in being on a Citizens Review Team should contact UWNC. Any Health and Human Service Non-Profit agency that has questions about the application process can also contact UWNC at 274-8111.
United Way of Nevada County's mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community. UWNC will be concentrating on the Basic Needs of those in our community, which include Food, Emergency Shelter and access to Health Care. UWNC has revised their application to reflect the new strategic priority, which is to strive to assure individuals and families in Nevada County are able to meet their Basic Needs. UWNC envisions a community where all individuals and families achieve their desired potential through healthy lives, education and income stability.
United Way of Nevada County's Partnership with FamilyWize
Equals Nearly $500,000 in Savings for Community
United Way of Nevada County, striving to help the citizens of Nevada County in the areas of Basic Needs (Food, Access to Health Care and Emergency Shelter), announced today that Nevada County residents have saved close to $500,000 on their prescription medications. This has been made possible by a partnership with FamilyWize, an organization focused on improving the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities. Through this partnership, United Way worldwide has helped promote the free, easy to use FamilyWize Prescription Savings Card, which has helped more than 8.4 million Americans save more than $873 million on their prescriptions.
"People should never have to choose between putting food on the table or taking their prescription medication," said Megan Timpany, Executive Director of United Way of Nevada County. "That's why we formed a partnership with FamilyWize. Their free prescription savings card can reduce the costs of prescriptions for anyone who uses it. It's an extremely valuable resource that everyone, regardless of their financial situation, should use."
FamilyWize cards immediately lower the cost of medicine by an average of 42 percent and potentially more for people without insurance or who take medications not covered by their plan. Just by presenting the FamilyWize card at their local pharmacy, customers save on the cost of their prescription medicine, no strings attached. Pharmacies such as Kmart, Rite Aid, and Walgreens are accepting this prescription savings card locally.
"We're excited to see the people Nevada County realize the benefits of our savings card," said Susan Gilmore, Executive Director of Community Engagement at FamilyWize. "We hope that they continue to use the card and share it with others, as it can provide a significant savings."
The FamilyWize prescription savings card can be used by anyone, including people with Medicaid or Medicare, and not just people without insurance. The use of the FamilyWize Prescription Savings Card is unlimited, does not require any personal information from the user and has no eligibility criteria.
To take advantage of the savings that FamilyWize offers, visit United Way of Nevada County's website www.uwnc.org under "Sponsored Programs" or call 274-8111 for more information. The card can also be downloaded from the FamilyWize website: www.familywize.org. United Way currently has a large supply of FamilyWize cards in Spanish and English for distribution at organizations.
United Way of Nevada County
Socks & Gloves Drive was A Huge Success
United Way of Nevada County is keeping the community warm from their fingers to their toes. Over the last two months United Way of Nevada County has been collecting Socks and Gloves from around the community to be distributed to those in need. They received donations of new women's, men's and children's socks and gloves. Everything collected is now being distributed at sites across the community. Organizations like Divine Spark, Hospitality House, Sierra Roots, and Spirit Peer Empowerment Center collaborated with United Way to help to get these items distributed. United Way's mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community.
Donations were received and collected at Ensemble Design, Telestream, Walker's Office Supplies, JC Penney's, B&C True Value Home Center, Bank of the West, Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, Penn Valley Mini Storage, Lake Wildwood Community Center, the County Rood Center and the Grass Valley, Nevada City and Penn Valley Chamber of Commerce locations. Donations were also collected at the Penn Valley Holiday Lights in the Park event at Western Gateway Park.
Currently United Way of Nevada County is focusing on helping the community of Nevada County in the area of Basic Needs, including Food, Emergency Shelter and Access to Health Care. United Way envisions a community where all individuals and families achieve their desired potential through healthy lives, education and income stability. For more information about United Way of Nevada County call 274-8111. All donations to United Way of Nevada County stay in Nevada County.
United Way of Nevada County Socks & Gloves Drive
Keep Our Community Warm from their Fingertips to their Toes!
United Way of Nevada County is holding a drive to collect warm socks and gloves for those in need in our community. Donate new socks and gloves and help everyone in our community stay warm this winter. Who are those in need? They are people challenged by illness or injury, or both; by traumas of childhood-or by all of these troubles. Too often they are children. So please donate new women's, men's and children's socks and gloves. Everything collected will stay in our community.
Drop off locations include Walker's Office Supplies, JC Penney, B&C True Value Home Center and the Grass Valley and Nevada City Chamber of Commerce locations.
Want to put out a collection box at your business? We have Sock Drive Kits, which include a box, and fliers. Please let us know if you are interested in participating in this winter collection drive.
Currently United Way of Nevada County is focusing on helping the community of Nevada County in the area of Basic Needs, including Food, Emergency Shelter and Access to Health Care.
If you are interested in finding out more about our collection drive, please call 274-8111 or email admin@uwnc.org. Live United this holiday season, help us keep the community warm with socks and gloves.
Nevada County Businesses and Employees Give Back to the Community
United Way campaigns are starting to happen all across the United States and the local United Way of Nevada County Campaign is currently under way. In September, United Way Global Corporate Leaders such as JC Penny's, Wells Fargo Bank, Bank of America, Texas Instruments and AT&T started encouraging their employees to give back to the community through the United Way annual payroll pledge process. Local campaigns such as Telestream, County of Nevada, B &C True Value, the City of Grass Valley and The Union Newspaper generally start their workplace giving campaigns and special events in the month of October.
Many businesses and government agencies across the county are participating in the United Way work place giving campaign for the campaign year 2015-2016. Some of them also host events such as Soup-a-thons, Friday Jeans Day, and used book sales to raise money for United Way of Nevada County. The money raised from events and the payroll pledge process goes into the local United Way Community Impact Fund or employees can designate through payroll pledging to any specific 501 (c)(3) non-profit of their choice.
This year, United Way of Nevada County's local campaign motto is "Growing our local impact through the Power of Ten". United Way is looking to the community to increase its impact by ten dollars more, ten percent more or by increasing their campaign by ten more people.
The United Way of Nevada County is currently focusing their efforts on the Basic Needs of the community, specifically in the impact areas of Food, Access to Health Care and Emergency Shelter. United Way of Nevada County's mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community. United Way of Nevada County envisions a community where all individuals and families achieve their desired potential through healthy lives, education and income stability.
Any business that is interested in getting involved with the 2015-2016 United Way campaign should contact the United Way office at (530) 274-8111. This is a great way to encourage employees to give back to the community either to United Way or to a 501(c) (3) non-profit of their choice. All monies raised from the United Way campaign for the community impact fund stay local.
United Way of Nevada County Distributes over $120,000 to Non-Profits in Nevada County
United Way of Nevada County has completed its annual allocation process of Community Impact funds. To be a partner with United Way of Nevada County, an organization must comply with an established set of Criteria and Responsibilities. To receive an allocation from United Way of Nevada County, these partners must further comply with an additional set of funding criteria throughout the year. Partners are assessed by United Way of Nevada County through financial audits and citizen review teams for compliance to these criteria, as well as effectiveness in meeting community needs. This process ensures that United Way of Nevada County's charitable donations are spent in ways to best make an impact in our community. "The community Investment Process is an essential part of the United Way system, this process is very thorough and extensive.", "It is very important to us that the funds that are being allocated from the Community Impact Fund have maximum impact in the community" commented Megan Timpany, Executive Director of United Way of Nevada County.
Last year the United Way Board and Staff went through a nine month Strategic Plan process and established a three year Strategic Plan with very specific goals. The new vision statement is that United Way of Nevada County envisions a community where all individuals and families achieve their desired potential through Healthy Lives, Education and Income stability. To that end United Way of Nevada County continues to strive "to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community".
United Way's new service priority is to strive to "assure individuals and families in Nevada County are able to meet their basic need for food, emergency shelter and access to healthcare". This year United Way of Nevada County allocated $74,000.00 from the Community Impact Fund to the basic needs of food, emergency shelter and access to healthcare. In addition to the allocations from the Community Impact Fund, United Way of Nevada County raised over $47,000 in specific designations for 501(C3) non-profits in Nevada County. In 2015 United Way of Nevada County will allocate and designate over $120,000.00 back to the community.
United Way of Nevada County is pleased to announce that 13 of their partners applied for and will receive funding during this upcoming year. The agencies and the total amounts that they will receive this year from United Way of Nevada County are:
Food Bank of Nevada County: $18,000
Gold Country Community Services: $8,000
Interfaith Food Ministry: $9,000
Sierra Senior Services: $11,400
Kare Crisis Nursery: $3,000
DVSAC: $5,000
Tahoe Safe Alliance: $3,200
Sierra Foothills AIDS Foundation: $5,000
Community Recovery Resource: $6,400
Child Advocates of Nevada County: $2,000
Partners in English Language Learning: $3,000
United Way of Nevada County's 7th Annual "Day of Action" was a huge success.
On June 18th, 2015 United Way of Nevada County held its 7th Annual "Day of Action". The many volunteers along with beautiful weather helped make the event a huge success. Walls were painted, supplies organized and food sorted and prepared for delivery. A diverse group of volunteers joined in on this wonderful day of volunteering. Along with the many adults that participated, Nevada Union High School football players also helped make the day a success. Company employees from businesses such as Texas Instruments, Telestream and groups such as the League of Women Voters, showed up to help non-profits in the community with their special projects. Executive Director Megan Timpany said, "Day of Action is one of my favorite annual events. It is a day that really brings community members together to help those in need".
Thousands of volunteers came out across the nation for this wonderful United Way Day of Action. It is a powerful way for United Ways nationwide to stimulate community action that advances our goals in education, income and health on the same day. Volunteerism is an essential ingredient to helping local communities grow. United Way of Nevada County's mission statement is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community. United Way of Nevada County envisions a community where all individuals and families achieve their desired potential through healthy lives, Education and Income Stability. Volunteerism is an essential ingredient in creating a healthy community. If you think you'd like to participate in next year's "Day of Action", please contact us at admin@uwnc.org or 274-8111.
United Way Leads Discussion on Hunger in Nevada County
United Way of Nevada County has gone through an extensive strategic plan process and has been focusing in on advocacy and collaborative work that addresses three distinct impact areas; the basic human needs of Food, Emergency Shelter and Access to Health Care. Through mobilizing the community, United Way hopes to make some impactful changes in Nevada County.
The initial collaborative meeting on basic needs facilitated by United Way of Nevada County was centered on hunger in Nevada County. In January, United Way brought together some of their partners and leaders in the field of food insecurity to discuss what the true needs and gaps are in Nevada County. Through this collaboration and the collection of statistical analysis, the United Way of Nevada County wants to learn what is most needed in Nevada County in the particular area of food insecurity. What is Food insecurity? Food insecurity is the inability to consistently afford enough food. Researchers find that food insecure adults face higher risks of chronic diseases (like diabetes and hypertension) as well as depression and poor mental health. Food insecurity is also linked to poor academic outcomes in children.
Statistics collected by the national agency Feeding America, shows that Nevada County's food insecurity rate is 13.8 % which comes out to an estimated number of food insecure individuals in Nevada County of approximately 13,560. How many of these are children? How many of these are seniors? United Way wants to open up these discussions to learn where the community needs the most help. Over the last five years United Way has contributed the largest percentage of their funds to programs that address hunger. One such program is Project Hope, which feeds low income children during the summer when free and reduced school lunches are not available. Another such program provides a Senior Survivor Kit (which includes nourishing meals) to home-bound seniors prior to being effected by inclement weather.
Through these current discussions United Way wants to learn what programs are needed in the community to help close the gap of hunger in Nevada County. Should the community be focusing on a program that gives a free breakfast to students in need? Should the community be focusing on getting food to the transient population that has no place to store food while homeless? Should the community be concerned about seniors or disabled that can't drive and need food in their kitchen? Where does the community need to make the most impact in creating a healthier, less hungry Nevada County? That is what United Way hopes to learn through these collaborations and discussions. This group will continue to meet to discuss Food insecurity on a quarterly basis.
The next Basic Needs collaborative meetings with United Way partners and other community leaders will take place in February and March. These will focus on the basic needs of emergency shelter and access to health care. Through these continual discussions on Basic Needs in the community United Way hopes to see some impactful changes taking place through collaborative efforts and community education.
United Way of Nevada County Announces New Strategic Direction
United Way of Nevada County has been serving the Nevada County community for 32 years, and they are now moving forward into the future with a new strategic direction. Over the past year the board, volunteers and staff have been working on developing a new three year strategic plan. After many sessions and meetings, the plan has been established and is currently being used as a tool to help United Way of Nevada County move forward in a more impactful manner. The plan was produced to be a guide for the board and staff of the United Way to achieve their vision as well as to evolve and strengthen the organization into the future.
The new vision statement now reads that United Way of Nevada County envisions a community where all individuals and families achieve their desired potential through Healthy Lives, Education and Income Stability. The mission statement now reads that United Way of Nevada County's mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community. The United Way of Nevada County's service priority is to strive to assure individuals and families in Nevada County are able to meet their basic need for food, emergency shelter and access to healthcare.
The United Way of Nevada County continues to strive to address the basic needs of the community. Through strategic efforts the board and staff hope to mobilize the community to come together to make a difference in the specific areas of Food Insecurity, access to Healthcare and Emergency Shelter. "The community is going to start to see more collaborations and discussions being developed from United Way of Nevada County", commented Megan Timpany, Executive Director. "We want to find the gaps in the community and we want to help to fill those gaps", "We will be creating focus groups and discussing the true health and human service needs in the community". The first focus group will be meeting in January to discuss the basic need area of Food Insecurity. Last year, along with its other community impact funding United Way of Nevada County gave over $50,000.00 from its Community Impact Fund just to the particular area of the basic need for food.
The United Way of Nevada County is hoping to facilitate and create more collaboration within the three basic needs areas mentioned above. Through financial and non-financial efforts United Way hopes to help the community of Nevada County grow to be a healthier community. Working with the 21 United Way partners and other community leaders United Way envisions making some large impactful changes within the Nevada County community.
United Way of Nevada County
745 Maltman Drive | P.O. Box 2733 | Grass Valley, CA 95945
Phone: (530) 274-8111 | eMail: admin@uwnc.org
Tax ID number: 68-0007201 United Way of Nevada County is a 501(c)3 Organization
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