Beech Tree News Network

(June 27, 2017) - United Way of Southern Kentucky announced today that it is investing a total of $942,909 in Education, Income, Health, and Safety Net programs and services for its July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018 funding period. 48 local programs provided through 38 service providers will receive the allocated campaign dollars and donor designations.

To receive funding from United Way of Southern Kentucky, programs had to align with the four areas deemed most important by a recent 3-year long community research project conducted by United Way which included nearly 5,000 surveys, 55 Community Conversations, and large amounts of secondary data. The four broad areas of most concern were defined by the community as: Education, Income, Health, and Safety Net. Programs also were evaluated on the following IMPACT criteria: (Innovative, Measured, Partnered/Collaborative, Accountable, Community-centered, Transformative). This includes an emphasis on programs that provide services within a best practices framework, that are collaborative and integrated into the fabric of other community education, income, health and safety net efforts, that consider the goals, needs and aspirations of the communities they serve, and that are innovative.

In September of 2016, organizations with programs impacting UWSK’s strategic imperatives in each of the defined Community Impact issue areas (Education, Income, Health, and Safety Net) were asked to submit a Letter of Intent indicating their desire to complete a full application request for funding. 85 total Letters of Intent were submitted requesting $2,575,000 in funding. Upon review by the Letter of Intent Committee, 70 of those that were submitted were invited to complete the full application. In February 2017, Warren County full applications were submitted for pre-review by the Pre-Review Committee with the remainder of the county applications being submitted in March. The Pre-Review committee evaluated the applications submitted based upon three pieces of foundational criteria: the program’s meaningful impact on the identified strategy; if UW has the means to fulfill the funding request; and that the funding would expand or improve the program for existing programs.

Those who were invited to move forward upon Pre-Review had the opportunity to complete the full application and be evaluated by a more detailed set of criteria. Programs that cleared this phase of evaluation moved forward to a full review and visit with the Allocations Committee. With the full review by the Allocations Committee and recommendation to and approval by the UWSK Board of Directors complete, funding will now be awarded to the programs selected.

Through the 48 funded programs, United Way will provide the opportunities for services to individuals for the following building blocks for a good quality of life such as:
1.    Education
a.    Create career pathways for students through a state-of-the art learning environment
b.    Increase access to high-quality licensed childcare
c.    Train parents to be their child’s first and best teacher
2.    Income
a.    Provide training skills to increase wages of single parents while simultaneously providing low cost afterschool programming for their children
b.    Assist adults with obtaining academic skills and credentials needed to transition to post-secondary education, function productively in the workforce, and support their families
3.    Health
a.    Provide victims of domestic violence and their children a safe environment in order to focus on treatment options, safety planning, and eventual recovery
b.    Educate and advocate for elderly long-term care residents to improve health and well being
c.    Educate school age children about the dangers of bullying, sexual harassment, dating violence, and stalking
4.    Safety Net
a.    Provide a source of food to children who are at-risk for lack of access to healthy meals
b.    Provide emergency housing to individuals who are homeless or in crisis

2017/18 marks the second funding cycle for the new community impact plan in these areas welcoming 15 new programs. The Community Impact plan was originally developed to create long-term community change and serve as a road map for United Way and its partners on how to build a better community that provides opportunity for all. At its core, Community Impact harnesses the power of the entire community to create significant, sustainable improvements, and thus it requires many community partners working together to solve complex, systematic problems.

Allocation dollars were determined based on the work of 122 volunteers from Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Monroe, Simpson, and Warren Counties. These volunteers invested approximately 1,367 hours in the process which began with training sessions for all volunteers.
This time generated an impact of $32,999 in service to our community (based on National Rate of Volunteer Time: $24.14 per hour). Volunteers reviewed programs, finances, governance, and outcomes to develop the recommendations for program investments.

The issue areas of focus will receive funding based upon the recommendations of the Allocations Committees based upon the guidelines set forth by the United Way of Southern Kentucky Board of Directors for allocations percentages (Kindergarten Readiness: 25%; College and Career Readiness: 20%; Workforce Development: 5%; Access to Affordable Healthcare: 15%; Safe Home and Community: 15%; Access to Basic Needs: 15%; Transportation: 5%) as follows:

EDUCATION INVESTMENTS TOTAL: $431,532
    Kindergarten Readiness: $227,813    Led by Co-chairs: Kenly Ames & Joe Tinius
    College & Career Readiness: $203,719    Led by Co-chairs: Mark Langevin & Scott Taylor

Investments made into Education programs were made with the primary goal in advancing United Way’s BIG BOLD GOALS in Education:
KINDERGARTEN READINESS BIG BOLD GOAL: Increase BRADD area kindergarten readiness scores to 75% by 2020. Scores were at 49.4% when the goal was established. Most recent scores have been updated to 53.4%.
COLLEGE & CAREER READINESS BIG BOLD GOAL: Increase BRADD area college & career readiness scores to 80% by the year 2020.  Scores were at 65% when the goal was established. Most recent scores have been updated to 74.7%.

INCOME INVESTMENTS TOTAL: $48,144
    Workforce Development: $48,144    Led by Co-chairs: Travis Armstrong & Dr. James McCaslin

HEALTH INVESTMENTS TOTAL: $275,295
    Access to Affordable Healthcare: $129,406    Led by Co-chairs: Tad Pardue & Jan Peeler
Safe Home & Community: $145,889    Led by Co-chairs: Lee Alcott & Mike Grubbs

SAFETY NET INVESTMENTS TOTAL: $187,938
    Access to Basic Needs: $155,788    Led by Co-chairs: Karen Foley & Bill Waltrip
    Transportation: $32,150    Led by Co-chairs: Travis Armstrong & Dr. James McCaslin

These investments include the following programs broken down by county:
    ALLEN COUNTY: $77,667 TOTAL FUNDING
    Led by Allen County Chair: Dana Russell
        EDUCATION: $36,000
            Kindergarten Readiness:
Allen County Health Department HANDS (Health Access Nurturing Development Services) Program $5,000
Community Action of Southern Kentucky Head Start $832
Family Enrichment Center Little Patriot Learners Parents as Teachers – In Home Parent Education $13,168
College/ Career Readiness:
AC-Scottsville Career & Technical Center College & Career Ready Program $15,000
Junior Achievement Equipped for Success: Hard Skills + Soft Skills = Workforce Ready $2,000
        HEALTH: $24,948
            Access to Affordable Health Care:
                                   Kentucky Legal Aid Barren River Long Term Care Ombudsman $7,000
                                   Kentucky Legal Aid Benefits Counseling $4,400
            Safe Home & Community:
                                   BRASS Branches of BRASS $7,024
            BRASS Emergency Shelter & Crisis Aid to Protect & Empower $3,024
                                   Hope Harbor Community Education & Prevention Program $1,500
            Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Shelter & Crisis Aid to Protect & Empower $2,000
        SAFETY NET: $16,719
            Access to Basic Needs:
            Allen County Schools FRC Family Support Services $14,719                                     Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Legal Assistance $2,000

BARREN COUNTY: $33,000 TOTAL FUNDING
Led by Barren County Chair: Lee Alcott
EDUCATION: $15,332
    Kindergarten Readiness:
Barren County School District Kindergarten Readiness Camp $3,000
    Community Action of Southern Kentucky Children’s Services $832
    College/ Career Readiness:
Barren County School District College & Career Readiness Program $9,000
Junior Achievement Equipped for Success: Hard Skill + Soft Skill = Workforce Ready $2,500
        HEALTH: $11,068
            Access to Affordable Health Care:
            Kentucky Legal Aid Barren River Long Term Care Ombudsman $3,000
             Kentucky Legal Aid Benefits Counseling $1,950
            Safe Home & Community:
            BRASS Branches of BRASS $2,618
            Hope Harbor Community Violence Prevention & Education $2,500
Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Shelter & Crisis Aid to Protect & Empower $1,000
        SAFETY NET: $6,600
            Access to Basic Needs:
Feeding America, Kentucky’s Heartland BackPack Program $1,000
            Kentucky’s Legal Aid Emergency Legal Assistance $3,950
            Transportation:
            ARC of Barren County William Shaw Transportation Program $1,650

BUTLER COUNTY: $19,261 TOTAL FUNDING Led by Butler County Chair: Jason Jones
EDUCATION: $8,184
    Kindergarten Readiness:
Butler County Schools BCHS Playschool/ Early Childhood Education $1,500
Butler County Schools Early Childhood Program $2,352
Community Action of Southern Kentucky Children’s Services $832
College/ Career Readiness:
Junior Achievement Equipped for Success: Hard Skills + Soft Skills = Workforce Ready $3,500
        HEALTH: $8,267
            Access to Affordable Health Care:
Butler County Schools FRC Family Assistance $2,457
Kentucky Legal Aid Barren River Long Term Care Ombudsman $1,310           
            Kentucky Legal Aid Benefits Counseling $500
            Safe Home & Community:
Family Enrichment Center Parent Education $3,000
Hope Harbor Community Violence Prevention & Education Program $500
Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Shelter & Crisis Aid to Protect & Empower $500
        SAFETY NET: $2,810
            Access to Basic Needs:
            Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland BackPack Program $1,500
Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Legal Assistance $1,310
EDMONSON COUNTY: $8,325 TOTAL FUNDING
EDUCATION: $832
    Kindergarten Readiness:
    Community Action of Southern Kentucky Head Start $832
        INCOME: $3,746
            Workforce Development:
            Edmonson County Adult Education Adult & Family Education $3,746
        HEALTH: $2,498
            Access to Affordable Health Care:
            Kentucky Legal Aid Barren River Long Term Care Ombudsman $1,000
            Kentucky Legal Aid Benefits Counseling $249
            Safe Home & Community:
            Hope Harbor Community Education and Prevention $500
Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Shelter & Crisis Aid to Protect & Empower $749
        SAFETY NET: $1,249
            Access to Basic Needs:
            Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland BackPack Program $1,000
Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Legal Assistance $249

HART COUNTY: $8,281 TOTAL FUNDING
EDUCATION: $2,212
    Kindergarten Readiness:
    Community Action of Southern Kentucky Head Start $416
    College/ Career Readiness:
Junior Achievement Equipped for Success: Hard Skills + Soft Skills = Workforce Ready
$1,796
        INCOME: $1,700
            Workforce Development:
            Hart County Adult Education $1,700
        HEALTH: $2,694
            Access to Affordable Health Care:
            Kentucky Legal Aid Barren River Long Term Care Ombudsman $847
            Kentucky Legal Aid Benefits Counseling $500
            Safe Home & Community:
            Hope Harbor Community Education & Prevention $550
Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Shelter & Crisis Aid to Protect & Empower $797
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        SAFETY NET: $1,675
            Access to Basic Needs:
            Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland BackPack Program $675
Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Legal Assistance $1,000

LOGAN COUNTY: $119,147 TOTAL FUNDING
Led by Logan County Co-chairs: Ken Campbell & Nichole Brown
EDUCATION: $53,853
Kindergarten Readiness:
Community Action of Southern Kentucky Children’s Services $832
Logan County Schools Adairville/ Lewisburg FRYSC Born Learning Academy $3,267
Logan County Schools Auburn/ Chandlers/ Olmstead FRYSC Born Learning Academy $11,569
Logan County Schools Little Cougar Academy $1,106
Russellville Independent Schools Little Panther Academy $8,742
Russellville Independent Schools Poca academia de Pantera $5,070
College/ Career Readiness:
Junior Achievement Equipped for Success: Hard Skills + Soft Skills = Workforce Ready $6,500   
Logan County Schools Adairville/ Lewisburg FRYSC Oh the Places You Will Go $4,767
Logan County Schools Auburn/ Chandlers/ Olmstead FRYSC Oh the Places You Will Go Middle School College & Career Camp $5,000
Logan County Schools Logan County School to Work $7,000
INCOME: $12,198
    Workforce Development:
Logan County Adult Education & Workforce Development’s Remedial Makes ‘em Ready/ Transition to Future/ Lifechanging Careers $12,198
        HEALTH: $34,500
            Access to Affordable Health Care:
            Kentucky Legal Aid Barren River Long Term Care Ombudsman $9,875
            Kentucky Legal Aid Benefits Counseling $7,375
            Safe Home & Community:
            BRASS Branches of BRASS $5,250
            BRASS Emergency Shelter & Crisis Aid to Protect & Empower $1,000
            Family Enrichment Center Parent Education $6,000
            Hope Harbor Community Violence Prevention & Education $2,000
Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Shelter & Crisis Aid to Protect & Empower $3,000
        SAFETY NET: $18,596
            Access to Basic Needs:
            Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland BackPack Program $1,000
            Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Legal Assistance $7,000
Logan County Good Samaritan Emergency Assistance $10,596

METCALFE COUNTY: $4,218 TOTAL FUNDING
EDUCATION: $832
    Kindergarten Readiness:
Community Action of Southern Kentucky Head Start $832
        HEALTH: $1,433
            Access to Affordable Health Care:
            Kentucky Legal Aid Barren River Long Term Care Ombudsman $307
            Kentucky Legal Aid Benefits Counseling $307
            Safe Home & Community:
Hope Harbor Community Education & Prevention $100
Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Shelter & Crisis Aid to Protect & Empower $719
        SAFETY NET: $1,953
            Access to Basic Needs:
            Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland BackPack Program $600
Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Legal Assistance $200
            Metcalfe County Schools FRYSC $1,153

MONROE COUNTY: $1,955 TOTAL FUNDING
EDUCATION: $489
    Kindergarten Readiness:
Community Action of Southern Kentucky Head Start $489
        HEALTH: $966
            Access to Affordable Health Care:
            Kentucky Legal Aid Barren River Long Term Care Ombudsman $200
            Safe Home & Community:
Hope Harbor Community Education & Prevention $400
Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Shelter & Crisis Aid to Protect & Empower $366
        SAFETY NET: $500
            Access to Basic Needs:
            Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland BackPack Program $500

SIMPSON COUNTY: $44,451 TOTAL FUNDING Led by Simpson County Chair: Steve Thurmond
EDUCATION: $15,916
    Kindergarten Readiness:
Community Action of Southern Kentucky Children’s Services $416
Simpson County Schools Little Cats & Jump Start Academy $4,000
Simpson County Schools Kids First Daycare $6,000
College/ Career Readiness:
Junior Achievement Equipped for Success: Hard Skills + Soft Skills = Workforce Ready $5,500
        HEALTH: $14,515
            Access to Affordable Health Care:
            Kentucky Legal Aid Barren River Long Term Care Ombudsman $5,255
            Kentucky Legal Aid Benefits Counseling $2,500
            Safe Home & Community:
Hope Harbor Community Violence Education & Prevention $ 2,760
Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Shelter & Crisis Aid to Protect & Empower $4,000
SAFETY NET: $14,020
    Access to Basic Needs:
            Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland BackPack Program $1,000
Franklin-Simpson Good Samaritan Utilities Assistance $9,020
            Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Legal Assistance $4,000

WARREN COUNTY: $626,604 TOTAL FUNDING
Led by Allocations Steering Committee Chair: Mike O’Kelly
EDUCATION: $297,882
    Kindergarten Readiness:
Family Enrichment Center Wee Care Child Care Center $61,359
Family Enrichment Center In-home Parent Education $29,359
The Foundry Christian Community Center Preschool Academy $50,408
WKU Research Foundation More Than Words – The Hanen Program $15,600
College/ Career Readiness:
Boys & Girls Club of Bowling Green Teen Center $52,160
Junior Achievement Equipped for Success: Hard Skills + Soft Skills = Workforce Ready $6,388
WKU Research Foundation Soft Skills and Service $1,500
WROTE, Inc. Bridging the Gap After-School/ Summer Enrichment Program $81,108
        INCOME: $30,500
            Workforce Development:
Bowling Green Warren County Community Education’s Hand Up, Hand Back $20,500
International Center Learn English and Become Self-Sufficient $10,000
        HEALTH: $174,406
            Access to Affordable Health Care:
            BRASS Safety First $21,374
Kentucky Legal Aid Barren River Long Term Care Ombudsman $26,000
            Kentucky Legal Aid Benefit Counseling $33,000
            Safe Home & Community:
            BRASS Emergency Shelter & Crisis Aid to Protect & Empower $33,375
            CASA Court Appointed Special Advocates $15,159
            Hope Harbor Community Education & Prevention $19,498
Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Shelter & Crisis Aid to Protect & Empower $26,000
        SAFETY NET: $123,816
            Access to Basic Needs:
            Feeding America Kentucky’s Heartland BackPack Program $5,073
            Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Legal Assistance $39,000
            The Salvation Army Center for Hope Homeless Shelter $49,243
            Transportation:
Association of Rescue & Intervention of KY (ARIKY) Dispatch and Transportation $15,000
Summer Investments to be made in Transportation $15,500
As a result of last year’s funding, United Way funded programs were able to share some of the following examples of outcomes during the Allocations process (a select few only listed below in addition to many others):
* Barren County Schools Readiness Camp: 20 attendees in 2015; 122 attendees in 2016 as a result of United Way funding
- 56.5% of attendees tested ready in 2015/16; 60.8% of attendees tested ready in 2016/17 as a result of United Way funding

* Russellville Schools Little Panthers Academy: Attendance has doubled for children and parents moving from 15 children attending to 30 and from 9 parents to 18 as a result of United Way funding

* Richardsville Little Bobcats Parents as Teachers: 15 children were served by in-home visits; 18 additional were served in group sessions
- 4 out of 5 of the children served entering kindergarten will test ready as a result of United Way funding

* The Foundry Christian Community Center Preschool Academy: 18 out of 19 preschoolers are on track to be kindergarten ready as a result of United Way funding
- 80% of students from the previous year entered Dishman McGinnis and Parker Bennett-Curry kindergarten ready as a result of United Way’s previous year’s funding
    * This represents an overall increase of 15% at these 2 schools

    * Junior Achievement: During the 2016-17 school year, United Way awarded funding to support classes
    in four different counties including Allen, Logan, Simpson, and Warren.
- 45 additional community volunteers were able to provide the curriculum to 950 more students who demonstrated a 10-15% knowledge gain as a result.

* Kentucky Legal Aid Emergency Assistance: 126 people received emergency assistance including food stamps, utility supplements, and housing in nine area counties allowing them to continue down the path towards financial stability

* Bowling Green-Warren County Community Action’s Hand Up, Hand Back: 52 people received training to improve their job skills
    - 17 of those 52 found employment
    - 9 of those 52 enrolled in further education

“As we finish the second year of investments in our new Community Impact platform of work, we are thrilled that new partners continue to join forces with us along with the tremendous impact being achieved by current partners,” says Debbie Hills, President & CEO of United Way of Southern Kentucky. “We are now beginning to see the true impact of our efforts with the significant outcomes.  These outcomes, along with our other efforts in the community such as the kindergarten readiness public relations campaign and the MyChildIsReady.com microsite, will continue to impact the positive movement forward in our community’s Kindergarten Readiness and College & Career Readiness.  We look forward to continuing the movement forward through our collaborative efforts.”

For more information on how you can make the choice to LIVE UNITED through giving, advocating and volunteering, log on to the United Way of Southern Kentucky website at www.liveunitedtoday.com. 

United Way of Southern Kentucky (UWSK) is a local, independent, non-profit organization that works to identify and address the issues that matter most, change conditions and improve lives. The mission of United Way of Southern Kentucky is to be the leader in bringing together the resources to build a stronger, more caring community. United Way is focused on the building blocks for good quality of life – Education, Income, Health and Safety Net. Therefore, the vision of United Way is a Southern Kentucky where all residents are educated, healthy, and financially stable. Incorporated as a charitable non-profit entity in 1956, UWSK has long served a major role in the community by bringing people together to create opportunities that make a measurable difference in the quality of life for people where they live and work.