2014 is going to bring big changes to how United Way Services of Geauga County interacts with the community as part of their new Community Impact agenda. Up until now, United Way has focused on fundraising for specific health and human service programs. Going forward, the organization is looking to be a critical community convener that mobilizes local partners, including businesses, community leaders, public officials and community residents, to expand opportunities for people to succeed. They will continue to focus on three key building blocks: quality education, financial stability, and good health.
“This process has been an evolution of how we hope to serve Geauga residents more efficiently,” says Kimm Leininger, Executive Director. “We have a tremendous amount of resources in the community and we want to take on a larger role that brings together these resources. We aim to form community coalitions in our three major target areas, early childhood education, financial stability, and improved health, so that we can make a measurable impact.”
United Way started working on their five-year strategic plan in January, 2013, utilizing a grant from the Lake-Geauga Fund of the Cleveland Foundation. That process included analyzing data from several community surveys, including the Geauga Community Impact survey. That data, compiled with information from community conversations held with residents, social service providers, staff, board and volunteers, helped to determine the county’s biggest needs.
“We have big goals,” says Dave Chew, Chairman of the Board. “We want to make sure that every child in Geauga County is prepared to learn when they enter kindergarten. We hope to provide scholarships so low-income families can send their child to preschool or quality daycare, which research has shown is a critical time in a child’s learning.”
Another piece of the Early Learning Initiative is providing readers, tutors or mentors to low-income children. “The Ohio Report Card shows us that children from lower socio-economic backgrounds score lower than their peers in reading and math. We want to provide readers, tutors and mentors to these children in kindergarten through grade three so that all children can move from learning to read to reading to learn,” says Chew.
Volunteer readers, tutors and mentors are going to be sought from the community. The hope is to engage schools, residents, and the local business community to work toward the same goal: helping children succeed.
If your company or you are interested in becoming involved, please see the website. Follow United Way Services of Geauga County on Facebook for ongoing opportunities.
