UWCC announces local government funding distribution
by Angie Matthiessen, Executive Director – United Way of Charlotte County
In an ever-changing world, it is hard to know anything for certain. With time, however, we can look back and see how different events and milestones fell perfectly into place along life’s journey. While this may seem like a personal reference, it has proven equally true for me professionally as well.
United Way of Charlotte County (UWCC) has been entrusted with the duty of administering local government funds to area health and human service programs, based on our refined vetting process that includes professional input as well as community-level critique through our community impact panels.
For the 2022-2023 funding cycle, I am pleased to announce the annual allocations of these dollars. A combined $791,533 of community funding will be distributed to 23 local health and human service programs run by 17 agencies. UWCC provides the process and oversight for distribution of these local government funds from both Charlotte County ($764,033) and the City of Punta Gorda ($27,500).
Requests for funding are often for programs we have funded in the past. These requests are exciting because they allow our team to follow the progress over time of the great work that is being done. New applications provide an opportunity for our volunteer panel members to discuss unaddressed community needs, with the potential for funded solutions.
Two programs that were added to our funding lineup this year were Valerie’s House’s Child Grief Support Services and Goodwill’s Opportunity Accelerator. Reflecting on where Charlotte County has come since the beginning of the year, I can see how the stars aligned to ensure these programs were included in our funding allocations.
A strong workforce and investment in the next generation are two key elements to ensuring that a community has a solid foundation for a great quality of life for all residents. This has been a huge part of how we have focused our funding decisions in recent years, prior to Hurricane Ian and even more so since.
Goodwill’s Opportunity Accelerator program has three phases: developing a career plan, building skills, and providing support for job placements. Not only is this program designed to enhance job placement efforts, it supports career progression. The need hasn’t changed in recent weeks, it has only grown. Angela Hemstreet, Director of Employment Services for Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida, said, “Connection to additional resources has meant even more since many of our residents in Charlotte County were impacted by Hurricane Ian.” This program is a perfect complement to our United at Work disaster relief efforts – focused on ensuring a solid, productive workforce.
UWCC’s role as the lead agency for the Charlotte County Campaign for Grade-Level Reading is a piece of our focus on education and overall well-being for our youngest residents. Unfortunately, the loss of a loved one can easily become a barrier that impedes a child’s ability to succeed at school. Valerie’s House offers their grief support program to help grieving children maintain a healthy mental and physical balance through their grief journey. Research shows us that grieving children are at risk for a variety of negative consequences, such as substance abuse, criminal activities, dropping out of school and suicide, making this program invaluable to our community. “We have many widows in our program that support their families on one income. After Hurricane Ian, the struggle and need for assistance has been even greater,” said Christine Carey, Director of Valerie’s House – Charlotte County.
In addition to this program, UWCC intends to invest hurricane relief dollars on local efforts to support our youth. We know that their success translates to our community’s success in the not-so-distant future and can help with family stability in the recovery days at present.
These newly funded programs are sure to be shining stars in our community. They aligned with the needs Charlotte County had prior to Ian, and they align even more closely now.
As we begin this new round of funding, we are quantifying the impact of the programs funded in our last grant cycle. I look forward to sharing how we have been able to turn dollars into help and hope for Charlotte County.
A complete list of funding recipients and their programs is available at www.unitedwayccfl.org/fundedpartners.
For more information about United Way of Charlotte County’s mission: Mobilizing the power of our community to break the cycle of poverty, please contact Angie Matthiessen, Executive Director. She can be reached at director@unitedwayccfl.org.