Dozens of community leaders gathered on November 9 to officially launch Successful Families 2020, a community partnership designed to improve graduation rates and college preparedness for kids of color in our region.
Over 100,000 kids live in poverty, right here, in our region. It's an issue we can't afford to ignore. That’s why we set an audacious goal - cut poverty in our four counties in half by 2025.
The evidence is resounding - early exposure to books is critical to a child’s long-term educational success. When kids start school behind, they rarely catch up. A unique partnership between Washington County Cooperative Library Services, Community Action and Early Learning Washington County - an initiative co-led by United Way - is working to close the gap.
You may see a bank. We see a philanthropic community superhero. For six years in a row, Wells Fargo has led the largest United Way workplace giving campaign in the United States. In 2014, employees donated a whopping $97.7 million to 30,000 nonprofits and schools across the nation.
This fall Petrona will be the first member of her family to attend college, a future that she hadn’t considered until she received mentorship and support from Adelante Mujeres, a United Way Community Strengthening partner that provides education and empowerment opportunities to low-income Latina women and their families.
A neighborhood rallies to buy a derelict strip club, then turns it into community space. It’s not a movie plot - yet. It’s real life, and it’s happening in Portland.
When you fill a room with nonprofits who achieve outsized outcomes, the air takes on a special electricity. This scenario plays out regularly here at United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, and we’ve been working hard to harness the transformative energy.
On a warm June morning, a small community room in Beaverton is alive with chatter. A group of Somali Bantu women in vibrant dresses are pouring tea and coffee for one another, doling out small pastries and carrying on spirited conversation, laughing and speaking with waving hands and animated expressions.
On April 25, over 350 volunteers applied a formidable amount of elbow grease to dozens of projects at Glenfair Elementary, one of 11 elementary schools in the Reynolds School District.
Before you read another word, let me confess that I don’t have the answer to the title of this post. You’re not going to find a magical silver bullet in these words that will heal a complex and systemic, yet very personal challenge, facing our community. There are those with far more expertise who can attempt to address that subject.
Studies show that the development of early literacy skills through early experiences with books and stories is directly linked to a child's success in learning to read. But in low income neighborhoods, there’s an average of just one book for every 300 children.
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