Tackling #UNIGNORABLE Issues
Local social issues can be tough to spot. They’re complicated, they don’t look the same for everyone, and in our busy lives, these social issues can be easy to ignore. And you can’t solve a problem if you don’t know it exists.
At United Way, we’re working to make local social issues #UNIGNORABLE, issues like poverty, mental health, and domestic violence. We help create opportunities that improve the circumstances of people in need, right here in our community, where we live and work!
We focus on three areas when working to improve lives in Colchester County:
From poverty to possibility
- Moving people out of poverty
- Meeting basic human needs (ex: food, shelter, jobs)
Healthy people, strong communities
- Improving access to social & health-related support services
- Supporting resident and community engagement
- Supporting community integration and settlement
All that kids can be
- Improving access to early childhood learning and development programs
- Helping kids do well at school and complete high school
- Making the healthy transition into adulthood and post-secondary education
We invest donor donations back into Colchester County to fund critical programs and projects that create opportunities for our community members to improve their lives.
We offer our own community support programs
- Bikes for Kids collects gently-used bikes from the community. Our staff and volunteers fix the bikes and give to children who would not be able to afford one without this program.
- The Back to School campaign helps families that cannot afford the costs associated with students heading back to school by providing free school supply kits.
- The Youth Committee’s Elves for Elders program collects donated gifts, during the holiday season, to give to isolated seniors living on their own or in care facilities.
We work with organizations in our communities to uncover local issues and develop partnerships for community projects.
We work in partnership with community organizations to strengthen the network of services and build up the capacity within the non-profit community by providing workshops and learning opportunities.
We believe that by building up our relationships within the community, we are all able to combine our resources (time, donations, influence, and knowledge) and accomplish more together.