by Linda Malloy
VP, Resource Development, United Way of Northeast Florida
When you reach out a hand to one, you influence the condition of all. That’s what it means to Live United, United Way of Northeast Florida’s credo. Their call to action is simple: Give, Advocate, Volunteer. These words describe in such a simple fashion what our legal community can do to help improve the quality of life where we work and live.
In these tough economic times, United Way has been masterful in their investment of Community Fund dollars. Despite the challenging fundraising year of 2008, United Way was able to keep funding whole to those programs that address basic needs like food, shelter, and financial assistance. And because of their funding priorities set several years ago, they were still also able to continue investing in their three key priorities.
These priorities shouldn’t be a surprise to any of us in the legal community — they are the building blocks of a good life for all: early childhood success, helping students succeed and senior engagement and independence. Consider these statistics:
• One out of three 4 year-olds are not prepared to enter kindergarten in terms of language and literacy skills
• Currently, in Duval County, one in four high school seniors does not graduate with their class
• Drop-outs will earn $270,000 less than high school graduates over their working lives; they are 28 percent more likely to be arrested and three times as likely to receive public assistance as adults
United Way is working to reduce the impact of these statistics through programs like “Success By 6” and “Achievers For Life (AFL).” “Success By 6” provides two-year grants so that children of low income working families who do not receive state assistance can attend high quality pre-schools when they are three or four years old. AFL targets middle school students at risk of dropping out with services designed to help them succeed in school and graduate on time.
In the second year of “Success By 6,” 3 year-olds experienced a 24 percent increase in school readiness and 88 percent of the four-year-olds were ready for kindergarten. And similarly, in the second year of the Achievers For Life initiative, AFL students had 37 percent fewer absences and a 20 percent improvement in GPA as compared to the Comparison Group.
United Way’s fundamentals of integrity and trust are at the core of the work they are doing. Each year, volunteers review United Way-funded programs for accountability, measurement and achievement of outcomes.
The legal community is very important to our community as well as very important to United Way. We play a vital role, as does United Way, in serving our citizens, addressing their most immediate needs and setting a solid foundation for the future.
I urge you to seriously consider participating in United Way by giving a financial gift, by volunteering with one of the 87 United Way-funded programs, and by advocating on behalf of United Way with your colleagues, friends and neighbors. Be a part of the change and help United Way improve the lives of First Coast children and families. Visit United Way’s web site at www.uwnefl.org or contact Sara Bomar, United Way Campaign Manager, at [email protected] or 390-4016 for more information.