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What Is
“Community Impact” And Why Is It So Important?
Hunger…Violence…Homelessness… issues like these are too
big for one person or even one organization to tackle
alone. It takes a whole community, working together, to
address the issues. Experience tells us that the best
way to help people in our community is to find the root
causes of the most serious problems. We must feed hungry
families, but we must also work on the issues that led
to their hunger in the first place. We must provide
shelter for the homeless, while ensuring that they don’t
become homeless again. And wouldn’t it be amazing if
they were never homeless in the first place? We must
provide protection for the abused women and children in
our community, while rehabilitating the offenders. Or
better yet, let’s break the cycle of domestic violence and child abuse in
our community. We can do this…through a Community Impact
approach.
At United Way of Hancock County, we
believe that a Community Impact approach is the best way to
measurably improving people’s lives in Hancock County. What does
Community Impact mean? It means that your financial investment in United
Way will have the greatest impact on improving lives in Hancock County.
You become a vital part of the United Way effort to bring the whole
community together, creating long-term, lasting change in conditions
like poverty, violence and safety.
Since 1955, United Way of
Hancock County has been a facilitator, partner/collaborator, and a
champion of issues that benefit our community. Although an effective and
efficient fundraiser, United Way has seen its role as a conduit for
community solutions become increasingly more important. Our organization
has been instrumental in developing the following programs and services:
- Hancock Area Transportation Services
(HATS)
- Affordable dental care through The
Dental Center of Northwest Ohio
- Harmony House, a facility for
court-ordered, supervised child visitation for non-custodial parents
- Funding for Court Appointed Special
Advocates (CASA) when county funding was cut
- Rewriting and passage of the City
Maintenance Ordinance of 1999
In addition, United Way of Hancock County
has provided funds for several area agencies to receive matching dollars
from both government and private entities.
One of our biggest efforts toward a
“Community Impact” organization was the development of Impact Teams
which consist of community volunteers who determine funding of programs
and services. We invite you
to become a vital part of the effort to improve our community. We will
continue to evolve as our community evolves. We welcome your support and
invite you to join the effort. To volunteer on an Impact Team or to be
involved with our annual campaign, please call the United Way of Hancock
County at 419-423-1432 or email
trooney@uwhancock.org.
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