UNITED WAY OF CENTRAL WASHINGTON

OUR UNITED WAY IS COMMITTED TO OVERCOMING INTERGENERATIONAL POVERTY BY COLLABORATIVELY BUILDING RESILIENCE AND CLOSING THE OPPORTUNITY GAP IN THE LIVES OF OUR YOUTH IN CENTRAL WASHINGTON.

We value every person’s unique perspective and experience. We believe that by providing equal access to each United Way community member, donor, volunteer, advocate, and employee; we can achieve our mission and improve the lives of those who live in our communities.

We gather resources for our communities from our communities by forging partnerships with businesses; foundations; government, education and healthcare organizations; as well as individuals. We also understand the importance of bringing in resources from outside our communities to help achieve our mission.

A significant part of the work we do is centered around providing resources to the non-profit organizations we support. We currently support 48 non-profit organizations, specifically 68 programs within those organizations. These organizations are addressing the contributing factors of poverty, inequities and more. They are working to build a better future for our youth and families. Through these partnerships, we impact over 150,000 people on an annual basis. There is strength in working collectively and these partnerships are building resilience in our community.

While we do support non-profit organizations with funds and volunteers, we also support them with training opportunities.

No sole organization can meet all the needs in our community. It is necessary for us to join and work alongside others around pressing needs. We do this through our partnerships with non-profit and for-profit institutions as well as participating in community initiatives. We participate in the Homeless Network of Yakima County. This network is comprised of over 100 organizations who want to prevent and end homelessness. Another initiative we take part in is Gaps and Overlaps. It is organized by Yakima County Conference of Governance and focuses on collaboration and identifying the gaps in our systems. A new committee we have been invited to join is the Yakima School District Partners in Education, which will provide support and recommendations to the school district.

Within Yakima and Kittitas Counties, there is strength and resilience, but disparities persist. United Way of Central Washington is uniquely positioned to support the entire community. With the breadth of partnerships we have developed, we listen to multiple voices in the community. We listen to people experiencing disparities, supporting agencies and people with resources who want to help. We work with individuals, families, and communities by listening, so we can learn about what is going well in our communities and areas that need further support. These conversations lead to action, which includes bringing together agencies that have similar goals that address the needs. Instead of operating in a silo, they can make a bigger impact together. We also bridge the gap between for-profit and non-profit organizations. Connecting these sectors in the spirit of true partnership enables both sectors to listen and learn from the other.

Many of our non-profit partnerships are small and/or are grassroots organizations. They developed from people who experienced disparities and decided to do something about it. Being able to support them and connect them with resources is critical to their sustainability. For instance, one of our new funding partnerships is with an afterschool program for elementary and middle school students. It is located between an elementary school and middle school. About 8 years ago, a group of community members realized many kids in these schools did not have access to after school care and were exposed to negative influences during that time. From this realization an afterschool program was formed. Their goal is to provide a safe and positive environment to children and expose them to new opportunities by developing social, physical, emotional and academic skills. Today, they have children who were once identified as “at risk” who are thriving in their relationships, school and giving back to their community. We hope that with our new partnership, we will be able to share their mission with more of the community and bring in additional resources so more children are positively impacted. This is just one example of the work of our numerous non-profit partners.

Another grassroots effort in our community is our local ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and trauma-informed workgroup, Risk to Resiliency. United Way of Central Washington provides funding, administrative support and participates in the leadership committee. This group began many years ago as an opportunity for organizations to share what they were doing as it related to these topics. We currently have over 25 organizations regularly involved with the mission to inspire inter-agency collaboration in order to empower people to create a trauma-informed community where resiliency is both accessible and equitable for all.