Program areas at UWEPC
Community impact:united Way of El Paso County is a local nonprofit focused on addressing the needs of our community by tackling the underlying issues affecting families and individuals. By focusing on four areas - education, basic needs & health, and financial stability -- United Way is providing the building blocks for a good quality of life. United Way believes: 1) every child should enter school with the skills they need to learn, be reading at level by third grade, and graduate on time; 2) all families should be stable, healthy and live in a safe environment; 3) all individuals and families should be afforded the opportunity to move toward economic self-sufficiency.we are working to create long-term, lasting change in El Paso by: 1) recruiting individuals and organizations that bring the passion, expertise and resources needed to get things done. 2) developing and implementing our place-based neighborhood strategies.3) rigorously evaluating every program/initiative/project to determine what works and what doesn't.4) always looking for the best practices that demonstrate success.5) working with diverse stakeholders to replicate those successful practices community wide.
El Paso United family resiliency center:in the wake of the august 3rd mass casualty event, the agency was entrusted to stand and lead the El Paso United family resiliency center (frc), founded to support individuals who were directly or indirectly impacted by the tragedy.the El Paso United family resiliency (frc) provided more than 1,442 referrals, serving more than 360 adults and 47 children who were affected by the august 3rd tragedy.the frc partners with local agencies and supports El pasoans on their healing journeys. The frc team is composed of dedicated resiliency navigators who connect individuals and families to vital resources throughout the community. Navigators provide referrals for counseling, financial planning, legal guidance, and spiritual care while also working to dismantle mental health stigma.in addition to connecting El pasoans to valuable resources and services, the frc team conducts outreach and education to further promote mental health and wellbeing within the community.
Covid 19 response:el Paso United community resiliency center (crc)the El Paso United community resiliency center (crc) provided more than 1,490 referrals to basic needs assistance, serving over 315 households, with more than $742,000 being distributed for rental and utility assistance throughout the borderland.the crc successfully connects El pasoans to housing stability resources, such as rent, mortgage, and utility assistance. Once connected to the crc, individuals are referred to resiliency navigators who work closely to learn their individual needs, develop a personalized plan, and make gains towards recovery and resiliency. Further examples of community partner assistance include connecting households to resources for food insecurity, mental health and wellness, healthcare, building the workforce, and job skills.
[community impact]community building:agency works to create a thriving community. We connect El pasoans to programs and resources; work with diverse stakeholders for greater impact; and provide opportunities for corporate social responsibility, volunteerism & civic engagement.agency accomplishes our goals by bringing people together convening subject experts, business leaders, donors, neighborhoods and members of local nonprofit agencies to help identify the community's most critical social issues. In forming these partnerships, the agency believes it is better able to address the underlying causes of problems in the community.expenses: $170,259[education]parents as teachers:parent educators conducted 1,591 home visits, serving 236 children and 204 families. Last year, more than 84% of families were connected to at least one community resource.the parents as teachers (pat) program is an evidence-based, award-winning, free home visitation program that supports early childhood development. It teaches parents and caregivers about important milestones and school readiness. Once enrolled in the program, families receive personalized visitations from our parent educators with an emphasis on parent-child interaction, development-centered parenting, and family wellbeing. Parents and caregivers enrolled in the program also gain access to exclusive events, a resource network comprised of local organizations and services, and more.expenses: $256,013 healthy kids backbone organization:last year, the network had 52 members and grew to 82 members throughout the El Paso, las cruces, and ciudad jurez region.the boost network is a partnership between Paso del norte health foundation and United Way of El Paso County. Boost focuses on enhancing the impact of the ost providers through comprehensive leadership, capacity building, technical support, and programmatic evaluation. Last year, the network had 52 members and grew to 82 members throughout the El Paso, las cruces, and ciudad jurez region. It is supported by a six-member steering committee that provides oversight and guidance for the network's efforts. As a key out-of-school (ost) partner in the community, boost was invited to host little amal at ascarate park's healing garden in october 2023, who is a global symbol of human rights and travels the world to spread a message of hope.expenses: $252,269[basic needs]efsp - emergency food and shelter program:an average of 93,852 meals and 13,261 nights at shelters were covered by emergency food & shelter program (efsp) funding.the emergency food & shelter program (efsp) supports those experiencing hunger and homelessness throughout the El Paso community. Our United Way administers and helps facilitate efsp with a local jurisdiction board to assist organizations and essential programs offering provisions and housing to those most in need.through efsp, United Way also administers funds to support the community during emerging needs, including large influxes of migrants. Efsp humanitarian funding $16,480,874 was distributed across 10 local recipient organizations.expenses: $13,172 migrant services:the agency supported the community-wide efforts by creating the migrant services fund to dedicate dollars to transportation costs, meals and supplies to support meal preparation, prescription and over-the-counter medications, and basic needs such as clothing, personal hygiene products and cleaning supplies.expenses: $90,000
[health]united Way of El Paso County supports a healthy community by funding and leading mental health and wellness services. Through our community impact fund, we fund critical programs providing mental health services to El pasoans, including children. Our United Way also serves as the backbone for El Paso United, which connects El pasoans to quality resources and services, supporting their mental wellness in the aftermath of the august 3rd tragedy.expenses: $6,373[financial stability]caring homes initiative:the caring homes initiative's (chi) cohort two had eleven new providers complete the program in 2023. The providers received more than 380 hours of training and are currently on the path to receive the Texas rising star (trs) certification. The caring homes initiative (chi) program aims to build the capacity of small, minority-owned childcare businesses by connecting them with resource navigation and financial assistance to stabilize or grow their businesses. Chi advocates for the future generations of El Paso by supporting small business owners in their financial and managerial capacities, providing mentorship and guidance, and increasing access to and improving childcare services to meet safety and quality standards of licensure. The caring homes initiative is made possible thanks to grants from the rockefeller foundation, wells fargo foundation, pnc foundation.expenses: $108,987volunteer income tax assistance:agency helped more people keep their hard earned money with the easy self-preparation tool, myfreetaxes.com. The agency also collaborated with gecu to provide support of the volunteer income tax assistance (vita) program, providing a resource for in-person tax assistance.expenses: $67,109[community engagement]young leaders society (yls) and rise with yls:the young leaders society is comprised of young professionals looking to further their philanthropic endeavors in order to support their community and make a bigger impact on the city they love. Yls members gain access to high-quality events, professional development opportunities, and volunteer opportunities throughout the city. We had the pleasure of hosting our engage young professionals leadership summit in person. Yls members also gain exclusive access to the realize board training program by yls cohort. Offered over the course of three saturdays, young professionals undergo a series of courses to learn more about how to further their impact on the community through nonprofit board governance. A value of $1,300, yls members can complete the program for free. Yls & pat holiday feast was a social event that showcased our United Way program parents as teachers to our yls donor network. This event helped educate the donor network on how much their contribution means to programs such as pat.as a stepping stone to our esteemed young leaders society, our donor network, rise, serves to support the philanthropic journeys of budding young professionals. Members of rise gain access to an exclusive event as well as one yls event per year, further engaging the community and connecting with other young professionals. Expenses: $43,166volunteerelpaso.org:over 1,550 volunteer needs were met with over 240 agencies posting their needs on our volunteerelpaso.org website. Volunteerelpaso.org is an online database managed by our United Way that connects El pasoans to volunteer opportunities throughout the city. The goal for volunteer El Paso is to foster volunteerism and to support local agencies with much needed volunteers. In the spirit of giving back and the United Way's centennial anniversary, over 300 volunteers came together to complete 100 acts of service across El Paso last october.expenses: $6,275realize board training:a total of 436 participants attended our trainings representing over 70 organizations in our community. In partnership with the Paso del norte health foundation, our United Way helps to facilitate the realize board training program. This program helps prepare board members-or those interested in serving on boards-to successfully lead a nonprofit board. The program is taught by local boardsource certified professionals. Realize board consists of individual organization trainings, the lunch & learn series, and the get on board initiative. Courses include nonprofit board governance, fiscal oversight and accountability, fundraising, and more. The realize board training hosted its first cohort in las cruces in the fall of 2023 reaching 12 organizations in the new mexico community.expenses: $102,377americorps vista:12,860 volunteer hours were completed by americorps members. As a national service program, americorps vista is designed to build the capacity of organizations working to empower individuals and communities. Through the hard work of our americorps vista members, we've supported the El Paso County housing authority and United Way. 11 americorps members currently serve on the parents as teachers program. Americorps members have thrived during the years and many former members have moved to be part of our United Way staff.expenses: $20,284
[designations]donors to the United Way of El Paso County may designate all or part of their contributions to specific non-profit agencies. For 990 reporting purposes, these designations to specific agencies are reported as revenue as well as program expense. United Way of El Paso County does not provide fiscal or program oversight for funds designated to a specific agency. The uwepc honors these designations made to the agencies. State, city and County employee campaign designations are made to each member organization by distributing a proportionate share of receipts based on donor designations to each member agency. Organizations receiving donor designated contributions undergo screening to verify compliance with provisions of the patriot act and current status as a 501(c)3 organization.expenses: $422,564