United Way Of Greater Mercer County

Basic needs, emergency services & health: uwgmc is making a difference by expanding access to health care, stocking up local food pantries, getting fresh produce into the community, and making affordable prescriptions more available. Our goal is to ensure the basics are covered and for all members of the community to be healthy. Our impact includes:*338 helped to apply for nj snap to receive food assistance*1, 568 households received nonperishable food bags through uwgmc food drives*161 assisted with health insurance including get covered nj, medicaid, and the children's health insurance program*850 households received fresh produce* 2,485 saved money on their medical prescriptions working with our partner singlecare*6, 696 received bags of nutritious non perishable soup from a community-wide meal packing event facilitated by uwgmcin addition, uwgmc ensures nj 2-1-1, a multilingual information referral hotline is available to residents of Mercer County 24 hours a day/7 days a week. Last year, 12,985 helped through nj 2-1-1.

Access to edcuation: uwgmc is making books and schools supplies available to local elementary schools and community and after-school programs. For high-school students, uwgmc is assisting families navigate the college application process by providing one-on-one consultation, workshops, and assistance with completing the free application for federal student aid (fafsa). Our goal is to increase equal access to quality education. Our impact includes: *1,000 books distributed to school agers and youth*127 college bound students assisted through college readiness program*1,138 stem, literacy and anti-bullying kits distributed to provide additional learnings and family activities for children.

Financial stabiliy and mobility: to help Mercer County residents navigate the covid-19 pandemic and inflation, uwgmc provides the following programs: free tax preparation services also known as vita (volunteer income tax assistance program), financial education, and coaching. Our goal is to help individuals and families land and stay on their feet with a path to a brighter financial future. Our impact includes:* 1,700 + free tax returns filed and prepared. Many qualify for earned income tax (eitc) and child tax (ctc) credits. Tax refunds help to fill a gap in a household budget. * 80 attended financial &credit management courses.

Non-profit capacity building uwgmc provides capacity building assistance to non-profits by lending expertise, assisting with volunteer recruitment, facilitating workshops on topics affecting the non-profit sector, and providing small grants. Our goal is to assist non-profits in meeting their operational and programmatic goals. Our impact includes: uwgmc serves as chair of the local emergency food and shelter program board and ensured $ 500,000+ federal funds were distributed to Mercer County non-profits focused on food and shelter services.