United Way of Johnson and Washington Counties

Partner agency investments - United Way collaborates with 30 partner agencies to assist individuals facing urgent needs and long-term challenges. These agencies work together daily to address community needs and, with United Way, develop integrated solutions for critical issues. They provide high-quality services that include place-based and multi-generational collaborations, transforming the futures of local individuals and families.united Way evaluates community trends and service gaps, offering valuable philanthropic services to donors by investing in essential non-profits through a volunteer-led annual agency investment process. United Way is dedicated to ensuring everyone has the best chance for success. As United Way of Johnson & Washington Counties grows and diversifies, donating to United Way remains the most effective Way to support the entire community. Together, we address the needs in Johnson & Washington Counties across areas such as birth through adult education, building financial stability, and access to health.

Other program services - other United Way of Johnson & Washington Counties programming includes: community building, assessment and accountability initiatives. United Way fulfills its mission by: 1) researching and assessing community conditions and leading multi-sector goal setting, 2) developing strategies and recruiting resources to drive change, meet needs and build assets in the community, and 3) delivering results by monitoring progress and change in community conditions. Uwjwc parnters with local leaders to create a community assessment and assists to convene a cross-sector visioning and goal setting process.united Way volunteer center: the United Way volunteer center's core mission is to inspire, mobilize, and equip individuals and groups to take positive action in addressing pressing challenges, supporting nonprofits, preparing for and responding to disasters, and enhancing the quality of life in Johnson and Washington Counties. Dedicated to increasing volunteerism, engagement, and service, the volunteer center builds a vibrant community of volunteers. We encourage adults to serve, youth to volunteer and build character, families to bond, young professionals to lead, mature adults to share their wisdom, and businesses to support our community. Through organized volunteer projects and by connecting individuals with nonprofit organizations, the United Way volunteer center empowers people to take meaningful action.55+ rsvp program: rsvp engages individuals aged 55 and older in citizen service. It is one of the largest volunteer networks in the nation for people 55 and over and encourages individuals to use the skills and talents they have learned over the years, or develop new ones, while serving in a variety of volunteer activities. The United Way 55+ rsvp program provides volunteers both on an ongoing basis and for special events and needs to local partners. Volunteers assist in multiple ways, including working in food pantries, delivering meals, becoming literacy volunteers, driving for our medical transportation program, as well as supporting mailings, clerical assistance and many more opportunities. 55+ rsvp Counties served include: Johnson, Washington, des moines, and muscatine.pen pals program: the pen pals program motivates students by providing an audience for their ideas, helping them to express themselves clearly. It connects every student with a pen pal, allowing for fun and engaging communication. Through friendly correspondence, students learn about various topics, practice writing, increase literacy skills, and build positive relationships. This program supports authentic writing experiences for local elementary school students.holiday adopt a family: for many families, the holidays can be an extremely difficult time. Adopt a family is designed to support families who otherwise wouldn't have the resources to celebrate the holidays. This program provides a wonderful holiday experience for families at a critical time in their lives. In this program, businesses, organizations, churches, groups, or individuals agree to sponsor a local family or families for the holiday by providing gifts, gift cards, household items, food, and more. Early literacy & grade level reading initiative: a growing body of research suggests that reading proficiency by third grade is one of the most powerful predictors of future academic and career success. Many children in the community do not have access to books at home or do not have the opportunity to benefit from reading a book with a caring adult. The educational gap for children falling behind in reading grows wider as they enter fourth grade and switch from "learning to read" into "reading to learn." Kids who fall behind find it harder to catch up, causing frustration and often a sense of "giving up." The initiative includes a community-wide book drive, reading volunteer program and literacy kits.my very own book drive: a community-wide book drive launched in june 2016 to harness the caring power of the community and collect children's books. All collected books will be distributed to children in elementary schools that have a higher free and reduced lunch participation percentage. In addition, activities for children and families to read together at home will be promoted.united Way reading buddies: the program partners community volunteers with young student readers to help develop language and literacy skills and support them becoming lifelong readers.literacy kits: research has shown that children learn best when they are engaged and having fun. Literacy kits make reading interactive and fun by combining a book with related objects, games, and activities. They are used in volunteer reading programs and distributed to families with early elementary-aged children through schools and service agencies. Designed for early readers (k-3), these kits enhance reading experiences and directly impact school success by encouraging children to read or be read to by an adult.math kits: math kits help children acquire foundational math skills while staying engaged and having fun. They focus on base-10 math, number sense, and understanding numbers as quantities and values, including learning about coins and their monetary value. These kits are distributed to elementary-aged children through schools and service agencies.disaster services include coordinating the community organizations active in disaster (coad) coalition and its subcommittees for long-term recovery, volunteer and donations management, and needs assessment. The emergency volunteer center (evc) prepares for disasters, managing volunteers through a dedicated location for large disasters and a phone bank for smaller ones. In partnership with Johnson county emergency management, the evc mobilizes trained volunteers to efficiently deploy disaster assistance. The disaster call center, staffed by United Way personnel and volunteers, provides the community with disaster-related information and volunteer assistance, allowing municipal staff to focus on emergency operations.the community board fair is a collaborative effort between United Way, the Iowa city area business partnership, and community partners. It serves as a region-wide hub for committee, commission, and board opportunities for community leaders looking to get involved. This event provides community-minded individuals with the chance to find opportunities to serve on local task forces, commissions, committees, and boards, fostering greater civic engagement and leadership.summerships: a "summership" provides a k-12 student from Johnson and Washington Counties, who is eligible for free & reduced lunch, with a camp scholarship. Summerships provide access to summer-time, high quality camps and activities for children who otherwise might not have the opportunity. Each "summership" scholarship will fund up to $350 of one summer camp or summer activity per child. United Way of Johnson & Washington Counties and the community foundation of Johnson county are proud to partner to coordinate this scholarship program.2-1-1: a national United Way initiative and regional partnership of local United ways. 2-1-1 is a 24-hour toll-free information and referral hotline and website for health and human services. Trained information and referral operators provide assistance to callers seeking services such as childcare, rent and utility assistance or care for the elderly. United ways of Iowa: statewide organization of local United ways focused on sharing resources, achieving operational efficiencies, and following best practices for community impact and resource development. It advocates for public policy at state and federal levels on issues related to education, income, and health. This includes early childhood education, childcare access, k-12 and higher education, poverty, housing, income supports, workforce training, economic stability, healthcare access, preventive services, aging support, and services for mental health and developmental disabilities.

United Way donor designated funds: contributors to United Way can allocate all or a portion of their donations to United Way agencies or to non-affiliated 501(c)(3) organizations, churches, or governmental agencies. United Way distributes these funds to the designated organizations biannually, in april and october. Donors also have the option to direct their gifts to specific United Way initiatives, such as early literacy & grade level reading programs, summership camp scholarships, and the disaster relief fund. Additionally, donors can choose to support longer-term funds, including the innovation & sustainability fund and the United Way endowment fund, which is managed by the community foundation of Johnson county.