United Way of Venango County

The United Way of Venango County and a panel of community volunteers meet once a year to discuss and develop an understanding of the issues going on specific to our area. They focus on making an impact where it's needed the most, funding the finest programs at well-run agencies and continually monitoring programs to make sure they stay on track and achieve results. This year the panel and the board of directors allocated $197,106 to community program in Venango County. The board of directors also allocated funds to the United Way operational programs. Pa211: 2-1-1 is the social services equivalent of 9-1-1. It is a comprehensive information/referral service available to everyone in Venango county.pa211is an easy-to-remember phone number with texting capabilities online site with a searchable database of agencies/programs/resources. Now includes text to chat; will offer texting capabilities in near term imagination library: the imagination library program is available to children ages zero until the child reaches their fifth birthday. Every enrolled child receives one free, high quality book each month. The books are delivered to the child's home in the child's name. All books have been selected by early childhood education/literacy experts and they are age and developmentally appropriate. There is no cost for a family to enroll their child or children and the books are absolutely free. Success by six: the success by 6 summer program for pre-kindergarten children is a cooperative initiative between the United Way of Venango County and school districts in Venango County, pa. Success by 6 is a six-week summer program for children who will be eligible for kindergarten in the fall. All children have been identified by their home district as "at-risk" for learning or behavioral problems. The purpose of this program is to provide a quality pre-kindergarten education to children prior to beginning formal schooling. The success by 6 programs expects that classrooms meet the guidelines outlined by the Pennsylvania learning standards for early childhood under the office of child development and early learning.

The United Way of Venango County's work in education started in 2014 with the inception of the imagination library and our long-time goal to prepare children, youth, and young adults to succeed in school and in life. Our work has since evolved to address our community's emerging needs. We continue to grow impactful partnerships with community keyholders to work towards our target areas of getting children enrolled in school and appropriate programs, influencing children to become successful and self-efficient, and getting students beyond high school graduation. United Way is fighting for the future of our community by providing children and youth with opportunities for quality learning and skill development.