 |
|
United Way of Ventura County’s recently launched Landlord Engagement Program is creating Welcome Home Baskets for families, veterans, and individuals once they have been housed in their new home. These kits will provide essential household supplies for folks to make it a home of their own.
Please join us in filling Welcome Home Baskets by donating any of the following items listed below:
- Target gift cards
- Toilet paper
- Dish soap
- Trash bags (kitchen size)
- Laundry soap
- All-purpose household cleaners
- Sponges
- Hand towels
- Cooking utensils
- Brooms/dust pans
- Toothbrushes & toothpaste
- Laundry baskets
- Kitchen trash cans
Items and gift cards can be dropped off at the United Way of Ventura County office Monday – Friday from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
For more information or to learn more about the Landlord Engagement Program, contact program manager Amy Duganne at 805.485.6288 x228 or amy.duganne@vcunitedway.org.
|
United Way of Ventura County would like to thank the 500+ volunteers who fanned out across our community recently as part of the 2020 Ventura County Point-In-Time Homeless Count.
The Ventura County Continuum of Care (VC CoC) joined with UWVC and many other community organizations to conduct the annual count and individual surveys, a requirement to receive U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding.
On January 29, volunteer teams spread out through Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Ojai, Santa Paula, Thousand Oaks, Fillmore, Simi Valley, Port Hueneme, Moorpark and unincorporated areas, followed by a canvassing of homeless encampments on January 30.
The Ventura County Continuum of Care will release results of the count in the coming months.
|
AmeriCorps VIP Fellow Jennifer Raymond is serving at CSUCI’s Center for Community Engagement (CCE) where she is making a positive impact on their volunteer programs and capacity. Pilar Pacheco, director of the CCE stated, “Jennifer and the volunteer infrastructure work she oversees has had a huge impact on the CCE, not only through the projects she oversees but the many resources she has developed and created.” As a result of Jennifer’s capacity building efforts, the CCE has been able to increase the number of volunteers involved in their service days and the number of volunteer days offered to students. Ms. Pacheco noted, “she has been a constant source of positive support, creative ideas and enthusiasm for our Center. We are fortunate to have her leadership skills and passion for the community contributing to build our volunteer program and a culture of service at CSUCI. Because of the results Jennifer has produced, we plan to host another AmeriCorps VIP Fellow in the upcoming 2020-2021 term to build on Jennifer’s legacy.”
Below is a summary of VIP Fellow Jennifer Raymond’s impact at the Center for Community Engagement:
- Assisted in organization of four campus-wide service days, which included recruiting 113 volunteers (totaling 625 volunteer hours)
- Fundraised more than $500 in cash and in-kind donations
- Assisted in the organization of a fall volunteer fair with 17 community non-profits participants
- Planning a spring volunteer fair with 19 confirmed community non-profits participants
- Enhanced our social media outreach with 188 new followers on Instagram
- Organized a CCE holiday service project
- Delivered three classroom presentations about AmeriCorps, volunteering, and the CCE’s work
As the Supervising Organization for the AmeriCorps Volunteer Infrastructure Project (VIP) in Ventura County, UWVC is responsible for training and placing AmeriCorps members with community organizations throughout Ventura County. A VIP Fellow serves at a local non-profit for 11 months (September – July) with the objective of building and enhancing the organization’s ability to leverage volunteers in their service delivery or operations. VIP Fellows qualify for a living stipend, free health insurance coverage, and an education award upon completion of service. It is a great way to serve our community while developing professional skills and networks.
Applications for 2020-2021 host sites and potential AmeriCorps VIP Fellows are now open!
To learn more about being a participating site or a VIP Fellow, please contact Lora Kline at 805.485.6288, x231, or lora.kline@vcunitedway.org.
|
Thank you for making the 2020 GradNation Community Summit a success!
Presenting sponsors and partners included California Lutheran University, Vista Real Charter High School, Hueneme Elementary School District, Oxnard Union High School District, CSUCI, Ventura County Office of Education, Ventura County Probation, and Child Development Resources.
|
On Saturday, February 1, United Way of Ventura County and the County of Ventura Human Services Agency launched the 2020 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Individuals and families with income up to $56,000 can have their state and federal tax returns prepared and filed for free.
Call 2-1-1 to schedule your appointment with a certified tax preparation volunteer at nine sites across Ventura County. Daytime, evening, or Saturday appointments are available.
If your household income is $30,000 or less, you may qualify for the CalEITC.
New this year is the Young Child Tax Credit. If you meet the CalEITC requirement and have a child under the age of 6 by the end of the 2019 tax year, you may also qualify for the new Young Child Tax Credit. The maximum filers may receive is $1,000 per family.
Those who are computer savvy and have earnings up to $66,000 may file their taxes online for free at www.myfreetaxes.org.
|
Each year, United Way of Ventura County seeks to provide essential school supplies to local students in need. Please join us in our effort to provide 1,500 full backpacks in 2020! Our goal this year is to meet the growing need of homeless students and other at-risk student populations in Ventura County.
Local collections of school supplies for Stuff the Bus will kick off on United Way’s Day of Action on Friday, June 19 and will culminate on Thursday, July 16. Your support not only provides essential school supplies, but also promotes learning, building self-esteem, and ensuring that our youth begin the school year ready to learn!
United Way is seeking individuals and corporations to contribute backpacks, school supplies, or to provide a collection site. Additionally, corporate teams are needed to assist with stuffing backpacks and distribution the week of July 21 – 24, 2020.
|
Volunteer Ventura County (VVC), United Way’s online volunteer engagement platform, has developed new disaster response and recovery initiatives which are being populated with pending volunteer opportunities. These opportunities can be activated instantly for disaster events such as fires, earthquakes, or floods. This new capability will allow our community to maximize the deployment of spontaneous volunteers to assist in response and recovery efforts.
Organizations are encouraged to consider their needs in an event and to post needs within these initiatives as a way to prepare. You will be able to include needs that are community-wide response needs (i.e. cover all those impacted) and/or needs which will be crucial to your organization’s recovery.
|
United Way of Ventura County’s 31st Annual Day of Caring will be held on Saturday, October 3, 2020. United Way is seeking sponsors for the annual day of service powered by hundreds of volunteers at amazing projects throughout Ventura County.
We also would like to connect with companies interested in participating in Day of Caring with their colleagues. Please come serve with us to make our community stronger and better connected. All non-profit organizations or corporate teams are welcome!
|
Correction: In the AmeriCorps VIP Profile in our January 2020 e-newsletter, we misspelled Sycora Powell’s first name.
|
|
