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United Way of Ventura County update for Aug. 17

by Community Contributor • August 17, 2017 • Comments Off

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President’s Message

Dear Friends,

August 26 is a special day this month. That evening, hundreds of champions for the underserved will gather to recognize the amazing contributions of some of our most thoughtful community leaders. August 26 is also Women’s Equality Day, which celebrates the anniversary of the adoption of the 19th Amendment. The amendment granted women the right to vote for the first time and was a result of the women’s suffrage movement in the country. To commemorate the day, all of our evening’s individual honorees will be women. We will be saluting them for their extraordinary efforts to champion the underserved in our community. Come hear their stories and share the spirit.

We have a lot to celebrate! Here is just a glimpse of what excites me as we enter our new fiscal year:

* 2-1-1 Ventura County: In February, we launched a mobile text version of 2-1-1. Recently, United Way received a grant from Gold Coast Health Plan to acquire and implement Benefit Kitchen, a screening tool to be utilized by 2-1-1 call center specialists to determine eligibility and connect callers to the Cal Fresh program.

* AmeriCorps Volunteer Infrastructure Program: Now in our second year, our latest beneficiaries are Boys & Girls Clubs of Ventura and Moorpark, Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation, Habitat for Humanity, and Lutheran Social Services. As part of the program, they receive full-time volunteers to enhance their volunteer programs and capacity.

* Building Healthy Smiles (children’s dental): Our school-based program includes five elementary schools in the Ocean View School District. This past May, over 300 children at Mar Vista Elementary received care in one day! A new grant from Sherwood Cares will help with our East County expansion as we scale the model countywide.

* Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA): We are very proud of our public policy work and EITC expansion. Our local volunteers generated $1.3 million in Earned Income Tax Credits back to underserved taxpayers and $2.5 million in total returns.

Those are the numbers, and it’s impact at its finest. Thanks for helping us accomplish great things in our community!

In service,