UNITED WAY OF LOWNDES COUNTY INC

As a United Way, our aim is to advance the common good by focusing on education, income and health, considered the building blocks of a good quality of life. We recruit people and organizations who bring their resources of money, time, and talents to bear on accomplishing our goal of improving the lives of those in need.

We provide financial and administrative support to:

agencies who house people recovering from addiction and putting their lives back together;
agencies who provide educational programs for adults to complete their GED and enroll in college;
agencies who provide a safe place for children and adults to recover and regroup after leaving an abusive home;
agencies who supply food and utility assistance;
agencies who manage a crisis hotline and also conduct reassurance calls to homebound people;
agencies who provide home delivered hot meals and dial-a-bus services;
and more.

After our fundraising campaign period, we have the allocations volunteers review all the documents and visit the various agencies to assess their adherence to their own plans and stated uses for the funds United Way provides. Once the allocations are determined, the agencies running those programs are notified and then must provide regular reports on the use of the funds, the numbers of people helped, and the number of volunteers they have helping with those programs.

Throughout the year, United Way also holds many community wide events to bring attention to the needs. We participate in the Day of Action in June; the Day of Service in September; the Make a Difference Day in October to name a few. In addition, we hold training and informational meetings and classes at various locations to assist non-profits with volunteer management, financial management, and to help the community with education, Income and Health issues they may be dealing with. We also partner with a variety of groups for various drives: food, blankets, coats, diapers, etc.

We have a 3 person office, with 1 full time volunteer, and approximately 26 other volunteers who serve on our board. We have the support of state and local government agencies and leaders in business and industry throughout the year. Using this network of people and organizations, we are able to support the programming throughout Lowndes County which provides services to residents of this area. We also manage a volunteer center for our region that connects any 501c3 in our area with volunteers to help them accomplish their goals.

We have been able to take on 3 new agencies in the past two years, so our fundraising has been growing. We would like to get a better handle on the exact needs of the community; for example homelessness has become a larger issue in our community of late, and we are taking steps to be engaged in the actions being pursed for this issue.