United Way Of West Florida Inc

THE MISSION OF UNITED WAY OF WEST FLORIDA, INC. IS UNITING OUR COMMUNITY AND LEVERAGING RESOURCES TO IMPROVE LIVES.

UNITED WAY OF WEST FLORIDA, INC. MANAGES A COMMUNITY INVESTMENT PROCESS TO DISTRIBUTE DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO NON-PROFITS SERVING ESCAMBIA AND SANTA ROSA COUNTIES THAT ARE AFFECTING POSITIVE COMMUNITY CHANGES IN THE AREAS OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND FINANCIAL STABILITY. OUR GOALS ARE TO REDUCE OBESITY AND UNHEALTHY BEHAVIORS WHILE INCREASING STABLE AND HEALTHY INDEPENDENT LIVING, INCREASING READING PROFICIENCY AND DECREASING POVERTY WHILE STABILIZING FAMILIES WITH AN INCREASE IN BANKING, EMPLOYABILITY, AND SUSTAINABLE FINANCIAL SUCCESS. WE AWARDED 480,000 TO PARTNER AGENCY PROGRAMS THROUGH THIS PROCESS. IN ADDITION, WE PARTICIPATED IN THE STUFF THE BUS PROGRAM WHICH DISTRIBUTED FUNDS TO ESCAMBIA AND SANTA ROSA SCHOOL COUNTY DISTRICTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES. WE ALSO PARTNERED WITH LOCAL TELEVISION AND RADIO STATIONS IN SUPPORT OF COMMUNITIES CARING AT CHRISTMAS AND MIRACLES ON PALAFOX, WHICH DISTRIBUTED GIFTS TO LOW INCOME FAMILIES, AS WELL AS A SEPARATE PROGRAM MANAGED BY OUR 211 NW FLORIDA PROGRAM THAT PROVIDED ASSISTANCE TO LOW INCOME, EMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS.

UNITED WAY IS INVOLVED WITH A NUMBER OF OTHER INITIATIVES DESIGNED TO SUPPORT ITS MISSIONS, INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING; AMBASSADOR PROGRAM - AMBASSADORS ARE VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE "LOANED" TO UNITED WAY BY THEIR EMPLOYERS TO SERVE AS THE PRIMARY ADVOCATES FOR UWWF THROUGH THE WORKPLACE CAMPAIGNS. THE AMBASSADOR PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO HELP PARTICIPANTS DEVELOP THEIR LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE NON- PROFIT COMMUNITY THROUGH REGULAR TRAINING SEMINARS THAT FEATURE COMMUNITY LEADERS AND NON-PROFIT LEADERS. DAY OF CARING - DAY OF CARING IS THE LARGEST SINGLE VOLUNTEER SERVICE IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA. LOCAL VOLUNTEERS ARE MATCHED WITH NON-PROFIT AGENCIES AND SCHOOLS TO SPEND A FULL DAY OR HALF DAY WORKING ON A VARIETY OF SERVICE PROJECTS. IN TOTAL, THE VOLUNTEERS CONTRIBUTED 44,701 HOURS OF VOLUNTEER LABOR, VALUED AT AN ESTIMATE 1,205,215 OF COMMUNITY IMPACT. FAMILYWIZE - FAMILYWIZE IS A LONGTIME PARTNER WITH THE UNITED WAY SYSTEM. WORKING WITH NEARLY 1,000 UNITED WAYS DEDICATED TO HELPING IMPROVE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES, AND COMMUNITIES. UNITED WAY HELPED LOCAL CITIZENS SAVE OVER 300,000 ON PRESCRIPTION MEDICINE IN THE LAST YEAR. VITA - VITA IS THE VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, MANAGED BY UNITED WAY AND SERVING ESCAMBIA AND SANTA ROSA COUNTIES. THE PROGRAM USES TRAINING VOLUNTEERS TO PROVIDE FREE TAX PREPARATION FOR LOW INCOME INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES. IN THE LAST YEAR, THE VITA PROGRAM PREPARED OVER 600 RETURNS. THE PROGRAM SAVED USERS ALMOST 800,000 IN TAX PREPARATION FEES. RSVP - RSVP IS A FEDERALLY FUNDED RETIREMENT SENIOR VOLUNTEER PROGRAM OFFERED BY UNITED WAY. INDIVIDUALS 55 AND OLDER ARE MATCHED WITH LOCAL VOLUNTEER SITES RECRUITED BY UNITED WAY.

DONORS TO THE UNITED WAY OF WEST FLORIDA'S FALL 2022 CAMPAIGN DESIGNATED 154,730 OF THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO SPECIFIC AGENCIES AND/OR THEIR PROGRAMS. TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, UNITED WAY TRIES TO ENSURE THAT ALL DESIGNATIONS STAY LOCAL IN OUR SERVICE AREA, ESCAMBIA AND SANTA ROSA COUNTIES. THE REVENUES GENERATED FROM DESIGNATION DISTRIBUTIONS REPRESENT THE FEES UNITED WAY ASSESSES TO RECIPIENT AGENCIES TO OFFSET THE COSTS OF FUNDRAISING AND MANAGEMENT RELATED TO THESE DESIGNATIONS.

2022 SAW A CONTINUATION OF GROWTH AND EXPANSION FOR THE PROGRAM PROVIDED BY 211NWFL. WE CAN CONTINUALLY OFFER OUR FREE SERVICE TO ANYONE IN NEED WHO CALLS OUR EASY TO REMEMBER 211 NUMBER 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK - INCLUDING ALL HOLIDAYS. OUR SERVICE AREA EXPANDED FROM 8 TO 10 COUNTIES WITH THE ADDITION OF OKALOOSA AND WALTON. THE EXPANDED SERVICE AREA REQUIRED A CONGRUENT GROWTH IN STAFFING TO ADDRESS THE ADDITIONAL POPULATION SERVED AND THE RESOURCES TO BE RECRUITED. THE 211 RESOURCE TEAM ADDED 400 ADDITIONAL SERVICES SPECIFIC TO OKALOOSA AND WALTON COUNTIES 2022 ALSO SAW GROWTH OF THE FLORIDA VETERANS SUPPORT LINE, INCREASING FROM 3 TO 5 FTE'S AND THE OPENING OF A SATELLITE OFFICE IN BAY COUNTY. THE 211NWFL SERVICE AREA FOR THE FLORIDA VETERANS SUPPORT LINE INCLUDES ALL 10 COUNTIES OF THE 211NWFL COVERAGE AREA. 2022 ALSO SAW 211 NWFL ADD A NEW SERVICE AS PART OF THE FLORIDA 988 SUICIDE PREVENTION COALITION. 5.5 FTE'S WERE ADDED TO THE TEAM TO HELP PROVIDE 24/7 CRISIS CALL TAKING CAPABILITIES FOR THE FOUR COUNTIES OF DCF CIRCUIT 1 AS WELL AS THE COUNTIES OF HOLMES AND BAY IN DCF CIRCUIT 14. SPECIFIC TO THE PROVISION OF 211 SERVICES, 211NWFL ASSISTED 63,000+ INDIVIDUALS WITH OVER 140,000 REFERRALS TO COMMUNITY SERVICES. THE 211NWFL PUBLIC WEBSITE IS A RESOURCE DATA BASE THAT CONTAINS INFORMATION ON OVER 1,600 HUMAN SERVICES. LOCAL NONPROFITS AND CASE MANAGEMENT SPECIALISTS ALSO HAVE ACCESS TO THE DATABASE TO HELP THEIR CLIENTS THAT MAY NOT HAVE IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO A TELEPHONE OR THE INTERNET.