SIDNEY — “Shelby County United Way had a successful and eventful 2016” said Scott Barr, executive director. “We are projecting reaching goal, raising just over $1,349,000. This allows for the funding of 27 agencies and programs and a special project program that awarded 22 additional smaller grants throughout the year.”
His report continues:
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library completed a second year. The early education literacy program delivers monthly, age appropriate books to the homes of Shelby County children. Currently 1,980 children in the county are enrolled and to date, over 30,000 books have been mailed. This program is funded by many community partners and Wilson Health enrolls infants at the birthing center. Parents are encouraged to visit imaginationlibrary.com and click on REGISTER MY CHILD or visit any of the local libraries in Shelby County.
Character Playbook-Building Healthy Relationships was launched in seven of our largest school districts. The digital course uses evidence-based strategies to educate students on how to cultivate and maintain healthy relationships during their critical middle school years. It is comprised of six modules that cover key concepts of positive character development, social-emotional learning (SEL), and building healthy relationships. Topic Areas include: Analyzing Influences, Understanding and Managing Emotions, Communicating Effectively, Resolving Conflicts, Stepping In, and Making Decisions. This course will allow students to engage with true-to-life scenarios.456 students completed 1,596 learning modules through December. This will increase through the remainder of the school year.
The Shelby County United Way, the Community Services Council, POWER, and Salvation Army coordinated a fall coat drive for the schools in our county. Hampton Inn washed used coats and POWER distributed the coats to the schools. Over 100 coats were distributed to 7 school buildings.
The Shelby County United Way remains active in the community with representation on the Mayor’s Homeless Task Force, Continuum of Care, Community Services Council, Heroin Task Force, Area Agency on Aging, Drug Free Coalition, and Family and Children First Council. The Shelby County United Way sponsored a workshop in the summer of 2016 with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and the Community Foundation facilitating on Board Governance and Development.
Work to bring 211 Helpline to Shelby County took place in the fall and winter of 2016. 211 successfully launched Jan. 1, 2017 with the anticipation of 1,500 to 1,800 calls per year. The 211 information and referral hotline will be answered 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. The hotline will hopefully more easily connect residents to available community resources. The trained operators will be able to provide callers with phone numbers, hours of operation and qualifications for various programs available for such diverse programs as counseling, senior programming and utility assistance. The Shelby County United Way, along with the city of Sidney, County Commissioners, Board of DD, Health Department, Job and Family Services, and Tri County Board of Recovery are funding this service.
The 27 United Way funded programs and agencies are impacting the communities in the areas of Health, Education, and Income because of the ongoing support of the community. Thirty-five percent of the campaign dollars came from corporate gifts with the remaining 65 percent from local individuals and families. Shelby County is a special place to live because of the compassion towards our fellow citizens. The Shelby County United Way would like to thank all of our Donors, Campaign Leaders, Volunteers, and United Way Staff for your time and treasures. 2017 will celebrate “60 years of Changing Lives” in Shelby County. Visit our recently launched website and new domain, www.shelbycountyunitedway.org for more information.
