This annual fundraising effort shines a light on our community’s most daunting social issues while raising needed funds to address their root causes.  The Annual Resource Drive is a vital part of the organization’s work because the funds raised by the United Way go to fight poverty and build a brighter future by working towards the bold goal of moving 10,000 families out of financial struggles and into stability.  A Community Resource Drive has been a staple in the community for over 60 years.  With all funds raised staying in the United Way’s six-county service area including Clay, Parke, Sullivan, Vermillion, and Vigo in Indiana and Clark in Illinois.

The strength of United Way’s fundraising has always been the ability to partner with local businesses and allow their employees the opportunity to interact and learn about the United Way.  While some organizations are utilizing in-person giving opportunities, the United Way has created a user-friendly virtual platform to adapt to the current workplace and community environments.  An online user experience is available for workplaces that gives employees the opportunity to learn about the work of the organization.  This platform also provides easy donation options the workplace can customize including easy employee payroll deductions to direct donations to the United Way.  Outside of workplace giving United Way relies on individual donors across the community supporting their mission.  Their website uwwv.org is available for individuals who wish to learn about the United Way, and if they choose, they can donate directly to United Way’s work that matters most to them.

Danielle Isbell, Resource Development Director of the United Way of the Wabash Valley explained, “The Annual Community Resource Drive is a time where people can make an investment in our community.  These donations give us the ability to fund needed services, programs and initiatives that are changing lives across the Wabash Valley.  We truly value the relationships we have with our local businesses and are excited to engage community support to continue the work that our community so desperately still needs.”

Terre Haute Chevrolet’s General Manager, Kevin Cauble, explained, “Over the last year we have really seen United Way step up and provide supports across the community, especially with respects to COVID.  We are proud of our longstanding relationship with United Way and happy that we can offer this extra incentive to donors.  We hope that our example of commitment to the community and United Way will serve as an example to other businesses and urge them to find a way to get involved in this great organization.”

Donors can earn chances to win the cash incentive based on their level of donor support.  Entries for the $10,000 cash drawing are earned by:

• Any returning donor at the same level or more = 1 Entry
• Every $25 increment donation from a new donor = 2 Entries
• Every $25 increment increase from a previous year donor over their last year’s gift = 2 Entries
• An added bonus with any new or increased gift reaching $500 or more = 20 additional Entries

Donations must be submitted by December 31, 2021, for a chance to win with the drawing being held in January of 2022.

In order to create great community change, the United Way will depend on both individuals and businesses to get involved in the Resource Drive.  If your organization or business is interested in participating or you would like more information about getting involved please contact Danielle Isbell at 812-235-6287 or disbell@uwwv.org.

Richard Payonk, Executive Director of United Way of the Wabash Valley stated, “We are excited to award $10,000 cash as this year’s campaign incentive to a deserving individual who has donated to make a difference in our community.   And we owe many thanks to Terre Haute Chevrolet for their generous donation of this year’s cash incentive to our United Way and for being a great community partner.”

Three names were drawn at random from the campaign incentive entries.  The finalists included Beth Hock from Union Health, Haley Akers from First Financial Bank, and Sally Massey from Union Health.  Those three individuals met at Terre Haute Chevrolet to try their luck at picking the correct box that contained the prize money.  Haley Akers from First Financial Bank was the lucky winner by selecting the correct box!  The remaining two contestants each received a complimentary car detail from Terre Haute Chevrolet.

After winning Haley was moved to tears.  She stated, “I am shocked…just really shocked.”  When asked what she plans to do with the winnings she stated she, “wants to save it and purchase a house someday because being a single mother is really hard.”

Donors earned chances to win the $10,000 cash based on their donor support.  Any donation of at least $25 from a new donor, or a donation from a previous donor that has increased from the previous year by at least $25, automatically entered the donor in the drawing for the cash.  A new gift of $50 equaled two entries and so on.   There was also an incentive to donate more with a bonus of 6 entries for every $100 new donation or increase.  This year there were 10,156 entries from 735 donors resulting in donations of $120,943.

Kevin Cauble, General Manager of Terre Haute Chevrolet explained, “Terre Haute Chevrolet and the Romain Automotive Group believe in giving back to their community.  In doing so we are proud to support the United Way and all they do for our community. We believe in the work they are doing in the community to address the root cause of poverty and truly make a difference in the lives of others while creating a stronger community for us all.  We truly enjoy being able to give back to others with this partnership.”

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United Way of the Wabash Valley is an organization looking to go beyond temporary fixes to create lasting change in our communities throughout our six-county region. By bringing together volunteers, companies, and organizations focused on innovative solutions, we impact thousands of lives every year right here in the Wabash Valley.  Our new bold goal is to move 10,000 local families out of financial struggles.  For more information, please visit, www.uwwv.org.

About Romain Automotive Group (Terre Haute Chevrolet) Since 1964, the Romain Automotive Group has experienced continuous growth. Operating dealerships that represent several new vehicle brands, including Chevrolet in Terre Haute, as well as quality selections of the most in-demand pre-owned cars, trucks, and SUVs at market competitive prices.  Since its inception, Romain Automotive Group has strived to deliver a unique dealership experience to each customer. The dealership’s pursuit of quality customer service is paramount and comes from our commitment to ongoing company and manufacturer training.

Dr. Jennifer Hutchens, a clinical psychologist with specialties in addictions and pain management among other disorders, and co-chair of the Substance Use Disorders Council explained the new grant opportunity.  “Our council has set a target on measuring, reporting and reducing the number of substance-use-disorder-related arrests in the community.  We know if we can work collaboratively with local law enforcement, treatment providers and non-profits to move these numbers down, we will have a long-term positive impact on United Way’s bold community goal.  Today we are excited to announce a grant opportunity that will drive the expansion of mentoring programs within our six-county jails to decrease substance use related recidivism upon reentry.”

The council is soliciting proposals to support or expand jail mentorship programs and the availability of such mentors. UWWV is seeking proposals from qualified applicants to create, sustain or expand a quality jail mentorship program with a focus on substance use to support and prepare inmates for sobriety and reentry.  United Way is making available up to $100,000 in funding to be provided over two years. Applicants will be allowed to apply for up to a maximum of $25,000 (per year) for investment in 2020 and 2021.

James Ramer, Vigo County Veterans Treatment Court Coordinator and a member of the council who helped develop the solicitation, shared the reasoning behind the grant. “We had excellent discussion among the experts on our council.  There are numerous studies to choose from, but one conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that 77% of drug offenders released were rearrested within five years, nearly half of those within the first year of release.  Locally, some organizations had been working in jail mentoring, but federal funding expired.  Since progress was being made to reduce recidivism locally, our council developed this grant opportunity so work like this could continue and even expand.”

This grant opportunity from United Way comes on the heels of previous announcements in August for grant opportunities related to a Quality Childcare Initiative issued through the Success By 6 Impact Council and a Peer Recovery Specialist Initiative issued by this same Substance Use Disorders Council.   “We expect these opportunities are the tip of the iceberg.  Three more of our new Impact Councils have formed this summer and are now beginning their work,” said United Way Executive Director, Richard Payonk.  “Councils focused on Graduation Success, Financial Management and Strong Neighborhoods could be issuing grant opportunities by next year.”  Still, Payonk cautioned that the grant opportunities and new initiatives from United Way depended strongly on community and donor support for their work.  “We’ve had a positive response from the community who see us working to breakdown siloes and collaborate in new and exciting ways with all nonprofits and government and local businesses to address our most daunting social issue of generational poverty.  We can do it by working together, but the work of these new councils depends upon the community’s financial support of our work.”

Organizations interested in applying for the Jail Mentoring grant opportunity can find the full request and all proposal documents on the United Way website at uwwv.org/funding.  Letters of intent, the first step in the application process, are due November 22^nd.

If individuals are interested in donating to support the funding of these specific initiatives or impact councils, they are encouraged to visit United Way’s new interactive “Choose Your Impact” website at uwwv.org/choose.

“RCORP-Planning is part of a multi-year initiative by HRSA to support treatment for and prevention of SUD/OUD,” said HRSA Administrator George Sigounas, MS, Ph.D. “The goal is to reduce the morbidity and mortality of the diseases in high-risk rural communities.”

Last year the United Way of the Wabash Valley introduced a change in its framework, shifting to a collective impact process of convening multiple organizations to focus on a bold goal.  That bold goal is to move 10,000 families out of financial struggles and into stability by focusing impact councils on areas that can make a difference.  They have already established the Substance Use Disorders Impact Council which will focus on well-rounded approaches to supporting prevention and treatment solutions in the United Way’s 6-county service area (Clay, Parke, Sullivan, Vermillion, and Vigo in Indiana and Clark in Illinois).

These councils are multi-sector volunteer-led committees that bring together subject matter experts, people who are passionate about the issue, people whose lives are affected by the issue, business leaders, and other organizations working to affect that area.  Members of the impact councils will recommend and monitor the investment of United Way resources in order to bring successful results to their specified outcome targets in support of the overall United Way community goal to move households to financial stability.

This funding will allow for a dedicated effort by the Substance Use Disorders Impact Council to focus on the three counties of Sullivan, Parke, and Vermillion in order to address disparities that plague rural communities attempting to eradicate substance use disorder.

“Rural communities continue to face several challenges in accessing SUD/OUD prevention, treatment, and recovery services,” said Associate Administrator for the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Tom Morris. “Over half of rural counties nationwide HRSA exit disclaimer lack a provider who is waivered to prescribe buprenorphine, and on average, rural opioid users are more likely to be uninsured, less educated, and lower income than their urban counterparts.”  Rural communities also face workforce shortages, geographic barriers, limited treatment infrastructure, and stigma associated with SUD/OUD.

Over the next year, the United Way’s Substance Use Disorders Impact Council will work along with other community partners to develop a plan.  “It’s really a needs assessment,” said Richard Payonk, the Executive Director of the United Way of the Wabash Valley. “To see what resources are already available in our community to address the opioid epidemic and then really think about what’s missing.”

The grant award “really makes a powerful case for why nonprofits working together in collaborative ways can tap into more resources for our community,” Payonk said.  These issues are too great for one organization to tackle alone.  The result of this grant investment will be the convening of many great individuals and organizations in these counties to work together to make a better and stronger community for all.

To review a complete list of all grant recipients www.hrsa.gov/rural-health/rcorp/planning/awards.

For more information about the RCORP initiative, please contact Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.

To learn more about how HRSA is addressing the opioid epidemic, visit https://www.hrsa.gov/opioids.

To learn more about the United Way of the Wabash Valley’s Substance Use Disorder Impact Council, visit https://uwwv.org/substance-use-disorders-impact-council/.

This new collective impact model will address United Way’s bold goal of moving 10,000 families out of financial struggles and into stability to reduce the cycle of poverty in our community.  In order do this the United Way plans to create impact councils associated with five areas that dominated the discussions throughout the community – education, health, financial stability, neighborhoods, and safety net.  These councils are multi-sector volunteer-led committees that will bring together subject matter experts, people who are passionate about the issue, people whose lives are affected by the issue, business leaders, and other organizations working to affect each area.  Members of the impact councils will recommend and monitor the investment of United Way resources in order to bring successful results to their specified outcome targets in support of the overall United Way community goal to move households to financial stability.

The United Way has already formed two councils—the substance use disorder council and early childhood education council. The next councils to be formed will focus on addressing neighborhood safety and blight, improving graduation rates, alleviating financial struggles, and improving the health of our community.  The upcoming session is an opportunity for those interested to learn more about serving on a council and begin discussing and brainstorming the strategies and opportunities to maximize impact in these areas.

The session is open to anyone interested and will be at noon on Monday, April 15^th at the Vigo County Public Library Main Branch (1 Library Square) in Terre Haute.  We invite people to come and learn more about these new and exciting volunteer opportunities with the United Way and help us create impact in our community.  In order to reserve a spot, contact Phyllis Mickey at the United Way of the Wabash Valley at 812.235.6287 or by e-mail at pmickey@uwwv.org.

In the development of the United Way of the Wabash Valley’s new strategic plan, a common issue that was brought up by the community and business leaders was the access and affordability of high-quality child care.  This issue is vital for both the employers looking to attract and retain workers and parents looking to provide for their children.

High quality child care lays a foundation for learning and success.  Research shows that a child’s brain develops more rapidly in the first five years than in any other time in one’s life.  This means that the quality of care a young child receives in their early years significantly influences their long-term growth and development.  The quality of childcare is regulated by the Paths to QUALITY™ program in Indiana.  This system consists of four levels, with 4 being the highest level achieved with national accreditation, and each level builds on the foundation of the previous one. In Indiana, only 35% of children in child care are attending a high-quality program.  In many places around the state no high-quality programs exist or if there are programs there is not enough capacity.  The United Way saw this as a major issue in the Wabash Valley and decided to find a way to begin addressing it.

To respond to the demand and affordability issues, in 2017, the United Way solicited proposals from child care sites to propose how they would provide quality affordable child care and prepare children to enter school ready to learn by increasing their enrollment numbers in an existing Level 3 or 4 Paths to QUALITY™ program or move up a level in the rating system.  A volunteer committee of early childhood expertise reviewed the applications from over 19 child care sites, and ultimately, three child care providers at 4 locations across the Wabash Valley were awarded 2-year grants totaling $100,000.

This community investment has had a great impact as it was able to provide 44 brand new Level 3 or 4 child care openings and increased the ratings of over 72 child care spots.  This means that 116 children in the Wabash Valley will be receiving a higher quality of child care than they were before.  Richard Payonk, Executive Director of the United Way of the Wabash Valley explained the process as, “Our donors want to see a positive impact in our community.  This type of grant funding toward a specific community requested need is how our United Way and other organizations can come together to improve the community.”  The payoffs of this grant will be received for years to come as these new or enhanced positions will sustain themselves and provide added benefits for children for years to come.

Detailed Results Include:

• Big Sprouts & Little Sprouts in West Terre Haute were a Level 2 facility with capacity for 32 children. After their grant investment they were able to open an additional location that created 12 brand new Level 4 openings bringing their total capacity to 44 children.
• CRADLES Brazil began as an unrated facility with capacity for 15 children. Since their grant investment they have progressed to Level 2, and with positive momentum, they are in the process of moving to Level 3.
• CRADLES Clay City began as an unrated facility with capacity for 25 children. With their grant investment they are finalizing their rating with a goal of being Level 2 in 2019.
• Dawns Daycare was a Level 3 facility with a long waitlist. With their investment from the grant they were able to open a new location. They are now offering 16 brand new Level 4 openings and 16 brand new Level 3 openings with a goal of achieving Level 4 later this year.

This grant program supports groups who have an interest in developing innovative literacy based programming and experiences for the families they serve, as well as those who want to provide increased exposure to early literacy.  Parents are their child’s “first teachers,” and it is imperative to help build a strong connection with parents.  Learning happens not only at preschool or child care, but also at home.  Research shows that promoting reading in early childhood development promotes brain growth and helps to prepare students for kindergarten.  This grant opportunity is just one of many ways that Success By 6, an impact council for the United Way, mobilizes community resources to ensure that young children are provided with nurturing learning environments during the critical development years of birth to 6 in order to ensure that children enter school ready to succeed.

Holly Curtsinger, the grant chairperson, stated, “There are many people-individuals and organizations- that are working to support early learning and to provide high quality literacy based experiences for the families they serve. This grant opportunity supports those initiatives, and assists those applicants who demonstrate the ability to accomplish creative endeavors while at the same time being fiscally responsible with United Way donor dollars.”

Grant applications will be due to United Way by 4PM on November 9^th.  If anyone would like assistance with the program or needs help filling out the application, the committee will be holding a training session on Wednesday September 12^th at 6:30pm EST at the United Way office, 100 S. 7^th Street.  For more information and to review the application visit www.uwwv.org/funding or contact Mark Johnson at mjohnson@uwwv.org or 812-235-6287.

We are asking volunteers to come together to create positive change for themselves, their families and their communities.  The goal is to reach 1,000 volunteers to complete over 65 projects for non-profit organizations throughout the 6-county service area.  Projects range from landscaping, cleaning, painting, food pantry prep and skilled labor.

“Serve the Valley is a weekend we can all come together to shine a spotlight on all the great opportunities people can get involved with in the Wabash Valley in order to help others,” said Richard Payonk, Executive Director for the United Way of the Wabash Valley.

“We wanted to partner with United Way in order to build upon their community volunteer event.  It is a great way to get the community involved by providing volunteers to these non-profit organizations as a helping hand in completing projects. But it also provides these non-profits a time to showcase what they do for our community,” said Dan Gisel, Maryland Community Church, 12 Points Campus Pastor.

Join us and kick off each day, Friday July 27^th and 28^th at the Maryland Community Church 46 campus (4700 S. Hwy 46) in Terre Haute for a FREE breakfast sponsored by Elanco at 7:30 am. Then head into the community to perform volunteer work for an area organization until noon.  Participants have the option to choose the day they participate and from a variety of shifts (most 8:30 am – noon) depending on the project.  Each registered participant also receives a free Serve the Valley t-shirt sponsored by Saint Mary of-the-Woods College.  They will be available for pick up from the United Way the week of the event or at the breakfast.

The full project list is available HERE.  To sign yourself or your team up utilize the online sign up website or call Abby Desboro at 812-235-6287 for more information.

Do you want to help the United Way change our community?! Join us to learn more about how you can help!

We are looking for eager volunteers to help our Annual Resource Drive.  Each fall, United Way of the Wabash Valley partners with individuals, local businesses and organizations to raise funds that will help our community to create a brighter future for everyone. Our annual Resource Drive builds our community impact fund to drive us toward our new bold goal of moving 10,000 families out of financial struggles and into stability!

Do any of these sound like you or someone you know?
• Passionate about our mission and interested in volunteering on this committee?
• Looking to make a difference in the community and willing to connect UWWV to a company/business?
• Want to network with key businesses?

If you think you might be interested in lending your expertise and energy to help United Way of the Wabash Valley expand campaign efforts and provide guidance to the workplace Employee Campaign Coordinators (ECC), join us for one of the two Lunch and Learn sessions.

For more information contact Danielle at disbell@uwwv.org or 812-235-6287 or RSVP here.

Tickets are $25 per person and a table of 8 for $200.  To secure tickets contact Phyllis Mickey at 812-235-6287 or pmickey@uwwv.org.