Aon's "Pass It On" a Great Success!
Aon’s “Pass It On” event on Wednesday, May 9, was a huge success! It was part of a “a global employee and client-engagement program that tells the Aon story to colleagues, clients and communities around the world by passing Manchester United footballs across six continents in eight months.”
The event included a soccer match among local Aon employees as well as soccer clinics and other activities for youth at United Way partner agencies. Over 100 boys and girls from the Salvation Army’s Boy’s and Girl’s Club and the YWCA Best Choice Center participated. Aon partnered with United Way of Forsyth County to plan and conduct the event which generated over $3,700 for United Way.
Planned for Spry Field at Wake Forest University, the event was held at the Gateway YWCA due to inclement weather.
Aon is a principal sponsor of Manchester United, the world’s most popular football (soccer) team.
6th Annual Project Homeless Connect / VA Stand Down Draws Record Participation
The 6th Annual Project Homeless Connect/Veterans Administration (VA) Stand Down, held in the LJVM Coliseum Annex on April 11, set new records for participation.
Overall, the day-long event served 308 individuals who were either homeless or facing the prospect of becoming homeless, including 110 veterans. Thirty of the veterans were enrolled for VA services.
Ninety-two agencies were on hand to provide services from booths staffed by 202 agency volunteers. Over 180 community volunteers assisted in the day's event.
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Veterans Helping Veterans Heal Housing Facility Cuts Ribbon
Supporters stood shoulder-to-shoulder on April 4 to cut the ribbon for Veterans Helping Veterans Heal’s (VHVH) new 30-unit, dormitory-styled housing facility at 3614 North Glenn Avenue. VHVH will help veterans overcome barriers so that they can transition into permanent housing, re-enter society and achieve personal and professional goals.
The ribbon-cutting celebration served to recognize the successful completion of the acquisition and rehabilitation of the VHVH building, to thank everyone who has helped make this project possible and to allow our community to see the facility before it is occupied. It is important to note that the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) has not yet inspected and accepted the VHVH project at this time. This is expected to be a comprehensive inspection and review process which will begin within the next few weeks now that the rehabilitation of the building has been completed. Occupancy by homeless veterans will follow the receipt of all final approvals by the VA.
VHVH will address the gap in housing services in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County that are needed for chronically homeless veterans who are coping with substance abuse and/or mental illness, the two highest rated problems within the homeless veteran population. VHVH will also help the local Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness (United Way of Forsyth County) meet its housing goals and build on the programs offered by the various homeless shelters and other transitional housing facilities.
VHVH will offer a supportive housing environment in collaboration with the VA, CenterPoint Human Services and others that will include on-site case managers and the provision of services to meet the special needs of the veterans. Each veteran will work with his case worker to establish personal goals. All residents will attend life-skills training and participate in the daily upkeep of the facility. Regular Alcoholic and Narcotics Anonymous meetings will be held on-site. The Triad Community Kitchen will provide food service under the leadership of Jeff Bacon, director and executive chef. VHVH also plans to acquire a passenger van in order to provide transportation for the veterans to medical facilities, job interviews, workshops, and other meetings.
Veterans will be referred by VA and community outreach providers. VHVH will serve 30 veterans at one time in dormitory style housing for a period of up to two years. It is anticipated that some of the veterans will transition out of the program within six to nine months enabling other veterans to participate in the program. VHVH will, therefore, likely serve between 30-45 chronically homeless veterans each year.
Chronically homeless veterans make up about 20 percent of the entire local homeless population in Forsyth County. Veterans will be referred to the program by local homeless service providers and the VA Medical Center in Salisbury, among others. Since VHVH will serve veterans, space at other shelters will be freed up for other individuals who are homeless. The goal of VHVH will be to help veterans overcome barriers so that they can transition into permanent housing, achieve personal goals including self-sufficiency, and function well with family, co-workers, and friends.
VHVH was developed by the North Carolina Housing Foundation (NCHF) in partnership with the Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post # 1134. Funding for the development of VHVH includes grants from the Veterans Administration Grants Per Diem program, Branch Banking and Trust (BB&T), the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, the Winston-Salem Foundation, United Way of Forsyth County, and donations from individuals and members of many local military service organizations. Funding for the annual operations of the program, will come from multiple sources including an Emergency Shelter Grant from the City of Winston-Salem, a two-year grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, the VA Per Diem reimbursement for each veteran in the program. VHVH will also be one of the beneficiaries from fundraising by groups like the Winston-Salem Elks annual golf tournament and the Marine Corps League Mud Run.
Rehabilitation of the existing VFW Post # 1134 at 3614 North Glenn Avenue in Winston-Salem began in late October. The architect is Mike Osman of the Steele Group and the general contractor is Landmark Builders of the Triad. Carolyn Scogin at Blanco Tackabery provided legal assistance. All are Winston-Salem companies. Countless veterans have helped with the demolition of the interior of the building. VHVH will be owned and managed by the North Carolina Housing Services and Management Corp., a nonprofit affiliate of the North Carolina Housing Foundation also based in Winston-Salem. The program manager will be Peter Moorman and Jonathan Evans will be the operations director. Both are veterans.
The North Carolina Housing Foundation (NCHF) is based in Winston-Salem and is the parent affiliate of VHVH and the North Carolina Housing Services and Management Corp. (NCHSM). NCHF is an experienced nonprofit developer of affordable housing which focuses on developing quality affordable housing for low and moderate income households throughout the state. NCHSM currently manages 26 properties with a total of nearly 1000 apartment units. These units include apartments for families, independent elderly, persons with disabilities or special needs, and transitional and permanent supportive housing for the homeless.
NCHF’s Development Team includes Garry Merritt, NCHF Board Chair; John Nichols, President of NCHSM; Diane Evans, Director of Development and Jane Milner, Development Coordinator.
VHVH is a project of the Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness. The Plan, overseen by United Way of Forsyth County with the full support of the community and homeless service providers, seeks to provide effective solutions and accessible services to eliminate chronic homelessness and improve the system’s effectiveness for all persons experiencing a housing crisis.
Andrea Kurtz is the director of the Plan. BB&T’s Chris Henson chairs the Plan’s council.
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Count Shows Six Percent Increase in Homelessness
On January 25 and 26, volunteers fanned out across our community to physically count the number of homeless at part of the Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness’ annual Point-In-Time Count. They found that the total number of homeless (either in a shelter or on the street) in Forsyth County totaled 558. That’s a 5.9 percent increase over the 2010 total (527) and an 8 percent increase over the average for the last five years.
A survey of those 558 individuals revealed that:
- 185 are chronically homeless
- 118 have a mental illness
- 66 live on the street
- 43 are veterans
United Way is helping to lower the homelessness rate from what it might be without critical services. Over the past 3 years, United Way partnerships have added 482 new units of housing for the homeless. Unique programming has resulted in 67 percent of chronically homeless individuals remaining in permanent housing for over one year, nearly double the success rate for traditional programming.
We are grateful for the strong financial support we receive annually from individual and corporate donors that allow us to assist our community’s population.
United Way Reaches 2011 Campaign Goal
United Way of Forsyth County announced today that it had reached its 2011 Campaign Goal of $17,325,000. The goal was equivalent to the amount raised in the 2010 Campaign. The announcement was made by Sallye Liner, chief clinical officer for Novant Health and chair of the 2011 United Way Campaign at a thank you event for campaign volunteers.
Liner pointed out that reaching the goal was critical to United Way’s abilities to support a broad variety of services and partnerships here in our community. Through its partnerships in education, financial stability, health, family violence, mental health/developmental disabilities, and basic needs/homelessness, United Way of Forsyth County makes a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of Forsyth County residents annually.
Community Spirit Recognized Statewide!
Twelve of the eighteen local organizations nominated have been honored with 2011 Spirit of North Carolina Awards for exceptional campaigns on behalf of their community. The awards were presented at United Way of North Carolina’s annual meeting on Friday, February 3. Thirty-two awards were given statewide.
The Spirit of North Carolina Awards for Campaign Excellence is sponsored annually by the United Way of North Carolina. The Spirit awards provide statewide recognition for outstanding commitment and support to communities through local United Way involvement.
The Spirit Awards were developed to recognize companies and their employees that demonstrate campaign excellence and community commitment. The Spirit Committee judged more than 70 outstanding submissions from top companies, organizations, governmental entities, healthcare and educational institutions, as well as businesses – large and small.
Organizations and companies were judged on a variety of criteria outlined in the Spirit of North Carolina Standards of Excellenceincluding leadership giving, volunteerism, employee participation and giving levels, year-round education, corporate support, incentive programs, and campaign rallies.
The following organizations were nominated by United Way of Forsyth County. Award winners are astericked.
- Adele Knits/Twin City Warehouses/DataChambers*
- Aladdin Travel and Meeting Planners*
- BB&T*
- B/E Aerospace
- The Enrichment Center*
- First Tennessee Bank*
- Goodwill Industries of NW NC
- HanesBrands*
- Inmar*
- Kilpatrick Townsend Stockton, LLP*
- Leonard Ryden Burr Real Estate*
- Novant Health
- NewBridge Bank*
- PepsiCo
- Piedmont Federal Savings Bank
- Princess House
- Targacept*
- Wake Forest University
Your Investment Is Helping Students Succeed
“You have to see the impact to believe it,” says Shiwanah Bangham, Curriculum Coordinator for East Forsyth Middle School, when asked about the help the school and its students are receiving from United Way of Forsyth County. “The changes are phenomenal!”
East Forsyth Middle School is one of the three middle schools where United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council (WLC) funds tutoring, family engagement programming, and a two-week summer success academy. Building on successes at Philo, the programs were expanded to Mineral Springs Middle School in 2010, and East Forsyth Middle School in 2011.
The United Way WLC funding at East Forsyth makes it possible for 132 children aged 11-13 to receive critical tutoring each Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons for 1.5 hours per week. The WLC provides a stipend for the participating teachers, development of customized tutoring materials and especially important: transportation home following the tutoring sessions. Transportation is a critical issue as many parents’ working situation or simple lack of resources prevented them from allowing their children to attend.
Family engagement programming complements the tutoring by reaching out to parents to get them more involved in their children’s education.
Your investment in educations works. At Philo Magnet Academy, the pilot program launched in 2008, students passing End of Grade tests has increased in reading by 115%and math by 137%.
At the high school level, United Way programming at Parkland Magnet High School has improved the graduation rate over a four-year period by 9.4 points from 64.7% to 74.1%. At Atkins, the rate is up by at least 17 points with a composite change for the three schools of 19.1 points from 53.3% to 72.4%.
Over the same four-year period, the district-wide graduation rate has increased by 5.2 points from 73.6%to 78.8%. That’s a credit to our investors, the schools, our partner agency and other community partners. We know that these accomplishments expand beyond just United Way’s programming … and we appreciate our community’s collective effort!
LIVING UNITED - Enewsletter Archive
Big Brothers Big Sisters and United Way Worldwide Announce New Partnership
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and United Way Worldwide announced a new partnership at this week’s Grad Nation Summit in Washington, D.C. to expand evidence-based, one-to-one mentoring programs for elementary and middle school youth in America’s highest-risk schools and neighborhoods. At the summit, Max Miller, Big Brothers and Big Sisters co-CEO, cited communities in which this new partnership is active and where innovative methods of working together are showing results, including Winston-Salem, NC; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Austin, TX; and Louisville, KY.
Media release
Don't Forget to Visit Us on June 15!
Be sure to visit our page on June 15 to learn which Forsyth County non-profit won the prestigious Joel Weston Award for Excellence in Non-Profit Management! Our United Way partners with the Weston family each year to recognize a local non-profit that best incorporates best business practices into its operation ... which is what we all want. The recipient receives a $10,000 stipend from the Weston Fund. Recipients for the past three years include Cancer Services (2011), Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina (2010), and Forsyth Jail and Prison Ministries (2009). The award was established in 1985.
Partner Agency Bulletin Board
The Salvation Army
Sealy FOX8 Holiday Concert featuring the Winston-Salem Symphony, Saturday, December 10th, LJVM Coliseum. Doors open at 6pm, concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Admission and parking are free with your canned food donations to benefit The Salvation Army. More.
Bethesda Center for the Homeless
Annual Christmas Party for the Homeless, December 15, 2011, 12 noon -2 p.m., at the Bethesda Center, 930 N. Patterson Ave. Winston-Salem NC. Each homeless guest will receive a gift bag. The Center's Board of Directors ask for your assistance in informing homeless people about the event. More
American Red Cross
"Winter Days of Giving" Blood Drives, December 21-31. Give the "Gift of Life" this holiday season. All are at the Red Cross Blood Center, 650 Coliseum Drive. Call 1 800 RED CROSS (733-2767) for an appointment. More.
Housing for Homeless Veterans
Veterans Helping Veterans Heal is a 30-unit transitional housing program to help disabled homeless veterans move out of homelessness. It is a collaboration between United Way of Forsyth County, the North Carolina Housing Foundation, VFW Post 1134 and other veterans service organizations. The project has been made possible by a generous grant from BB&T and the Veterans Administration. It is scheduled to open this spring.
