A Letter to Our Community

Dear Supporters,

This year United Way needs your support more than ever. Your contribution enables United Way to help more children prepare for school, more families obtain food and stable housing, and more seniors and people with disabilities remain independent.

With your help, we are making a difference in three focus areas: Education, Income, and Health.

• Last year we helped prepare nearly 200 children for school, teaching them vital skills they need to be successful in the classroom. We also worked to keep 160 high-school youth in school.
• Over 2,000 families and individuals received adult literacy assistance, nutritious food, specialized counseling, and safe housing.
• Today more than 300 seniors and persons with disabilities receive home
  health care, mobile meals, medical transportation, and mental health services.

Please take a moment to consider the importance and value of what United Way is doing right here in Greater Mercer County. The need is great and, working together, we can make a tremendous difference in the lives of our neighbors. Please make your gift to the United Way today.

This edition of our newsletter highlights some of our recent activities in Mercer County and shows how your gift helps people right here in our community. You can also visit our web site www.liveunitedgreatermercer.org to learn more about United Way and make an on-line donation.

Thank you. Michael J. Conlan Chairman of the Board

 

 

UWGMC Success Stories

Your dollars at work, making a difference in the community through our collaborative initiatives!

EDUCATION

During the weekly consultation between the teachers and the on-site social worker, one teacher reported that this child was yelling at and fighting with other children. He was telling lies and saying that he hated school, all very unusual behavior. There were also signs of anxiety over starting kindergarten in the fall. The teacher received immediate help from the JFCS therapist, who discovered that the child had recently lost his grandmother and believed that his mother was also going to die.

The therapist helped the little boy express his fears and emotions through play therapy and worked with teachers to alleviate the classroom issues that impacted other children. The therapist also helped the family through the process of grieving for their loss. From teacher to social worker to child to family, services were implemented within one week. Had Better Beginnings not had access to an on-site social worker, the child and family may have waited months for services to be rendered and may not have been able to afford them when they were finally available. This ability to make a rapid response to a classroom problem and to involve parents in the solution is a hallmark of the TRIO partnership.

INCOME

Rosa, a mother of two young children came to RISE for help with her Medicaid benefits and to get food for her family. As part of the screening process, Rosa was asked to complete the domestic violence assessment tool. Although Rosa needed the services and wanted to do everything that was required, she hesitated to complete the screening form. As the RISE worker signed her up for services, she used the training provided by Womanspace to establish a rapport, gain her trust, and explore her fears and concerns. After discussing her options, she agreed to be referred to Womanspace for help.

The Womanspace Counselor focused Rosa’s sessions on providing emotional support, increasing self-care, identifying options, and developing a safety plan to put in place before her husband returned to the United States. It became clear that her husband displayed controlling behavior and that he had threatened to kill her if she left him. Although, at first, Rosa showed the common reactions to trauma - heightened sense of fear, depression, and anxiety, she made the decision to leave her husband. She then entered the Womanspace shelter for her own safety when her husband returned from their country. Despite the high levels of fear she was able to act courageously. She has become emotionally stronger, and with support and advocacy is looking at what she needs to do to obtain training and additional education so she can find employment.

 

HEALTH

Betty is disabled and lives alone with her cat. She is very independent and doesn’t like to ask for help. But as she grew older and developed multiple health issues, she realized that she was in danger of having to leave her home and move to a nursing home. Betty needed help and that help came from Partners in Caring (a project created by United Way). A case manager met with Betty and assessed her needs and her home environment. It was determined that Betty needed in-home nursing care, education about and monitoring of her medications, and updates to her home to make it safer and more accessible.

Betty’s Partner in Caring case manager made sure that all of these services were put into place. The case manager also worked with Betty’s housing complex to complete the safety and accessibility updates. With the assistance she received from Partners in Caring, Betty is getting the help she needs to remain in her own home. Betty told United Way, “Partners in Caring was there for me when no one else was, and I’m so happy to still be in my own home.”

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Employees at NRG Energy take time out to collect and deliver back packs for the drive.

 

UWGMC’s Back to School Drive
Advancing the common good through education and school-readiness

UWGMC has once again partnered with local businesses, corporations, community organizations, and individuals to help prepare children who are from low-income families to return to school with pride, self-esteem, and a backpack full of supplies! We filled 804 backpacks with all kinds of necessary, age-appropriate school supplies. For the third year in a row, NRG Energy of Princeton donated $3,000 to UWGMC to buy school supplies, backpacks and other items needed for children returning to school. In addition, NRG employees donated another $275, and NRG was also the largest contributor of backpacks, donating 130 filled backpacks. Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s drive such a success!

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UWGMC and Community Partner IBM Bring Technology to Early Childhood Classrooms

Eight Mercer County pre-school programs have received 24 new “Young Explorer” computer workstations from IBM this year. This annual computer donation is part of United Way’s community impact agenda for “Helping Children Succeed,” a strategy designed to get children ready for school and to keep them in school.

As part of its KidSmart Early Learning technology program, IBM has directed more than 2 million dollars in equipment to New Jersey classrooms. UWGMC has been a key conduit to get the program’s kid-friendly Young Explorer computer workstations to children in low-income area schools who would not otherwise have access to this technology. With the Young Explorer, small groups of children can work together exploring the world of science and math while building other important skills like language development, communication and working together as a team. “The Young Explorer is appealing to the child’s eye with its colorful appearance, and the large keyboard allows the children to improve their eye-hand coordination,” said one teacher trained to use the system in Mercer County.

Teachers also receive training provided by United Way and IBM on how to use the software to integrate the information into their lesson plan to help children get the most out of the equipment. One recipient of the computers remarked that the children they serve are way behind in the area of technology, due to lack of exposure. This is the start of getting them up to par with other children who are now exposed to computers.

This year the equipment gifts were delivered to eight agencies in September. The programs that received Young Explorers are: ARC/Mercer, Family Guidance Center, two Lakeview Child Centers, Martin House, Princeton Presbyterian School, PTO of TVLC, and Trinity Cathedral Academy.

Feedback from family and students has been very positive. One parent said, “These computers help the children conquer their fears, and they are now able to travel to different countries with their Young Explorer.” The children eagerly demonstrated how they use the computers, and they all agreed the computers are fun to play with.

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Help Local Families Enjoy a Festive Thanksgiving with a Food Basket

It is time for UWGMC’s Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. We need your help since the need is so great.

UWGMC is changing its process for its Thanksgiving Food Drive this year. Instead of collecting and distributing food baskets, we are linking companies and individuals who donate directly with recipient agencies in the community.
Please help by donating a basket filled with:
Canned fruits (2), canned corn (2), canned green beans (2), Prepackaged stuffing mix (1), canned Gravy (or gravy packet) (2), cranberry sauce (2),canned white potatoes (1-2), canned sweet potatoes (1-2),canned juice or juice boxes, macaroni & cheese, Bisquick mix, corn muffin mix, brown or white rice, pepper & salt substitute, medium/large laundry basket, $25.00 gift card to buy a turkey.

Please note: Baskets cannot contain perishable items or glass containers. And, we cannot accept any food or baskets dropped off
at our office.

Or you can consider donating a gift card to Shop Rite, Wegmans, Acme, or Stop and Shop for $50.00 for a family or 4, $75.00 for a family of 5, or $100.00 for a family of 6 or more.

Contact UWGMC for information on how to link with a community agency! 609.896.1912

Collection dates are: October 12 through November 6.
Delivery to/pick up from Agencies: November 9 through 20.

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We Need Help Collecting Gifts for the
December Holiday Season

The Holiday Season is fast approaching. This year the need will be greater than ever before. With higher levels of unemployment, more families will find it difficult to provide gifts to their children.

We need your help to make this a Holiday Season to remember. United Way will be launching its annual December Holiday Gift Drive in just a few short weeks. To help visit our website at
www.liveunitedgreatermercer.org/HOLIDAY.cfm or call 609.896.1912.

With your help, the Holiday Season will be brighter for hundreds of children in our community.

Happy Holidays!

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Please Give Now! We need your support! This November newsletter focuses on the important work that UWGMC is doing in our community. Please take the time to read it and please give now so we can continue that great work. You can donate now by clicking here, use the enclosed pledge envelope, or call us at 609.896.1912 for further information.

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