United Way of Portage County |
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ENEWS FROM YOUR LOCAL UNITED WAY |
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The Handraiser - August 2022 |
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Update to Our Mission, Vision
and Focus Areas
In the last year, United Way of Portage County's Board of Directors has approved an update to the organization's mission, vision and focus areas. These updates will be used to guide the development of a strategic plan for the organization. This plan will be underpinned by principles of fiscal responsibility, development, marketing and sustainability. In March, our Board met at the Football Hall of Fame for strategic planning (pictured above).
Mission: We unite people with resources to improve the quality of life of families and individuals in Portage County.
Vision: A Portage County where no resident is without food, no child is without tools to learn, and no one is without access to care.
Focus Areas: Youth Education, Public Health, Critical Needs
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News from the CEO, Bill Childers:
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Celebrate Portage!
Cruise-In TOMORROW
The Celebrate Portage! Cruise-In is happening in Ravenna tomorrow, 8/3!
Every year in August thousands of racecars, hotrods, classics, semis, tractors, motorcycles and vehicle enthusiasts of all ages descend on downtown Ravenna for a HUGE cruise-in! Its’s a great show rain or shine, you don’t want to miss it!
The event will take place between 3-10PM, Wednesday on East Main Street in Ravenna. The street will be closed starting at 1:00 p.m. to allow cars to get into place. Parking is first-come, first-served. Spectator parking also is available behind Portage Community Bank.
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Welcoming Two New Board of Directors
United Way of Portage County (UWPC) is pleased to announce the appointment of two new board members: LuAnn Linson Coldwell of Kent State University and Walter Williams of Hiram College. These new directors will provide strategic direction for continued growth around United Way’s mission – to unite people and resources to improve the quality of life of families and individuals in Portage County.
“We’re thrilled to welcome LuAnn and Walter to United Way of Portage County's Board of Directors,” said Bill Childers, president and CEO of UWPC. “Our Board’s dedication has never been so evident as during the past few years, when our organization, with their approval, pivoted immediately to offer aid and resources for our community members during the pandemic."
We’d also like to thank departing board members, Karen Cipriano and Brad Cromes, for their many years of service and dedication.
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Welcoming our New Chair of the United Way Board of Directors
At the Annual Celebration, United Way of Portage County announced Craig Holcomb of Davey Tree Expert Company will lead the United Way Board of Directors as Board Chair in 2022-2023. He has a strong personal commitment to improving the community and helping people.
Last year, United Way was fortunate enough to have Holcomb lead the campaign effort as Champaign Committee Chair with a goal of raising $700,000. With his leadership and incredible team of local volunteers, that goal was exceeded.
Other United Way Leadership include:
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Ryan Hough, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at 717 Credit Union and Vice Chair at United Way
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Pam England, Marketing Directors at Portage Community Bank and Campaign Committee Chair at United Way
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Karlo Petrak, Accounting Manger at The Step 2 Company and Community Impact Committee Chair at United Way
“I’m pleased at the new and renewed commitments of our Board of Directors at United Way of Portage County,” said Holcomb. “This is a critical time for United Way to lead, partner and make strategic investments in our community that address both the immediate and long-term needs of Portage County residents.”
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This issue of
The Handraiser
Sponsored By:
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Give.
You can direct your contribution to one of the action areas- Education, Income and Health - or choose all three. As always, we will also process a restricted contribution to qualified 501(c)3 organizations.
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Advocate.
You can make change happen. United Way needs people who are passionate about better education, income and health to stand up and make a difference.
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Volunteer.
United Way works with volunteers and local nonprofits to develop the best opportunities for youth, busy working adults and seniors.
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Upcoming UWPC Events
Golf CLASSIC - TBA
Campaign Kickoff - TBA
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Upcoming Partner Events
Now-8/10/2022 - RSVP Community Give Back" project to collect school supplies for Skeels-Mathews Community Center
9/14/2022-9/18-2022 - Children's Advocacy Center Virtual Basket Raffle. Bid of basket
9/18/2022 - Kidney Foundation of Ohio Harvest Walk & 5k @ Mapleside Farms in Brunswick
10/22/2022 - Habitat for Humanity Recycle, Repurpose, Restore Event @ The Habitat for Humanity Restore in Kent
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2022-2023 Campaign
July 1st launched the new campaign season! The UWPC workplace campaign unites employees in all offices and branches of a company, and gives them the opportunity to easily donate, through payroll deduction, volunteer for local agencies, and speak out for causes that matter to them. You can become a part of a larger mission and see the difference you make in the community. To make an annual contribution, visit our website.
If your company is interested in sponsoring United Way annually or our great events, please contact Julia Colecchi for more information. We have many sponsorship levels that provide benefits for your business such as website and newsletter recognition, press release recognition, social media recognition and more!
If you are an existing corporate partner or a new local company who would like to get your workplace campaign started, please contact Julia Colecchi at juliac@uwportage.org or 330-297-1424 Ext. 3
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2021-2022 Campaign
Our 2021-2022 Annual Campaign came to a close on June 30th. Portage County Workplace Campaigns brought in $423,995 in donations during the year, helping United Way to exceed the campaign goal of $700,000. Individual donors, local companies and United Way friends helped us raised more than $170,000!!
To end the campaign, we had a $10,000 Matching Gift Challenge. Every donation in May and June was matched up to $10,000. With the help of 36 donors, we raised a total of $21,350 during this challenge. Thank you to all for your support!
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Upcoming United Way Special Events |
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UWPC Golf CLASSIC
We fully expect on having the UWPC Golf CLASSIC in September this year. We are still in the process of selecting a date for the tournament and we will send an update at soon as we can.
Annual Campaign Kickoff
Be on the lookout for an email regarding our Campaign Kickoff at the Midway Drive in. The fun event will be in early October. This event features connecting with our community funded partners, raffle baskets, 50/50 raffle, live music and a video to learn more about United Way.
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Past United Way Special Events |
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Annual Celebration and Awards Night
The United Way Annual Celebration was held on Wednesday July 27th at the home of David and Janet Dix. We had beautiful weather, a lovely patio, incredible music and food! This event was imagined to celebrate the strong spirit and history of giving in our community. Together we celebrated and recognized the great work of our outstanding donors, workplace campaigns, volunteers and caring partner organizations.
Corporate Partner of the Year: Davey Tree - in recognition of an organization that exemplifies what it means to support United Way of Portage County through a workplace campaign. An organization that understands a successful campaign requires close coordination with United Way staff, advanced planning, support from senior leadership and a healthy dose of creativity.
Live United Award: Portage Community Bank - in recognition of a company that displays exceptional support for United Way through its workplace campaign, as well as volunteerism
Community Impact Group Award: Kent State University Community Engaged Learning Students - in recognition of a team of volunteers that shares our commitment to transforming lives in the community. These students spend many hours each year to create over 1,200 literacy kits for the kindergarten and Head Start students.
Volunteer of The Year: Don Williams - in recognition of one individual who volunteers their time throughout the year for United Way of Portage County. Volunteers power our work - they open their hearts, change lives and make our community a better place.
Alexis de Toqueville Award: David and Janet Dix - in recognition of members who embody the American spirit of giving and volunteerism witnesses by Alexis de Tocqueville as he travelled to the United States in the mid-1800s. United Way's Alexis de Tocqueville Society is an elite group of local leaders dedicated to creating positive change and fueling high-impact work in Portage County.
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Thank you David and Janet Dix! |
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Campaign Champion of the Year Award |
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A special thank you to our community funded partner speakers, Brian Higgins from Family & Community Services and Leanne Biltz from Children's Advocacy Center
Catering was provided by Guido's Pizza and Catering of Ravenna. Music was provided
Thank you to all attendees, sponsors, and funded partners for attending and continuous support!
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Bluffett Concert at The Kent Stage
We hosted Bluffett, a Jimmy Buffett Tribute Band from Florida, at The Kent Stage on Saturday, June 11th! This event was a celebration on everything the community has been through and overcome throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Attendees enjoyed a fun, energetic and interactive concert with conga lines and lots of dancing all while giving back to your community!
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Bluffett on the main stage. Lead singer, Larry Pearson is a spitting image of Jimmy Buffett |
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Attendees take a picture with band at the end of the show |
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Andy Malitz and Bill Childers with opening act's Blue Taxi Duo guitarist, Kurt England |
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For more information about United Way events or sponsorships, please contact Julia Colecchi at
juliac@uwportage.org or call 330.297.1424
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Community Impact & Volunteers
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United Way Day of Caring
Day of Caring is the single largest volunteer event held annually on the 4th Friday in June. THANK YOU to the 90 volunteers who helped at many nonprofits throughout Portage County at 16 different project sites. Local businesses, social service agencies and residents from all corners of the county come together to make a positive, lasting impact. The annual volunteer day is a great team-building exercise for local companies and groups that are looking to give back to our community.
Next year’s event will be held on Friday, June 23rd, so mark your calendar and save the date!
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Providing Funding Through UWPC Annual Community Impact
Grant Review Process
United Way of Portage County funds numerous health and human service programs in our community through our partnership with multiple agencies. Program review and grant making is governed by a volunteer review team and approved by the United Way Board of Directors. United Way values accountability, transparency, and openness throughout all stages of the decision-making process.
The Awards are funded by resources made available through the most recent UWPC Campaign. We are pleased to report that after a successful campaign, the Community Impact Award total for FY23 will be funded at the same amount as FY22.
To review a list of our current Community Funded Partners, click HERE.
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UWPC’s Partnership with Kent State University Continues to Provide Literacy Kits to Portage County Students
United Way and its volunteers delivered 1,196 literacy kits to local kindergarten students and the Portage County Learning Centers. This is a huge, coordinated effort each year by Barb Boltz and our friends at Kent State University who develop and assemble the kits!
A big THANK YOU to all who are involved in this process from the volunteers at Kent State to the volunteers who sorted the kits for delivery and the volunteers who delivered them to the schools. We couldn’t do this without you!
To learn more about our literacy kit program click HERE. To view this and other volunteer opportunities click HERE.
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Providing Funding through the Emergency Food and Shelter Program & American Rescue Plan Act
The United Way of Portage County Emergency Food and Shelter Program has received a grant of $58,480 from the EFSP National Board Program, a federal program administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency. Funds will be made available for housing, utility, and food assistance programs.
In addition to the annual EFSP grant, the UWPC Emergency Food and Shelter Program has received a grant award of $180,754 from The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA-R) The total of the two grants is $239,234.
The Portage County Emergency Food and Shelter Board is composed of local representatives of the national organizations as well as Portage County government, local housing authority, emergency management agency, and non-profit organizations serving low-income households. The local board is accountable to the national board for the use and awarding of the funds.
The local EFSP Board awarded:
- Community Action Council - $38,846 for utilities
- Family & Community Services (HESS) - $95,694 for housing
- Change Hunger - $90,694 for food
- Catholic Charities – $14,000 for utilities and food
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The Giving Well Family Foundation Donates to the Portage Park District
The Giving Well Family Foundation, administered by UWPC recently donated $4,976 to the Portage Park District to purchase and print 5,000 pocket size maps of all the parks throughout the county. The importance of parks and access to nature has become more apparent to much of our community over the last two years. The brochure maps are a great tool to help people find places to explore the natural world to enhance their physical and mental health. The maps easily fold to about the size of a credit card. This makes them more environmentally friendly than the current brochure-style map. The new maps can be carried in a purse, wallet, or pocket and used over and over for a longer period of time.
Connect with the Portage Park District to get your map today! They will also be available at Dog Days of Summer festival in Kent on August 20th. Just look for the Park District's tent!
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Our Community Funded Partner Programs
Maureen Gebhardt - maureeng@uwportage.org - 330.297.1424 x4
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Hope Town Recovery Housing
Hope Town promotes long-term recovery, self-initiative, and increased independence by providing residents with access to the resources they need to make lifestyle changes. Hope Town Recovery Housing addresses the four primary need for people with addiction in our community: supportive housing, employment, transportation and recovery supports.
In June, Hope Town is opening a 15-bed female recovery house in Windham. They also purchased two vehicles and started a transportation service that serves anyone on Medicaid to drive them to their treatment, doctors visits, dentists, pharmacies and more! The 20-bed male house has served 40 men since June 2021. Many of the residents are getting jobs and successfully graduating treatment. Read more at their website.
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Rural Relief Mobile Food Pantry
Rural Relief Mobile Food Pantry's mission is to address food insecurity in rural Portage County, Ohio by providing a mobile food pantry to under-served communities. The organization has been focusing on fresh produce and meat this year, trying to limit the amount of boxed and canned items we pass out. They provide each child we serve with a snack bag and, when possible, they pass out basic hygiene items for each family served. They continue to explore ways to provide more balanced and nutritious food to the communities visited. Food insecurity in rural communities is increasing. We are a small organization, funded mainly by donations. We need more donors to help us fight hunger in underserved rural communities. Visit their website for more info.
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Habitat for Humanity
The non-profit Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) located in donated space at University Hospitals Portage Medical Center offers FREE training & prevention services to the community and FREE holistic services for the entire family navigating the devastation of child abuse, including: ongoing support, education, advocacy, medical services, court support, and more!
The Children's Advocacy Center of Portage County has expanded services to include child physical abuse, more human trafficking services including free trainings, and free training regarding mandated reporting, child abuse, and positive parenting! Please contact Leanne Biltz at Leanne.Biltz@uhhospitals.org for more information or call 330-297-8838.
The CAC is seeking an administrative volunteer that is able to dedicate a minimum of 8 hours per month. Please visit the website for more information.
The CAC 23rd Annual Bowl Against Abuse fundraiser will be virtual again this year. Hoping to return in person in April next year! At work, school, social media, friends, family, co-workers Participate in the event by joining us virtually on September 14th – 18th for the virtual basket raffle. Donate a raffle basket by contacting Rachel Lancaster to make arrangements to pick up/drop off your basket at 330-297-8838 or Rachel.Lancaster@UHhospitals.org. Sponsor the event by contacting Rachel Lancaster!
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Girls on The Run
GOTR is a confidence-building program for girls in 3rd through 8th grade. The program has been adapted to ensure the health and safety of our volunteers and program participants. At the core of our mission Girls on the Run Northeast Ohio serves as one of the preeminent organizations designed to enhance girls’ social, emotional and physical skills and behaviors to successfully navigate life experiences. The program’s intentional curriculum places an emphasis on developing competence, confidence, connection, character, caring and contribution in young girls through lessons that incorporate running and other physical activities.
Girls on the Run Northeast Ohio Northeast Ohio is now accepting coach applications for the Fall 2022 season. In order to serve all of our girls we need you! For additional information please visit here!
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Kidney Foundation of Ohio
The Kidney Foundation of Ohio provides direct financial assistance to patients suffering from renal (kidney) disease that enables them to receive their lifesaving medications and treatments. In 2021, the Foundation served over 1,000 patients.
The Foundation provides funding for vital medications, nutritional supplements and reimbursement for transportation expenses to life-saving dialysis and transplant appointments for kidney patients, who would otherwise have difficulty affording them. For more information, visit the website.
The Harvest Walk & 5k is on September 18th - sign up by clicking here
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Habitat for Humanity of Portage County
Habitat for Humanity is putting God's love into action by building homes, communities and hope. They have completed several Neighborhood Revitalization projects, including replacing rotted siding, coordinating community clean up with the Ravenna Police Department and renovating a community room for Upper Room Ministries. We are currently building a new home in Ravenna for a family of 7.
They have a new program called Aging In Place, which is a component of Neighborhood Revitalization — focusing on older adult homeowners. The goal is to help those who are over 60 in Portage County make the repairs and modifications necessary to help them “grow old” in their homes with comfort and dignity. Applications are now being accepted. Please contact Kaleena Gharky at kaleena@habitatofportage.org or visit the website.
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Big Brothers, Big Sisters
Big Brothers, Big Sisters provides children facing adversity with strong and enduring, one-on-one mentoring relationships. The program is looking for volunteers to join the community-based mentoring program. Volunteers must be able to spend 12 hours per month, for at least one year, with their match. Volunteers spend quality one-on-one time with their match, participating in activities such as taking a walk in the park, listening to music, going to a football game, playing board games or going to a museum. If you're interested in becoming a Big Brother or Big Sister, visit their website. |
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RSVP of Portage County
RSVP is one of the largest volunteer networks in the nation for people 55 and over. You can use the skills and talents you’ve learned over the years, or develop new ones while serving in a variety of volunteer activities within your community.
Our local AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP of Portage County program has enrolled and placed over 15 new senior volunteers since mid-April; offering them a wide variety of opportunities to serve and support our community partner agencies. We are always seeking additional volunteers & organizations to team up with us as we continue to improve the people living AND SERVING our county!
RSVP is hosting another "RSVP Community Give Back" project to collect school supplies for Skeels-Mathews Community Center. Collection started this week through August 10th. Drop off sites include SCOPE Portage County Senior Center & The Senior Wilds Community; both located in Ravenna. Our volunteers & friends will be presenting the donations on Wednesday, August 10th at 2:30pm. More information available on our Facebook page.
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Follow United Way on Social Media to stay in touch! |
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This issue of
The Handraiser
Sponsored By:
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