Communities in Action

Granger School District in rural Yakima County, Washington, sees school attendance as a complex challenge. To encourage its nearly 1500 students to attend class regularly, the district offers programs that reward improved and perfect attendance. Staff also work directly with students and families to track attendance and to understand and address barriers to attending school. The “...

Priority Spokane, Spokane Public Schools (SPS), and their partners joined together to form a Community Attendance Support Team (CAST) for each of the six SPS middle schools. CASTs focus on students in grades 7 and 8 who have four unexcused absences, and use a supportive intervention approach to try to resolve the student’s attendance problem. The CAST meeting includes the student and their...

Active duty service members, veterans, and their families comprise approximately one third of the residents of Colorado’s Pikes Peak region. To more effectively meet the often interconnected needs of these individuals and their loved ones, the Peak Military Care Network (PMCN) has created an integrated care network for military members, veterans, and their families. “We began our...

The United Way of Southern Nevada (UWSN) was not satisfied with the status quo. After assessing the state’s existing early childhood education system, the group used its observations to develop a campaign that would improve the standards for quality, affordable, and accessible early childhood programs. Since UWSN identified early on the importance of getting key...

When a model preschool program in Utah’s Salt Lake County showed early results—improving kindergarten readiness and grade school performance—United Way of Salt Lake (UWSL) and community partner Voices for Utah Children took notice. Inspired by what they saw, the two groups took action to expand the comprehensive, high-quality early learning program across sectors, and put thousands of children...

In low income communities in Salt Lake, Davis, and Summit Counties, United Way and its partners are answering the multiple challenges of poverty with multiple coordinated services in convenient community hubs. Through Promise Partnerships, community stakeholders set goals, share data and results, and align...

In 2010, United Way of Greater Toledo (UWGT) wanted to know: “What are the health reasons keeping kids from thriving?” They asked parents, hospitals, schools, and other partners. Community members repeatedly told them hunger and food insecurity was hurting the health of Toledo’s children. Teachers...

First-time parents can always use some extra support, and in Clinton County, Iowa, that support is aimed at creating successful families right from the start. Clinton County is rolling out the Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) program, an initiative that pairs nurses with new mothers to provide more than just medical care. The nurses...

With Milwaukee teen birth rates more than twice the national average, the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and its partners publicly committed to a comprehensive, multi-component intervention campaign with an ambitious goal: in 2008, they pledged to reduce births among 15 to 17 year olds by 46% by 2015. To launch this effort, United Way gathered partners from across the greater...