Data USA states 14% of Hall county residents live below the poverty line. Funding school supplies can be a struggle for these families, but United Way of Hall County is determined to help.
United Way of Hall County knows that families cannot prepare for the future if they can’t make ends meet. They believe that everyone wins when kids do well in school, families get a steady income, and more people have access to good health/ human services.
“Our mission in United Way of Hall County is to unite people, organizations, and the resources in this community to improve lives in our community.” – Teigha Snowden, the Director of Advocacy
Their community game plan lists all the research they’ve conducted in Hall County and takes notes on what areas need the most help. Specifically, areas of education, financial instability, and health.
Recently, United Way received two grants from the Sandra Dill Foundation. One allows them to supply books and child development toys for those five years old and younger. The other provides learning materials to parents who are continuing their education. One of these materials includes a book called “The Basics”. It is a toolkit that teaches parents and children effective ways of calming the emotions children don’t know how to process.
In order to implement this initiative they travel by bus to various college campuses, presently supporting their community.
Snowden says, “We are trying to help parents with whatever they need and give them a boost just to make their load a little lighter.”
There are different programs that the United Way implements to aid the community. According to their website, residents can visit the Compass center, which is “a one-stop community resource center to help navigate life for anyone in Hall County who is suffering.” They also have Community action groups, named One Hall, that meet monthly and are open to everyone. This program aims to break the cycle of poverty in Hall County by focusing on the most vulnerable residents’ perspectives.
United Way’s financial statements explain that they have collected $1,496,656 in support and revenue in 2021 alone. The community investment grants they provided and program services cost them $972,695. Their administrative and fundraising expenses added $265,964 to that total. That brought their 2021 expenses to a total of $1,238,659, leaving $257,997. There was no further information provided regarding what was left.
Jitasa states a typical practice is for non-profit organizations to reinvest anything left over back into the organization itself. It is also possible that they may place those funds into a reserve fund, just in case of any future difficulties an organization has.
The next pop-up event they have planned is on Dec. 6, from 2-6 p.m. at the University of North Georgia’s Gainesville campus. For more information about United Way of Hall County, visit their website at https://www.unitedwayhallcounty.org.
