United Way Central Shenandoah Valley takes the reins in SAW

Yahoo

a day ago

STAUNTON – With the closing of United Way of Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro, the United Way of Harrisonburg expanded to fill the vacancy. The expanded United Way then changed its name to the United Way Central Shenandoah Valley to reflect its new coverage area.
On June 26, United Way of Central Shenandoah Valley President Amanda Leech came before the Staunton City Council to explain what that has meant for her organization.
'I am excited to be here,' said Leech. 'It's been really wonderful to take on an expansion and also very, very challenging. These opportunities are fantastic for us.'
'The next steps for us, as we expand into Staunton, Augusta, Waynesboro, and cover the whole central Shenandoah Valley [is] doing a lot of listening. We want to hear from partner organizations. We absolutely know that while … there are a lot of similarities to Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, we know there are a ton of differences. We want to really be intentional about hearing the community, hearing the needs, and being responsive to what the community really needs for the whole region.'
Leech explained the new United Way would be looking into programs provided by the United Way of Staunton, Augusta County and Waynesboro to determine what could be brought back. This includes Stuff the Bus, which will return in another form, though details are not finalized.
There are no current plans for a full office in SAW, but a United Way staff member will spend two days a week working out of the Staunton Innovation Hub. These plans may change, however.
'Ultimately our goal is to build a shared vision for the entire central Shenandoah Valley,' said Leech. 'In three to five years, the goal will be that we are united as a community, looking at solutions that cross locality lines.'
For the now former United Way of Harrisonburg, the amount of employee giving to the organization has substantially dropped since 2014 from around $640,000 annually to just under $200,000 in 2023. Across the country, workplace campaigns have dropped, with United Way's collective revenue from $3 billion in 2013 to $1.7 billion by 2023.
Leech attributed the drop in revenue to the expanded capacity for people looking to give money charitably to any cause they would like to thanks to technology making that kind of giving possible. The drop in revenue means the United Way has shifted its focus.
'United Ways across the entire country have had to rethink our place in the community and what role do we play,' said Leech. 'For us, in 2017, we started bringing the ALICE project to the community. When we really wanted to revision our purpose, we started with that. Our mission now is improving lives by connecting and mobilizing community resources.'
The ALICE project should sound familiar to those who remember the findings of Staunton's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission before it was made a permanent city commission. An alternative to looking at federal poverty guidelines, the 'asset limited, income constrained, employed' (ALICE) poverty guidelines allow localities to assess who in the community is financially struggling despite being employed.
While the federal poverty guidelines are the same for all 48 continental states, the ALICE guidelines change depending on 'on the ground' conditions. This includes housing, childcare, food, transportation, healthcare, technology, taxes, and other miscellaneous costs, rather than only looking at income.
As of 2023, in Staunton, 13% of households fall under the federal poverty guidelines, while an additional 33% fall under the ALICE threshold. In Waynesboro, according to the report, 12.5% of households fall under federal poverty guidelines and an additional 36.8% fall under ALICE guidelines. In Augusta County, approximately 9% of households fall under federal guidelines while an additional 35% fall under ALICE guidelines.
More information on ALICE can be found online at UnitedForALICE.org.
Another resource aided by United Way is 211.
'211 has become a very necessary and vital resource in Harrisonburg and Rockingham Conty and we'd like to see it grow in Staunton, Augusta, and Waynesboro,' Leech said. 'That is a call line anyone can call 24/7. There are dozens of languages available. They can get referred to human service organizations to meet their needs.'
United Way coordinates the 211 data of community resources and connects the organizations, making sure they are aware of what each of the other ones are doing. Leech offered the food coalition as an example.
'In 2020, when the pandemic hit, a lot of organizations stepped up to address food insecurity in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County,' Leech said. 'What happened was, they weren't communicating, and families were getting bags of food dropped off at their door on the same day. Food was going to waste. There wasn't any communication. One of the food entities came to us and said, 'Can you help organize this effort?' We said sure, this is exactly in our wheelhouse.'
The food coalition is now running in Harrisonburg with a grant funded staff member, keeping the food banks in communication.
Leech also highlighted an ALICE home weatherization program, a new program aiming to support single parent households, a small-dollar loan program, financial education and an employee financial wellness at work program pilot.
To provide the new United Way with feedback or advice, use the SAW expansion survey on its website.
More: The stage is set for the annual Happy Birthday America celebration in Staunton
More: Augusta Health asks community to protect hospital Medicaid funding and access to care
Lyra Bordelon (she/her) is the public transparency and justice reporter at The News Leader. Do you have a story tip or feedback? It's welcome through email to [e-mail]. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: United Way Central Shenandoah Valley takes the reins in SAW