Our Initiatives
United Way is best known for the funding of programs and agencies. In addition to providing funding, United Way also works with others in the community, sometimes as a leader, other times as a partner. All of our initiatives are collaborative with multiple partners.
United Way is pleased to announce the recent launch of BC211 in the Fraser Valley.
211 is an easy to remember telephone number that provides free, confidential, multilingual information about and referral to a full range of community, social, health and government services. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, information and referral specialists answer 211 calls, linking people to the services and support they need.
The 211 service will build, strengthen, and support our communities by providing an easy connection to reliable, quality community information for community and social services. The service is backed by a comprehensive database of resources including, federal, provincial, and local government agencies, community-based organization, and non-profit organizations.
In addition to the phone service, a 211 website is under development which will allow users to find their own way to programs and services.
More than 28 per cent of the children in BC are not ready to attend school. While poverty does not cause illiteracy, children from poor families have lower literacy skills than those from wealthy families.
United Way has partnered with Reading Tree to distribute 18,000 books to children in the Fraser Valley. Four in-classroom lending libraries will be established. One school in each of the Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission and Fraser-Cascade school districts will receive 10 books per student. There is one "rule" - no penalties will be levied for lost or damaged books. Once per year, Reading Tree will replace lost books. Once the four school districts receive their allotment, Early Childhood Development programs across the Fraser Valley will be able to secure books for their programs.
It is said that it takes a community to raise a child -- this truly is a community effort. The assistance includes many retail outlets that have allowed Reading Tree to place a donation bin on their property. Also, individuals in our communities donate books.
Reading Tree collects and sorts the books, then distributes them through United Way contacts to schools the local school districts identify as having low literacy rates. Early Child Development programs identify a need and create a distribution process to ensure vulnerable children receive age-appropriate books.
Parents are asked to read with their children 20-30 minutes per day. They will now have access to books. The program is environmentally friendly -- we re-use instead of recycle, reducing the number of trees being cut in our forests.
Emergency Transit Assistance Programs (ETAP):
These programs allow individuals without the financial resources to access transit, to attend medical appointments, job interviews and other programs that improve their lives. Abbotsford Mission: The Abbotsford/Mission initiative is between the City of Abbotsford, District of Mission, Mission Abbotsford Transit Committee, BC Transit and United Way. More than 28,000 transit tickets have been distributed since its inception in 2005. Many thanks to the two city councils and the community-based agencies distributing the passes for their assistance. Chilliwack: We successfully implemented an ETAP program in the fall of 2009. Since then, the monthly demand has already risen to over 300 passes per month. Many thanks to our agency ETAP partner, Chilliwack Resource Centre, for managing the program in Chilliwack. Also a special thanks to the City of Chilliwack Mayor, Sharon Gaetz, and Council for their support.
This season the Heat are dedicated to partnering with community-minded companies in our communities to send children and families who may typically not have the opportunity to attend a professional hockey game with a chance to do so. This is a meaningful way to bring families and communities together in a social and fun environment.
In partnership with the United Way of the Fraser Valley, tickets purchased by local generous companies are distributed to families who can truly benefit from the opportunity to attend a professional sporting event are afforded the chance to do so.
Vibrant Abbotsford’s three priorities are:
1. Business Engagement: Encouraging businesses to have policies that reduce poverty. Top Abbotsford employer recognition.
2. Living Wage: Encouraging employers to pay their staff adequately so that they can actively particiapte in the community, without a having to access poverty alleviation programs.
3. Municipal engagement: Encouraging the Cities to develop poverty reduction strategies.
This partnership between the provincial government, Credit Unions of BC and United Way, is an early-childhood development initiative dedicated to providing all children with a good start in life. It helps to ensure that children ages 0 to 6 develop the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical skills they need as they enter school. This incredible program is now starting to reap results. Early Development Instrument (EDI) scores are showing improved readiness for children entering school & improvements in further grades.
Charitable Business Number: 11927 8430 RR0001