Education

Every parent's dream is for their children to succeed – and for the next generation to be more successful than the last. Far too often a child in South Hampton Roads enters kindergarten without the basic skills to learn.

We are committed to engaging families in their children’s education from birth through high school. Through our Raising A Reader program, we ensure that children have the foundation they need to be ready to learn. Each week, over 12,000 preschool students receive bright red book bags filled with story books. These books inspire all families, regardless of their reading abilities, to share books. Since Raising A Reader’s inception, the kindergarten retention rate has been cut by 50%.

Financial Stability

Pay rent or buy groceries? Working families struggle with this decision every month in our community.

Approximately 1 out of every 10 people in our region live in poverty and over 1,400 people are homeless on any given day in South Hampton Roads. United Way is committed to providing a safety net for our neighbors who have found themselves in times of need. We not only give you shoes, we provide you with the opportunity to get back on your feet!

Live$mart, now with 50 community partners, provides practical financial tools to benefit families and individuals, leading them towards financial stability. Through this initiative, we facilitate financial workshops for youth groups, clients of homeless and domestic violence shelters, other non-profits, and employer groups.

Health

A child with a toothache is unable to concentrate in school and succeed. A family without health insurance is often overwhelmed to the point of bankruptcy by the financial burdens of an illness. Seniors without prescription assistance have to make frightening decisions on which medicine they can afford and which ones they will go without. If you’re unhealthy, you can’t live up to your full potential.

Nearly 40% of the U.S. population don’t buy medicine they need or reduce the required dosage because of the high cost. Through our work with Access Partnership and FamilyWize, we distribute prescription discount cards to local residents. These discount cards are offered free of charge to anyone with limited or no prescription drug coverage, with savings provided by the participating pharmaceutical companies. Since we began making these cards available in the community, citizens have saved more than $2.4 million on the cost of their medications.

Community Building

We all benefit when a child succeeds in school, when families are financially stable and when people are healthy.

Encouraging individual and organizational participation is vital to continuing the mission of United Way of South Hampton Roads. Based on current community needs, we bring together non-profits, local government agencies and other non-traditional partners to create lasting change.

In order to help all children advance, we are expanding on our current successes in early childhood education. Through participation and leadership we are broadening our influence around critical issues with adolescents and parent engagement. As a member of the Regional Taskforce to End Homelessness and a partner in Project Homeless Connect, we move people off the streets and into permanent housing. Additionally, United Way is leading an initiative towards improved oral health for low-income and homeless individuals and families.