Current Community Initiatives include the following:
INCOME/FINANCIAL STABILITY
MoneyWork$* - UWIV has partnered with financial institutions to provide free money management workshops in the workplace. A company picks from a variety of classes, such as “Banking 101,” “Credit Repair,” “Identity Theft,” ” Retirement Planning,” which are offered to their employees in brown bag lunches or after work. Free classes are also being provided to college students, teens in foster care, and to the public at community centers.
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – UWIV’s financial stability work begins with tools and strategies that help families increase and maximize their income in order to meet daily expenses, as well as begin the longer-term process of saving and building assets. In collaboration with the Community Action Partnership of Riverside County providing free preparation services and a grant from Bank of America, 1,935 Riverside County residents received $2,442,508 in tax refunds, of which $1,050,606 was from the Earned Income Tax Credit.
SMARTRiverside Digital Inclusion (Financial Stability/Education) – UWIV has partnered with SMARTRiverside and the City of Riverside to recycle and repair used computer equipment and give them to low income families to help support education and job training.
EDUCATION
After school Science Education Program – Through a grant from the Abbott Fund, UWIV has partnered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest County, Oak Grove Center for Education Treatment & the Arts, and the Murrieta Valley Unified School District to hold after school science education camps for middle school-aged kids in Murrieta. High school teens in the robotics and engineering programs assist the kids in building hands on projects while earning scholarship funds. The goal is to increase interest in pursing science as a career or field of study and decrease the drop out rate.
HEALTH
FamilyWize Discount Prescription Cards – 40% of people in the United States in the last two years have either skipped filling a prescription or reduced doses because the medicine was too expensive. To address this, America’s Promise Alliance Partners have come together in this FamilyWize community service partnership to distribute these free prescription drug discount cards. An average savings of 35% or $20 per prescription is being provided by pharmacies with the free cards distributed by United Way.
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS & RECOVERY
Disaster Preparedness Information* – UWIV has partnered with VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters), the American Red Cross and Riverside County to bring disaster preparedness information to the community and bring together non-profit organizations assisting in recovery efforts.
OTHER
Community Profile – UWIV has collaborated with California Baptist University to produce a current needs assessment study for the entire Riverside County. The project is underwritten by Abbott Vascular, Sempra Energy, Boeing Corp., Riverside Community Foundation, Morongo Band of Mission Indians, and other local United Ways. Projected to be completed by November 2009, the study will be rolled-out to the public in a Riverside Future Trends Symposium.
*MoneyWork$ and Disaster Preparedness Outreach Initiatives: This project, program or service is funded in whole or in part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in cooperation with the California Department of Community Services and Development and Community Action Partnership of Riverside County.
