United Way’s Community Fund Progress Report 2013

“ Heroes are not giant statues framed against a red sky. They are people who say: This is my community, and it is my responsibility to make it better.” —Studs Terkel

Community is the very heart of our mission. We believe in the power — and the possibilities — of community and heroes. No giant statues, but rather thousands of people who give generously so that lives can be transformed.

That’s what United Way’s Community Fund is all about. It’s a simple concept; band together, give what you can and recognize that you are part of a greater whole.

We hope you enjoy learning about the remarkable work that gifts to the Community Fund have made possible. We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished together. Together. There is, in our view, no other way.

Thank you for believing in the United Way.

United Way of Greater Rochester | 75 College Avenue | Rochester, New York 14607

To learn more about all of the heroes who support our work, visit www.uwrochester.org/thankyou

Community Perspective data sources: ACT Rochester and American Community Survey

The social problems we’re seeking to address are incredibly complex. That’s why, in addition to strategically investing the donations entrusted to us through the Community Fund, we also collaborate with the following organizations committed to working toward community solutions:

ACT Rochester

Center for Governmental Research

Children’s Agenda

Children’s Institute/COMET

City of Rochester

Farash Foundation

Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency

Greater Rochester Health Foundation

Monroe Community College

Monroe County

Nazareth College

New York Council of Nonprofits, Inc.

Rochester Area Community Foundation

Rochester Business Alliance

Rochester City School District

Wegman Family Charitable Foundation

United Way’s Community Partners

7

United Way’s Community Fund Delivering Basic Needs to All

To learn all of the ways your gift is helping people in crisis, please visit uwrochester.org/BasicNeeds.

98,000 people

124,000

98,000 people don’t know where their next meal is coming from each day

1

RESULTS WE’RE SEEING Helping 124,000 people get food and shelter—enough people to fill every seat on 2,067 RTS buses that, when parked end-to-end, would stretch nearly 16 miles (or stretching from downtown Rochester all the way to Wayne County). Among those helped are:

• Protecting women and children facing domestic violence and abuse

• Providing street outreach and services for homeless teens

• Helping stock food pantries and clothing closets

• 2,600 homeless kids who are getting a meal and a safe place to sleep

• 95,000 people who are getting meals each year through a food pantry or soup kitchen

• Protecting families from illegal evictions• Helping families stay in their own homes

by preventing foreclosures• Providing information and referral

information 24/7 through 211

• 300 victims of domestic violence who are safe from abuse

• 4,100 individuals and families who receive legal assistance to help avoid foreclosure

WHY IT MATTERS › One in three people in Rochester live in poverty; one in six is a child. In 2013, the poverty

threshold for a four-person family with two children was $23,570—that’s less than the cost of a mid-sized family car.

› More than 15,000 Monroe County households are on verge of foreclosure; an average foreclosure costs our community $80,000. The cumulative cost of those potential foreclosures represents what it costs 15,000 families to send their child to a public university for four years.

› On any given day, 98,000 people (that’s 1,000 more than the number of people living in the town of Greece) don’t know where their next meal will come from.

WHAT WE EXPECT People have their most basic needs met; research shows that the most basic needs must be met before tackling other life challenges.

WHO WE’RE HELPING Families and individuals facing life-changing crises

HOW WE’RE HELPING

The Difference Community Fund Donors Make

United Way Supported Programs

United Way is exceptionally proud of the work we accomplish through your gifts to the Community Fund. For 2013-2016 we will work in partnership with the following human services agencies to help over 500,000 local people:

MEETING BASIC NEEDS: $5,770,710Alternatives for Battered WomenAmerican Red CrossArc of Monroe CountyBaden Street SettlementCatholic Family CenterCenter for Youth ServicesCharles Settlement HouseCommunity PlaceEmpire Justice Center Epilepsy – PralidFoodlinkGoodwill of the Finger LakesHillside Children’s CenterHousing CouncilIbero-American Action LeagueLDA Life and Learning ServicesLegal Aid SocietyMental Health AssociationMonroe County Legal AssistanceNational MS SocietyRochester Rehabilitation CenterSalvation ArmySouthWest Area Neighborhood AssociationTrillium HealthVolunteer Legal Services Project

SUPPORTING SENIORS & CAREGIVERS: $2,456,280ABVIAlzheimer’s AssociationCatholic Family CenterCommunity PlaceJewish Family ServiceLifespanMedical Motor ServiceRochester Hearing and Speech CenterVisiting Nurse ServiceYMCA

GIVING BABIES THE BEST START: $2,317,115Children’s InstituteCrestwood Children’s CenterMary Cariola Children’s CenterMt. Hope Family CenterRochester Hearing and Speech CenterVisiting Nurse Signature CareYWCA

PREPARING KIDS FOR SUCCESS: $4,321,935Baden Street SettlementBig Brothers Big SistersBoy ScoutsBoys & Girls ClubCenter for Youth ServicesCharles Settlement HouseCommunity PlaceCompeer RochesterEnCompass Resources for LearningGirl ScoutsHillside Work-Scholarship ConnectionHoly ChildhoodHorizons at HarleyHorizons at MCCHorizons at Warner – U of RIbero-American Action LeagueSouthWest Area Neighborhood AssociationUrban LeagueVolunteers of AmericaYMCAYoung Women’s College Prep

6

WE IDENTIFY CRITICAL ISSUES. Talking with literally hundreds of people in our community, we learn what matters most to our people in our community: helping local families meet their most basic needs, giving babies the best start to life, preparing kids for success and caring for our elders and their caregivers.

WE USE GIFTS TO THE COMMUNITY FUND TO SUPPORT A COMBINATION OF PROGRAMS PROVEN TO ADDRESS THOSE NEEDS. Our Community Fund investments focus on preventative programs that are proven to work and help the most people possible.

WE ENSURE THAT COMMUNITY FUND PROGRAMS SHOW RESULTS AND CHANGE LIVES. Working with our Community Fund agencies, we evaluate the results of each program and the overall impact

of our work together.

United Way’s Work

5

Thanks to the generosity of our Community Fund donors, United Way is Rochester’s largest and most efficient charitable means of supporting the planning, delivery and evaluation of local human service programs.

We’re proud that 92 cents of every contributed dollar is used to meet critical community needs.

We work to ensure that people in need have access to critical services that will change their lives for the better. Here’s how we ensure we’re addressing our community’s most pressing challenges:

For more than 90 years, United Way of Greater Rochester has been committed to making our community a better place to live.

To learn more about United Way’s work in our community, please visit uwrochester.org.

The Difference Community Fund Donors Make

United Way’s Community Fund Supporting Seniors & Caregivers

To learn all of the ways your gift if helping our community’s seniors and caregivers, please visit uwrochester.org/Seniors.

95% of older adults (65+) in Monroe County live

independently

95%

20,000

2

RESULTS WE’RE SEEINGHelping 20,000 seniors and caregivers each year—enough to fill Frontier Field. • 3,395 get transportation to medical and personal appointments• 1,700 receive daily meals delivered to their home • 400 regularly visit our community’s first-ever Multipurpose Aging Resource Center

Providing support services• Fall prevention classes• In-home helping hands• Home delivered meals• Intervention from abuse• Hearing tests

Offering caregiver support services • Respite care• Dementia caregiver support groups

WHY IT MATTERS › Today, one in four Monroe County residents are 55 or older; by 2040 it will be one in three.

› 17% of local seniors live in poverty; one in three live alone.

› Older adults prefer to remain independent in their own homes; when you consider the cost of nursing home care at $111,000 annually (more than the median home price in Irondequoit), there is a great financial—and emotional—returns on investment to help elders stay in their homes.

WHAT WE EXPECT More seniors living independently at home as long as possible.

Higher levels of social, mental and physical wellness among seniors.

Caregivers who find the support they need to care for elders in their home.

WHO WE’RE HELPING Older adults and the people that care for them

HOW WE’RE HELPING

The Difference Community Fund Donors Make

50% of our city’s children live in poverty

50%

95%

United Way’s Community Fund Giving Babies the Best Start

3

RESULTS WE’RE SEEING Helping 3,800 babies and preschoolers—if all these little ones held hands they would span the outside of Seneca Park Zoo more than twice.

95% of families in Community Fund parenting programs avoid child abuse and neglect.

95% of toddlers whose parents participated in Community Fund parenting programs exhibit healthy social and emotional behaviors.

Providing parenting programs• Home visits • Therapy sessions • Parenting classes

Offering intervention and screening services• Behavior consultations• Hearing and speech help• Therapy for learning delays• Special instruction for kids with special needs

WHY IT MATTERS › Half of all of Rochester’s babies, toddlers and little kids are living in poverty, which leads

to life-long health and education challenges.

› There are more than 2,000 child abuse and neglect cases annually in Rochester—that’s enough to fill Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre; one out of three abused children go on to abuse their own kids.

› Nearly four out of ten Rochester City School District kids enter school with physical, developmental or emotional challenges.

WHAT WE EXPECT Kids in these programs will have better attendance in school and better academic performance.

Reduced child abuse rates; evidence shows kids whose parents participated in a United Way Community Fund program will: • Spend 78% less days in the hospital for injuries. • Are 57% less likely to be incarcerated as adults.

Kids that have treatment for learning delays and are prepared to enter kindergarten.

WHO WE’RE HELPING Babies, preschoolers and parents

HOW WE’RE HELPING

To learn all of the ways your gift is helping our community’s babies, please visit uwrochester.org/Babies.

The Difference Community Fund Donors Make

RESULTS WE’RE SEEING Evaluation conducted by Children’s Institute.

Helping 8,100 kids—that’s larger than the number of students in the Brighton (3,422), West Irondequoit (3,708) and East Rochester (1,144) school districts combined in 2011/12.

In just one year, kids in Community Fund after-school programs had 4,000 more days of learning than their peers and increased their GPA by a quarter of a grade (that equates to moving from a “B” to a “B+”); we expect to see a cumulative impact as kids continue to attend after-school programming.

Offering after-school programs that include learning activities, including:• Lego League• Green house learning• Creative writing classes• Book clubs• Cooking classes

Providing summer learning programs that offer kids:• Field trips• Art classes

Mentoring programs that provide students with a caring adult

WHY IT MATTERS › Rochester ranks 7th among cities for the highest child poverty rates in the country.

› More than half of all city schools have a 90% or higher poverty rate among their students; 85% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.

› One in six kids who are not reading proficiently by 3rd grade fail to graduate from high school.

WHAT WE EXPECT Kids in these programs will have better attendance in school and higher grades.

Kids with mentors will engage in fewer risky behaviors.

Every $1 we invest in kids today will show a return of $3.28 in savings in the future.

WHO WE’RE HELPING Kids in school

HOW WE’RE HELPING

Only one of every four 3rd graders in the Rochester City School District passed the Standardized English

Test in 2009/10

1 in 4

4,000

United Way’s Community Fund Preparing Kids for Success

4To learn all of the ways your gift is helping our community’s kids, please visit uwrochester.org/Kids.