COMMUNITY INITIATIVES

EDUCATION    INCOME    HEALTH
 
The United Way assists with funding to our partner agencies which work Submitour partner agencies which work with children to promote education and values which will allow the children to be better prepared to face the rigorous stresses in the employment world. Some agencies include:

• Boy Scouts of America
• Boys & Girls Club
• Carmichael Family Resources Center
• Cochise County Children's Center
• Friends of the San Pedro River
• Girls Scouts of America

Without the education component early in a person's life, it is very difficult to obtain the income which is necessary to have a stable life and to raise a family.  Some agenciesoffering assistance to those with income difficulties include:

• Cochise County Association for the Handicapped
• Bisbee Coalition for the Homeless
• Forgach House Domestic Crisis Shelter
• House of Hope Domestic Crisis Shelter
• Women's Transition Project Bisbee, AZ 

Without the income and employment, it is difficult to bridge those times when a health crisis looms. United Way continues to fund partner agencies which can provide counseling, and other services to assist people in life crisis, such as American Red Cross, Casa de la Hospice, Elder Care for Life, domestic crisis shelters in Sierra Vista and Douglas Arizona, just to name a few.

Your United Way is also involved in a variety of community initiatives to help our neighbors in Cochise County live a better life.

Your United Way has a special program named the Grombacher Assistance Program set up to assist people. For example, when someone receives a disconnect notice due to an unpaid utility bill, they can go to one of the partner agencies in Sierra Vista, Douglas, Tombstone or Willcox and seek assistance. These agencies are Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul in each of the towns in Cochise County.  After that agency verifies the emergency, the agency will assist the party to the limit of their budget and then call The United Way and we will generally make up the difference so the people are able to pay the utility bill. With this program, we funded $11,000 in assistance and kept 79 families in their homes in the last fiscal year. 

The United Way has also partnered with the Elder Abuse Task Force in funding the R-U-OK project managed by the Cochise County Sherriff’s Department. This program will call senior citizens living alone, and can verify if the person is in need of assistance that day rather than have someone in crisis and no one to check on them. This will allow the senior citizens of our County to continue to live in their own homes rather than move to an assisted living arrangement.

This year there was a need for school supplies in a school district which the local school board was unable to fill due to the economic recession. With the partnership of a local office supply house, we purchased $1,000 of supplies for the elementary schools.

In partnership with Southeastern Arizona Community Foundation we are supporting the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program. 

We also work with Cochise College to provide professional development and communication opportunities through the annual “Synergy in the Social Services” workshops that promote improved interactions among our partner agencies as well as continuing education.

Without the contributions of our donors, we could not accomplish these initiatives and we appreciate all of the donors immensely.