As the year draws to a close, United Way of Santa Rosa County (UWSR) is in the process of reviewing the work accomplished for the community throughout 2015. UWSR is currently planning next year’s programs, events, and activities.
We’re extremely grateful to Santa Rosa for working with us to help support, and positively impact lives. In order to best serve the community, our staff remains focused on three crucial key impact initiative areas: health, education, and financial stability.
Here are some of the highlights from 2015: The year began with UWSR’s agency review, funding and distribution process. A group of volunteers from Santa RosaCounty serve on our agency’s funds distribution committee. This year, UWSR distributed funding to 14 partner agencies within Santa RosaCounty.
During the winter we held our inaugural fundraising gala. The Masquerade Ball raised $5,000 from ticket sales and local business sponsorships. Staff, board members, and volunteers are currently working on the next annual gala for 2016, with the anticipation that it the event will raise even more funding.
In response to community needs, UWSR conducts several smaller fundraising drives and programs, which address specific community needs. For example, it is estimated that one in three mothers have trouble providing diapers for their babies in America. The need in Santa Rosa is also great and this year and we responded to the needs of single mothers with limited or no income by holding a diaper drive.
Since 2014, Majors Home Improvement continues to partner with UWSR by donating and providing critical home improvements to families in need. This spring, Majors Helps provided a family with $10,000 worth in critical home improvements, installing replacement windows, entry doors, vinyl siding, and hurricane shutters.
Cram The Van is UWSR’s annual school supply drive for local students. UWSR partners with WEAR 3 TV and Wal-Mart to raise funds which provide students, from head start through grade 12, with backpacks filled with school supplies that are necessary for the students to experience a successful school year. In 2015, UWSR provided 2,500 Santa RosaCounty students with backpacks crammed with supplies.
This year’s community outreach activities included UWSR’s partnering with FamiliesFirst Network to bring the community a free Fall Festival, and we also participated in the successful Festival of Trees Marketplace Fundraising event for the Santa Rosa Kids’ House.
For Thanksgiving, over 60 complete turkey dinners were donated to military and at-risk families in the Santa Rosa. During Christmas, toy donations were received and distributed to help UWSR agencies and a host of individual families who were in need of holiday gifts for Santa Rosa’s children. We, at UWSR, wish all friends and families in Santa RosaCounty a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you all for giving where you live.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: UWSR looks back at busy year serving Santa Rosa