For us, that fact emphasized the urgency of this problem. Guercon and Bowdren explained that many of the families they work with are families of 4, making around $450 a week. Development Officer, Chelsea Bowdren, began in theater and that love for a sense of community drove her to work with nonprofits so she could help those in her own backyard. Guerchon began her career in corporate America, but realized she wanted to work somewhere with a grander impact. Senior Engagement Manager, Timna Guerchon, explained that the core mission is to break the cycle of poverty and that means working in many different areas including education, food services, financial services, and more. While Maricopa County is an area with tremendous wealth, it is also an area of severe poverty.
Valley of the Sun United Way was founded in 1925 and has been working diligently to bring together donors, businesses, faith-based communities and more to improve the lives of those less fortunate in Maricopa County.
Our latest speakers were Timna Guerchon and Chelsea Bowdren from the Valley of the Sun United Way. Referrals were provided as appropriate, based on results to 2,639 children.Ĥ- Job Training - Provided access to credentials via work-based learning, apprenticeships, internships and career exploration to 370 adults.ĥ- Emergency Shelter - Emergency shelter was provided to 16,756 persons in need of safe place to sleep.Ħ- Utility assistance was provided to 11,088 families pay overdue utility bills.ħ- Rental assistance was provided to 8,633 families in danger of eviction.Ĩ- Emergency Food was distributed to 1,081,692 families at food banks, to students at schools and through delivery to homebound seniors.As we continue to bring in more and more nonprofit speakers, it has been wonderful to learn about these different missions and gain insights we may not have had before. Hunger: supporting emergency food efforts providing support to schools to run breakfast programs and provide weekend meals to students in need.įinancial Stability: providing financial coach training to individuals working with clients struggling with poverty.Ĭommunity Empowerment: working with communities on solutions that best fit their needs, like school beautification projects, food literacy workshops, and community gardens.ġ- Tutoring - 15,764 beneficiaries of One-to-one and small group tutoring was provided to improve reading scores and study habits of students.Ģ-Mentoring - Trained and screened adults provide one-to-one mentoring to support youth academically, socially, and/or personally to 5,084 youths.ģ- Developmental Screenings - Screenings assessed physical, cognitive and social benchmarks. Homelessness: supporting emergency shelter and diversion efforts providing housing stability and support to families providing permanent supportive housing to those experiencing chronic homelessness and providing events to connect individuals to vital resources. Tutoring/Academic Assistance: improving child care by training educators and parents providing early grade literacy support embedding literacy activities in summer youth programs and creating a robust cradle to career pipeline so students succeed in school and life.
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