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Recently, United Way was approached by DonorsChoose.org with an exciting opportunity that we would like to share with you – and make $7,500 available to worthy education projects in our community.
DonorsChoose.org is an online charity that makes it easy for people to help meet classroom needs and/or support classroom projects all across the country. And, thanks to a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, DonorsChoose.org is partnering with local businesses and civic organizations to fund classroom projects in Hillsborough County.
Our United Way has agreed to help distribute these electronic gift cards to the public. The eCards are absolutely free to you. The only restrictions are that they need to be redeemed online before April 11, 2011, and that they have to be used to support classroom projects from Hillsborough County Schools as per the Gates Foundation, who provided the grant for the program. The first 300 people signing up will receive a $25 eCard to use for educational programs at local classrooms. You get to choose the school and program.
To get one of the eCards (sent to you via email) all you need to sign up with our Raise Your Hand for Education initiative. This campaign is uniting people from all walks of life to show their support of Tampa Bay kids learning and earning their high school diplomas. United Way believes education is the best path out of poverty and recognizes that everyone in the community should have the opportunity to get more kids through school and to high school graduation.
To sign up go to www.UnitedWayTampaBay.org/pledge It takes about three minutes to sign up and pledge your support for education. By signing up, you will receive periodic information and recommendations on how you can tutor, mentor and volunteer to help students throughout Tampa Bay. As well, you could even win an iPad for signing up!
After enrolling, you will receive a confirmation and within a few days, you’ll receive an email with the DonorsChoose.org eCard.
To use the gift eCard:
1) Visit: www.donorschoose.org/hillsborough2011.
2) Enter the code you receive in your email.
3) Choose a classroom project to support.
Remember, be sure to spend your gift card before it expires on April 11, 2011.
On behalf of United Way of Tampa Bay, DonorsChoose.org and the Gates Foundation, we are thanking all who participate!
United Way of Tampa Bay recently received this startling memo from United Food Bank, an independent agency United Way partners with to help hungry families. It clearly demonstrates the incredible challenges faced by people in our community — and charts how hunger is a growing issue in our region.
“The United Food Bank’s annual Children’s Nutrition Outreach Program provides free breakfast and lunch groceries to children who are at risk of going hungry when school meals are not available. Children can be referred to this program from their schools during spring, summer, Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks.
The summer program ended August 20th as students will return to school this week. Below is a three year comparison of the impact of the program to children in need in our community:
- In 2008, there were 2,170 client visits for food; in 2009 we served 4,102 and in 2010, 6,460 sought help.
- In 2008, we distributed 36,000 pounds of food. In 2009, 68,000 pounds and in 2010, 77,905 pounds were given out.
Families thanked us all summer and said without the United Food Bank’s grocery support, they did not know how they would feed their children. In fact, the very first day of our children’s summer outreach, an elementary school aged boy came in the United Food Bank with his mom. He said, “I’m starving. We forgot to eat breakfast this morning, didn’t we mom?” When I looked up at the mom, she had tears in her eyes . . . she didn’t forget breakfast, she didn’t have food to give her son . . .
Currently, due to the tremendous impact of our Children’s Nutrition Outreach Program, our shelves are looking empty. Your continued support enables us to refill the shelves and continue providing groceries to truly hungry individuals in our community.”
Data Provided by:
Kelleigh Klein
Executive Director
United Food Bank and Services of Plant City
(United Food Bank and Services of Plant City is an independent nonprofit organization and not directly affiliated with United Way)
Every penny counts in today’s economy, yet many Tampa Bay working people are overlooking an important tax credit that could put up to $5,600 or more in their pockets. The Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC, can be the needed financial boost for working people hit by hard economic times in Hillsborough County. Thousands of families will qualify for an additional benefit: free income tax preparation by volunteer tax preparers.
United Way of Tampa Bay, the lead agency in a partnership of several regional organizations, is directing the efforts of the Prosperity Campaign of Hillsborough County. Through the Prosperity Campaign, qualified individuals will have access to free tax preparation and assistance in applying for additional tax credits.
Read the rest of this entry »
How People Can Help:
(A) Individuals can make monetary donations online at www.LiveUnited.org. These contributions will go directly into the United Way Worldwide Disaster Relief Fund. You can conveniently use a credit or debit card to make this donation. Or you may wish to send a check to:
United Way Worldwide
Haiti Disaster Relief
PO Box 630568
Baltimore, Maryland 21263-0568
Make your check payable to United Way Worldwide/Haiti Relief Fund
Individuals may also text a $5 donation by texting HAITI to UNITED (864833).
(B) Corporate partners and other workplace organizations in the Tampa Bay area are encouraged to contact Afira DeVries at 813-846-8099 or by email at adevries@uwtb.org for business donations of any type.
(C) Individual in-kind donations of materials (clothing, blankets, medicines, etc.) are being managed by United Way’s partnership with AidMatrix. The web address is www.aidmatrix.org/haiti.htm ; follow the online procedure to identify your donation. Please note: Most in-kind donations will not be collected locally and/or be transported to Haiti until rescue and recovery operations are complete. This may take several days or more while military and rescue efforts are underway.
(D) Individuals who have an interest in volunteering to assist in local relief efforts are encouraged to contact the following sites:
Red Cross Web Site: www.RedCross.org
Salvation Army: www.SalvationArmyUSA.org
Catholic Charities: www.catholiccharitiesusa.org
Late breaking information will be made available on this blog or you may wish to follow us on Twitter @UWTB.
As reported by Yahoo and the Associated Press:
Drugstore operator Walgreens will offer free clinic visits to the unemployed and uninsured for the rest of the year, providing tests and routine treatment for minor ailments through its walk-in clinics — though patients will still pay for precriptions.
Walgreens said patients who lose their job and health insurance after March 31 will be able to get free treatment at its in-store Take Care clinics for respiratory problems, allergies, infections and skin conditions, among other ailments. Typically those treatments cost $59 or more for patients with no insurance.
Hal Rosenbluth, chairman of the Take Care Health Systems division, described the plan as something close to an experiment: He said Walgreens isn’t sure of patient demand or how much providing the services might cost the company.
It’s likely to generate more attention for the clinics, however. Rosenbluth said a typical Take Care patient tells eight other people about his or her experience. So far, about 30 percent of Take Care patients were new customers to Walgreens.
The program is expected to last through the end of 2009. Walgreens runs 341 Take Care clinics in 35 markets around the country, including Chicago, Atlanta, Miami and Cleveland.
Free services will be offered only from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Walgreens said it will not offer free checkups, vaccinations or other injections because it is focusing on providing services patients might otherwise get at an urgent-care center or even an emergency room.
Patients must present proof they are unemployed, including a federal or state unemployment determination letter and an unemployment check stub. They will have to sign a form at the clinic saying they have lost their jobs and health benefits. If they find a new job or get new health insurance, they will no longer be eligible for free care.
Spouses and children are also eligible for free services if they don’t have insurance of their own.
Medical lab operator Quest Diagnostics is participating in the program by offering free tests for step throat and urinary tract infections.
Walgreens bought the Take Care clinics in May 2007. Take Care says it has seen about 1.2 million patients since its launch in November 2005 and estimates that up to 30 percent of them were uninsured.
United Way’s Disaster Services blog has been launched to provide the Tampa Bay community – citizens and health and human services agencies — with a disaster planning, mitigation, and recovery resource.
In addition to finding help with getting your family ready for a disaster, human service agencies will find help with business continuity planning as well.
You will also be kept up to date on United Way’s work with its many partners with respect to the following:
1. The development of Volunteer Reception Centers that are primed and ready to go in the case of a major disaster.
2. The development of collaborations throughout Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties that work to mobilize human service organizations, governments, business, and volunteer organizations when a major disaster strikes.
3. Opportunities for human service agencies to participate in disaster training workshops.
4. Information for citizens about how to prepare for, and respond to, a major disaster.
5. Where to go for help if and when a major disaster strikes.
If you have any ideas about how this blog could better help you and the community, please contact Sheri Taylor at United Way. Her email is staylor@uwtb.org and her phone number is 813-274-0962.
If you would like to volunteer for a post-disaster opprtunity, please register with us for opportunties posted HERE.
