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Your Community - United Way of Martin County invests $2.056 million in community

Stuart News - 8/2/2017

United Way of Martin County took a major step to graduate more students, lift families and individuals to financial stability and create a healthier community by investing $2.056 million in the community in 2017-2018.

Each year, United Way raises funds through workplace or community campaigns, grants and corporate partnerships. These funds are invested in programs that assist individuals and families in Martin County who are struggling to meet basic needs in the areas of education, financial stability and health.

"Many people are surprised to learn that 41 percent of our households are either living in or on the edge of poverty," said United Way of Martin County President/CEO Carol G. Houwaart-Diez. "Our problems may be well hidden, but at United Way we go looking for our community's most daunting social crises and we find every dollar we can to address them."

This year, United Way is investing in 50 local programs and initiatives. In education, United Way is investing in programs that increase the quality of preschools available to our kids as well as focus on achieving grade-level reading, and provide the support necessary to see our kids through high school graduation and beyond.

United Way is investing in programs

For financial stability, United Way is investing in programs helping individuals and families achieve and maintain financial stability with a focus on workforce development through education, job placement and retention and legal mediation. The goal is to help our community earn it, keep it and save it. United Way is also supporting food programs.

And in the focus area of health, United Way is investing in programs that help our community members prevent trauma, make healthy choices, manage chronic disease and increase access to health care.

United Way invested in a number of new programs this year including:

• Legal Aid Society, which provides pro bono civil legal assistance to those in Martin County who cannot afford legal representation;

• Life Builders, which seeks to reduce crime, recidivism, and assist low-income individuals who are progressing through the criminal justice system or dependency court;

• Little Lights Dentistry Program which provides a dental practice for children ages 1 to 12 years old; and

• Strengthening Families program which is a family skills training program.

United Way's impact goes beyond financial support. Each year the organization helps taxpayers in low-income households keep more of their hard-earned money by providing free tax preparation services. This year, trained volunteers prepared 372 tax returns for Martin County residents, which brought $435,282 back to residents and into the community through tax refunds while saving $45,000 in tax preparation fees. The average household income of the clients served was $22,950.

United Way's volunteer network also drives meaningful impact in the community. Through United Way of Martin County's volunteer center, Martin Volunteers, more than 1,200 volunteers devoted nearly 100,000 reported hours in service to nonprofit and public agencies, providing an estimated dollar value of $2.24 million for their volunteer time.

To learn more and view a full list of funded programs, visit www.UnitedWayMartin.org.