Committed to helping more kids and families

United Way of Winnipeg wants to bring the community together to help 11,000 more kids and families during the next three years, it announced while launching a new campaign approach on Thursday.

For the first time in history, United Way’s annual fundraising campaign is evolving from a dollar amount goal to a campaign that looks beyond a single year and focuses on Three Years for a Better Winnipeg. This evolution is a direct response to a vision shared by nearly 2,000 Winnipeggers during United Way’s 50th anniversary last year.

“Our campaign remains a way for all of us to have fun, celebrate our city and donate to help our fellow Winnipeggers. But this year is the beginning of a three-year journey tied directly to our new plan to make a difference in more lives,” United Way of Winnipeg’s 2016 Campaign Chair Neil Besner told hundreds of children, parents and teachers at a community breakfast this morning held at Hugh John Macdonald School.

“People told us that together through United Way, we’re making a real difference for thousands of people every day in Winnipeg, and that we must continue to do so. But we also heard that Winnipeggers are worried about the growing challenges many kids and families in our city are facing. United Way listened, researched, and learned,” Besner added.

The three-year plan was released in June. Today United Way shared its intention to build on the essential, tried-and-true services donors make possible for thousands of Winnipeggers every day, while announcing goals to increase help for kids and families in four priority areas:

1. Providing 1,800 more kids with mentors – critical role models, advisors and friends who teach by example and help kids make healthy choices, do better in school, and develop important life and leadership skills.
2. Giving 4,000 more kids access to mental health supports – to help them manage better at home, at school and in the community.
3. Connecting 2,800 more people with job skills and money management training – helping them earn a steady income, reduce debt, manage their money, and create stability for their families.
4. Helping 2,700 more families find support close to home – by extending the reach of neighbourhood family centres, which are hubs of the community and lifelines for families, especially those in low-income situations.

“Families are the foundation of our community, and it’s strong and stable families that create strong and stable communities. That’s why over the next three years, together we can do even more to help all kids and families,” Jodene Baker, Volunteer Chair of United Way’s Community Investment Committee, told the families at the breakfast.

After announcing the campaign goals, Besner stressed the importance of contributing to United Way of Winnipeg, to help make the goals reachable.

“There’s room for all of us in this. It doesn’t matter how big or small your gift is. Every gift – every dollar – you give will help change someone’s life,” Besner said.

THREE YEARS FOR A BETTER WINNIPEG – By the Numbers

A strong and stable base:

• More than 100 – The number of programs and services in a network that thousands of Winnipeggers turn to when they need help every day

Keeping this network stable and available is critical, while going further for Winnipeg kids and families by:                      
Providing more kids with mentors: 

• 20% – percentage of kids across Winnipeg who are not graduating high school
• 40% – percentage of kids in Winnipeg’s poorest neighbourhoods who are not graduating high school
• 75% – increased likelihood that kids who are mentored will graduate high school and go on to postsecondary education
• 1,800 – more kids United Way will provide with mentors over the next three years

Giving more kids access to mental health supports:

• 1 in 4 – number of Winnipeggers age 10 and older who has a diagnosed mood or anxiety disorder
• 25% – percentage of those who need help who actually receive it
• 80% – percentage of kids who, when they get help, are able to return successfully to regular activities
• 4,000 – more kids United Way will provide with mental health support over the next three years

Connecting more people with job skills and money management training:

• 1 in 10 – number of Winnipeggers who live in poverty
• 1 in 4 – number of children living in poverty
• 75% – percentage of people helped through a job-skills program supported by United Way that were able to gain employment
• 2,800 – more people United Way will help with job skills and money management training over the next three years

Helping more families find support close to home:

• 24 – number of neighbourhood family centres United Way supports, which are hubs of the community and lifelines for families.
• 30 – average hours a week these neighbourhood family centres are able to stay open
• 6 – hours a week some family centres are open
• $5 – community dollars saved for every dollar invested in neighbourhood family centres, in social, health care and justice costs (according to a recent report for one Winnipeg centre)
• 2,700 – more kids and families United Way will help access supports close to home through their neighbourhood family centres over the next three years