What Our Partner Agencies Say About The Value of United Way

 "United Way [of Santa Cruz County] funding provides vital resources to Santa Cruz Comunity Counseling Center programs to ensure our success in several key areas:

• literacy resources and mental health services for children in our Head Start program, which provides key components in ensuring children's school readiness and emotional wellness
• counseling for youth ages 6-12 in Watsonville through our Pajaritos program which provides alternatives to gang involvement and substance abuse for youth and positvie support for their parents
• resources for the River Street Shelter for homeless adults and case management and peer support for them as they move into permanent housing.

These are services to the most vulnerable in our community for which we do not receive adequate government funding; without the support of the United Way donors, our ability to continue these services would be limited.  Thank you for helping us to Change Lives, Build Community"

...Carolyn Coleman, Executive Director Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center

"United Way funding provides vital resources to [our] programs to ensure success....these are services to the most vulnerable in our community.....without United Way donors our ability to continue these services would be limited"

"United Way [of Santa Cruz County] is a key component for all of our clients.  Not only are we able to raise funds, we are able to take our message to many more businesses than we could on our own.  For us it also is a valuable recruitment tool for volunteers.  More children matched means a brighter future for everyone."

---Marie Cubillas, Executive Director Big Brosthers Big Sisters of Santa Cruz County

"We are able to take our message to many more businesses that we could on our own "

"The great thing about United Way funds is that they are not as restricted as government funding; we can use UW funds to really make a difference in areas where we cannot apply government funding - such as life skills education, client assistance, and even things like food and toiletries for emergency shelter clients.  It is United Way funding that makes the difference between us just providing a roof over someone's head and enabling them to really change their life, gain stable housing, and become a productive community member."

....Mark Riley, former Executive Director Pajaro Valley Shelter Services

'United Way funding makes the difference between us just providing a roof over someone's head and enabling them to really change their life."

"There is no such thing as a gift that is "too small"for us - we make every penny count.  A gift of $250 pays for training, books and materials for a volunteer tutor/student match for a year!  $500 covers gas and insurance for weekly rides for a homebound senior.  Every dollar we get from United Way is one more person we can help. 

While we get resources other places, it is much more cost effective for us to rely on the United Way - they handle all the costs of fundraising and simply write us a check.  If we had to go out and raise that money ourselves, much more of it would be eaten up in fundraising costs and less would go to directly helping people."

...Karen Delany, Executive Director, Volunteer Centers of Santa Cruz County

"If we had to go out and raise [the money that United Way raises for us] ourselves, much more of it would be eaten up in fundraising costs and less would go to directly helping people."

 "United Way is leveraged money.  That is, our Program receives federal funds with a mandate to generate at least a 10% match with local funds. United Way funding fits the bill.  In other words, one United Way dollar generates 9 federal dollars.  And for every dollar of United Way funding, we receive a dollar of Harden Foundation funding.

Without Untied Way's Gift In-Kind Program that matches local agencies with major stores that donate returned merchandise and unsold inventory, our program would miss out on an annual in-kind donation of approximately $60,000 of goods for our Foster Grandparent volunteers who werve 20 hours per week mentoring and tutoring at risk children in the schools."

...Tom Reefe, Program Director, Foster Grandparents

 "United Way [funding] is leveraged money...our program receives federal funds with a mandate to generate ...a 10% match with local funds....One United Way dollar generates 9 federal dollars."