United Way meets its $1M goal for 2017 campaign

MOUNT VERNON — United Way of Knox County is starting off 2018 on a high note. At Thursday’s annual meeting, it was announced the organization already met its $1 million goal for the 2017 campaign.

“It feels fabulous,” said Kelly Brenneman, Executive Director of United Way of Knox County. “We worked very, very hard with a wonderful group of volunteers, donors, and our staff members. We just absolutely are thrilled.”

Though the organization has been able to provide its partner agencies with sufficient funds, Brenneman said they will be looking at raising the goal for the 2018 campaign.

“We could do what we needed to do with the $1 million, but now we will be expanding some programming and we want to do some different things in 2018,” Brenneman said. “We have some things in the pipeline, so we are going to raise the goal this next year.”

Some of that programming included two new ones: the East Elementary Eagles’ Nest and Coaching Boys into Men.

“We weren’t pleased with some of our academic results with some of the programs we were funding,” Brenneman explained.

The staff from East Elementary approached United Way with a plan for an after-school program designed around giving students an academic boost.

“They had the results and they had the data to prove that the kids were doing well,” Brenneman said. “That to us was just perfect. That was exactly what we wanted to do.”

Eagles’ Nest started in September, helmed by retired teacher Marilyn Nagy. While the program assists children with homework, it also provides enrichment activities for 30 students, from yoga and Zumba to cooking, games, and STEM activities. Certified teachers and volunteers from Mount Vernon High School and Middle School, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, and Kenyon College assist children with individual help and support. Results are already being seen: children enrolled in the pilot program scored at or above their predicted score when it came time for mid-year testing.

“What we are doing is making a difference,” said Nagy.

“Everyday I get help with my homework,” said fourth grader Adrianna Hitchcock. “It has made me a better reader and more confident in fourth grade.”

“We’re going to be expanding [Eagles’ Nest] and going to different schools,” Brenneman said. “We’re really excited about it.”

Coaching Boys into Men began on Jan. 25 through New Directions Domestic Abuse Shelter and Rape Crisis Center.

“It’s a program focusing on boys. It’s kind of our partner to Girls on the Run and Ruling Our Experiences,” Brenneman explained. “We listened to our community, we listened to our partners, we listened to the guidance counselors and they said, ‘what are you going to do for boys?’ This is what we found and this is what we’re going to try to implement. We’re going to watch it this year; it may not be what we want and we’ll reevaluate it.”

Coaches in the program not only coach the boys into good players, but they also worked towards guiding the young men into being good people.

“The best part of it is it’s a program where the boys can talk to each other, talk about what’s going on in their lives, they can ask their coach really difficult questions that maybe they can’t talk to each other about or their parents about,” Brenneman said.

She added they are actively looking for more men to become involved in the program.

United Way will receive quarterly reports from its programs to follow the success of each one. “They always give us a success story and they always give us a lot of feedback about their programs. It’s all good information to help us evaluate them,” said Brenneman.

United Way of Knox County invested $734,495 in 28 programs in 2017. It also provided nearly 600 residents with tax assistance and partnered with Dollar Energy and AEP to provide Neighbor to Neighbor Assistance by helping 14 clients with their electric bills.

Women United, a new affinity group of United Way, invested additional money in Knox County in 2017. The group raised $42,580 at its Power of the Purse event in May and hosted numerous programs, including Girls on the Run, Ruling Our Experiences, Stuff the Book Bags, Women in Recovery Breakfasts, Diaper Bag/Wine and Cheese Night, and the O’Hara Chris-Fit Program. The 2017 budget included $10,000 for the purchase of a recovery house for women and children.

The top 20 corporate campaigns were recognized for their 2017 donations. They are as follows: