United Way awards over $34,000 to Butler County programs

Fri, 08/02/2019 - 12:22pm — Hannah Vanover

United Way of Southern Kentucky announced last week that it will be investing a total of $34,115 in local education, health and safety net programs for the 2019-20 fiscal year. The organization presented a check for $26,850 at the July luncheon of the Morgantown-Butler County Chamber of Commerce.

The funds are broken down into the following categories:

Education: $12,750

Health: $8,100

Safety Net: $6,000

These funds were allocated by volunteers led by Butler County Chair Jason Jones.

Additional funds in the amount of $6,150 will remain for investments in Butler County, which leads to the total of $34,115.

In 2012, United Way began a community research project to find the programs in each county that were deemed most important or eligible for funding. This Community Impact Plan was created to develop community change and growth. Organizations had the opportunity to write a letter of intent and, if chosen, would continue in the process and meet with the Allocations Committee.

For the 2019 – 2020 funding cycle, a total of $1,036,631 will be invested in the 10 counties across the BRADD Region. This includes a total of 58 programs through 37 different service providers in the region. Counties included are: Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Monroe, Simpson and Warren.

“As we finish the fourth year of investments in our new Community Impact platform of work, we are thrilled that the new partners continue to join forces with us along with the tremendous impact being achieved by current partners,” said Debbie Hills, President and CEO of United Way of Southern Kentucky. “We are now beginning to see the true impact of our efforts with the significant outcomes.”

A full break down of the funding allocations and distributions can be found below:

Education $12,750

Kindergarten Readiness:

Barren River District Health Department HANDS (Health Access Nurturing Development Services) $1,650

Butler County Schools LEAP Bus (Learn, Explore and Play) $6,000

College and Career Readiness:

Butler County Schools Dual Credit Program $1,600

Junior Achievement Essential Skills = Workforce Ready: The Expanded UW/JA Initiative $3,500

Health $8,100

Access to Affordable Health Care:

Kentucky Legal Aid Barren River Long Term Care Ombudsman $3,000

Kentucky Legal Aid Benefits Counseling $500