United Way of Pennsylvania Broadcasts the Needs of PA Nonprofits

Third and State, a Pennsylvania public policy blog, featured an article on United Way of Pennsylvania’s efforts in showing the demand for nonprofits’ services as well as the effects that budget cuts have had. United Way of Pennsylvania conducted a survey which revealed that 4 out of 5 nonprofits contend that the recession increased demand. Unfortunately, the recession also included a decrease in donations, as well as significant budget cuts. That means a lack of funding for important social services in a time when they’re needed most. With the upcoming federal budget as well as state budget, there is a serious concern amongst nonprofits that they will not be equipped to provide services to many individuals and families, services that these people greatly need. In fact, according to UWP’s survey, over a third of social service agencies surveyed had to turn away people for services and almost 20% had to revoke certain services. In these hard economic times, this is devastating for thousands of Pennsylvanians!

Here in Delaware County, nonprofits are also experiencing the pressure of an increased demand and decreased funding. With more cuts being proposed, it looks like the pressure will only increase. In some areas where the population in poverty is almost at 30%, individuals need and rely on the services that these organizations provide for basic necessities such as food or shelter. If nonprofits in Pennsylvania have to revoke services and turn people away, then that also leaves people in Pennsylvania, which includes Delaware County, who are in need with nowhere else to turn and this has a devastating effect on many of our fellow citizens’ quality of life.

Please take a look at United Way of Pennsylvania’s Survey to see the pressure nonprofits have been facing to provide much needed services.

Best Wishes for Chester Youthbuild

Youthbuild of Chester provides economically and socially vulnerable young adults with the opportunity to expand their communication, education, and work skills. The benefits participating students receive are two fold. First, students are placed on construction sites where they help build and implement more affordable housing in Chester. These activities enable students to learn and develop vocational skills in the construction business while also expanding on their own personal leadership abilities. Second, students also have access to an educational aspect of the program which consists of high school diploma preparation, GED preparation, and basic skills development.

To date, the Chester’s Youthbuild has served over 230 young adults ages 17 to 24, many of whom were single parents, homeless, former drug and alcohol users, once involved in criminal activities, or receivers of federal assistance. Chester Youthbuild provides these at-risk young adults with an opportunity to get their education, give back to the community, and become eligible for future employment.

Soon Youthbuild of Chester will have to end its services due to the fact that it is not yet a state-approved program. Youthbuild has been a great program in the community, giving Chester youth the opportunity to advance their own futures and make important contributions to the community’s housing. Although the program is closing, there is promise of it reopening upon state approval. United Way hopes that this important program will return to Chester and continue supporting the youth of Chester, as well as give many families access to more affordable housing.

For more information, please visit Chester YouthBuild’s Website: Chester Youthbuild

Dropouts: An Even Steeper Mountain to Climb

In southeast Delaware County education is a prevailing community issue. Schools, in particular, face a handful of challenges from high school dropouts to poor performance on standardized testing. It will take a whole community acting together, like the recent high school dropout summit, to begin moving past the wide array of educational challenges that schools and communities face every day.

Recently we have seen the Federal Government taking action to more accurately assess the dropout rate. Starting this year, Pennsylvania, along with all other states, will be making changes to how they measure the graduation rate. The previous method of calculation focused specifically on the graduation rates of the senior class. Starting in 2012 the new method will be based on a “four year cohort graduation rate”. This means they will calculate how many students have dropped out from the beginning of freshman year to the end of senior year. The new method reflects essentially the amount of students dropping out over the course of four years as opposed to focusing on the last year of high school only. Unfortunately, this four-year method will without a doubt reflect a higher dropout rate. These higher numbers, although more accurate, could also lead to a whole new array of problems in regards to funding and schools struggling to meet these criteria.

As an agency for community change we have to ask ourselves what kind of action we will take when faced with the stark reality of higher dropout rates. How can we help re-engage these youth? How can we prevent them from being counted in this large statistic? What can we do about the root causes that influence the dropout rate?

What do you think of the four-year measurement?

Do you think a more accurate measurement will help strengthen our education system? Do you think it will make existing challenges even harder to overcome?

Tell us what you think.

Re-focus On Education: Re-engagement of H.S. Dropouts

United Way of Southeast Delaware County has embarked on a new Initiative to help promote Education in our community. We strive to encourage lifelong learning throughout the community. We do this by helping all residents gain access to the resources, services and knowledge that will help them learn and develop over their lifetime. Yet we see that education remains a major challenge. It is up to us, the community, to find the root causes of this challenge and find a way we can all contribute to the solution.

Delaware County still faces its fair share of educational challenges, but its citizens have been working to tackle these issues. On October 20^th and 21^st, the Delaware County Office of Employment and Training held a “Re-engaging Delaware County’s High School Dropouts” Summit along with 50 social service agencies (including the United Way of Southeast Delaware County). The Summit consisted of various speakers talking about the issues followed by break-out groups where people discussed ways to re-engage Delaware County’s high school dropouts.

The Summit brought to light some salient statistics about drop-outs in southeast Delaware County:

· There are 3,700 high school dropouts in Delaware County between the ages of 16 and 24 years.

· Dropouts are twice as likely to be unemployed and four times more likely to be living in poverty.

· Dropouts earn 40% less than a high school graduate.

· The economic impact to the community is $638 per dropout per year in public assistance, health care and incarceration costs.

Statistics like these remind us just how critical the drop-out problem is. Statistics like these also serve as motivation to do something about it:

United Way of Southeast Delaware County is tackling tough problems, such as high dropout rates, through its Community Impact Model. We participate in various meetings and summits, like the drop out summit, as well as convene key stakeholders to help identify the root causes of problems and develop strategies to resolve them. This will be a long process but United Way is committed to achieving significant and long lasting change in the Delaware County community. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure that citizens of southeast Delaware County are aware of the educational challenges facing the community while offering solutions. The Dropout Summit was a positive step toward our larger goal however this is just the beginning!

The 2010 Midterm Election!

November 2, 2010: You and many other Pennsylvania residents will have the opportunity to vote in an extremely important election. Pennsylvanians will have to choose a new senator, new governor, lieutenant governor, congressional representatives, and state representatives. All of these elected officials will represent the state of Pennsylvania in the federal government, as well as specific areas within Pennsylvania in the state government. In order to make an informed vote, you must do your research! Know what the function of each elected position is! Know who the candidates are! Know the issues! Know where and how to vote!

For the next week, United Way of Southeast Delaware County will highlight important aspects of this year’s election to ensure that residents of southeast Delaware County can make informed decisions come November 2, 2010. Every election matters. Every election is an opportunity for you to exercise your power to choose the candidate that best represents the issues, attitudes and ideals you consider important. So cast your vote, because the person who takes office will make decisions that will directly influence Health, Education, and Income-- the building blocks of a healthy community.

First of all, have you noticed this year’s campaign ads? No matter what party there seems to be a plethora of negative ads this election year.

· Have these ads swayed your opinion at all?

· Where do you get your election information; do you get it from television ads such as these?

· So far do you feel as if you can make an informed vote, or do you find yourself lost among all of the negativity surrounding election time?

Please comment with your answers! United Way wants to hear from you how you feel about this year’s election!