United Way gives $10,000 grant to Cedar Park library foundation

United Way gives $10,000 grant to Cedar Park library foundation

By Community Impact Newspaper Staff Tuesday, 30 June 2009

United Way of Williamson County recently announced the 2009-2010 Community Investment Grants awarded to 15 nonprofits serving Williamson County. The Cedar Park Public Library Foundation was among the organizations that received grant money from UWWC. The foundation’s Every Child Ready to Read program was awarded $10,000.

Each of the funded programs is aimed at affecting a specific area such as improving school readiness, increasing graduation rates, increasing the number of families receiving health care or helping families achieve financial stability.

“It is our responsibility to those who invest in United Way to focus on programs that have a measurable impact on our community,” Dick Hunter, chair of the United Way of Williamson County Board of Directors said in a press release. “The thoughtful and careful process used by our review panel to determine funding for local programming is one of the main reasons why donors believe in our mission. As stewards we must ensure that the donor’s monies are supporting programs that make the most impact."

A total of 38 organizations had originally requested in excess of $1 million from United Way. A group of community volunteers spent more than 600 hours whittling down the list to those whose programs demonstrated the closest alignment to United Way of Williamson County’s impact goals in the areas of education, income, and health.

“We wish we were able to fully fund all the requests,” said LeAnn Powers, Chief Professional Officer at United Way of Williamson County. “The nonprofit organizations in our community are doing an incredible job, however we have some very ambitious goals so we have to be extremely strategic in allocating funds. Too many kids in Williamson County are dropping out of high school, too many families lack health insurance, and poverty is on the rise.”

The following programs were approved for the United Way of Williamson County 2009-2010 Community Investment Grants:

• Capital IDEA — Career Paths for Williamson County ($40,000)
• Catholic Charities of Central Texas — Family Strengthening Initiative: Financial Fitness ($20,000)
• Cedar Park Library Foundation — Every Child Ready to Read ($10,000)
• Communities in Schools of Central Texas — School Mentoring in Williamson County ($20,000)
• Easter Seals Central Texas — Bilingual Service Coordination ($10,000)
• Family Eldercare — In-Home Care & Caregivers Services ($20,000)
• Hope Alliance — Emergency Shelter ($40,000)
• Interagency Support Council of East Williamson County — School Based Mental Health ($30,000)
• Literacy Council of Williamson County — Project: Moving Up ($20,000)
• Lone Star Circle of Care — 2009 Service Expansion ($30,000)
• Round Rock Area Serving Center — Food Pantry ($20,000)
• Samaritan Health Ministries — Healthcare for Uninsured ($30,000)
• Seedling Foundation — Seedling's Promise ($20,000)
• STARRY — Eliminating Barriers: STARRY Navigates Children to Academic Success ($20,000)
• Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center — Mental Health Services for Abused Children ($30,000)