United Way of West Alabama Inc

United Way of West Alabama is...

* A Community Sponsored Organization
Its function is to raise much needed funds for services at its 26 partner service agencies. United Way of West Alabama operates under the direction of a 30 member Board of Directors who represent a cross-section of West Alabama citizens.

* A Volunteer Organization
A team of over 800 volunteers help to raise and distribute funds to our local agencies and initiatives. Under the Board of Directors, each member agency of United Way must be verified as a non-profit organization, governed by volunteers, receive an annual audit, and provide a needed community service.

* A Cost Effective Organization
Because of the dedication and hard work of volunteers, administrative and fund-raising costs are kept low. Approximately $.89 of each dollar goes into service with less than eleven percent going to administrative costs.

* An Easy Way to Help
Because your tax deductible contribution can be made through payroll deduction, no bill comes to you. There are no checks to write, but you know you have helped!

* A Service Organization Responsive to Community Needs 
Determination of member agencies is made by volunteers who investigate and discover the services provided are needed in the West Alabama community. United Way agencies are familiar to most of us. They are agencies which provide help for the terminally ill and their families; agencies which provide one-to-one adult companionship to children of single parent families; and agencies which work to meet emergency needs of citizens in the West Alabama area. These are just some of the many services community donations make possible.

*Committed to the Success of All Children 

Success By 6 is the early childhood initiative of the United Way of West Alabama. The Mission of Success By 6 is to ensure all children in West Alabama enter school healthy, confident, and ready to learn. To this end, Success By 6 offers a variety of programming for children and families, including:

• JumpStart Kindergarten - a four-week, half-day summer program for children with little to no preschool experience who will enter kindergarten in the fall.
  
  
• Dolly Parton Imagination Library - delivers free books to the homes of children from birth to age five each month. Since the program began, UWWA's Success By 6 has distributed nearly 450,000 books to children in West Alabama.

• Bright Minds Volunteer Reading Program - pairs volunteers with schools, childcare centers, and preschools. Volunteers read aloud to children on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis.
  
• Wash, Read, Repeat - Success By 6 is excited to launch its new laundromat program, Wash, Read, Repeat. This program creates little libraries in laundromats and offers story time sessions to help turn a weekly chore into a learning opportunity.