Hear from our Chief Equity and Impact Officer, Robert E. Gunn, Jr.
- Our public policy team is working with our Ready for K Alliance partners to conduct an analysis of their policy agenda.
- Our Ready for K Alliance’s request for investments for the next phase of Russell neighborhood child care proposal was approved and will implement a Community of Practice (CoP) model dedicated to improving the quality, availability, and accessibility of child care in the Russell neighborhood that is culturally responsive and based on the expressed needs of the providers.
- Partnerships with our Ages & Stages (ASQ) initiative are being explored with Bright By Text, Know the Signs Act Early, Help Me Grow Indiana, and Indiana Start. These new partnerships will help support a statewide grant proposal currently under development.
- Referrals from Norton Broadway, our ASQ’s first pediatric partner, are ramping up. After just two weeks we have received referrals for 15 children.
- We’re so proud to announce more than $1 Million investments into youth-serving organizations that will prioritize the mental, physical, and emotional health of young people in our community to prepare them for success in school, at home, and in their future careers! Read more here.
- Our Youth Success network now has 111 organizations and growing and we just hosted our annual convening of our network with 80 in attendance.
- One of our new FundBLACKFounders entrepreneurs was recently featured in Business-First. Check it out!
- And in addition to the local television coverage that we shared in the last version of this Impact Tracker, here is a Business-First piece that announced our new initiative as well:
- For the new American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Healthcare Workforce Innovation Coalition initiative, we will be leading the coordination of financial coaching support for individuals participating in workforce training, connecting fundraising support to entrepreneurs from marginalized communities, and coordinating consultation for employers to promote inviting workplaces for the diverse populations. Read more about this $40 million investment in our community HERE.
- On Wednesday, May 24, we officially wrapped-up Phase I of our housing and homeownership initiative in Southern Indiana:
- 30 households enrolled
- 27 female head of household and 22 below household income of $45,000
- 100% are progressing through the program and have realized a reduction in barriers that prevent homeownership.
- 1 household secured rent-to-own, 1 household has purchased a home (closed May 19), and 1 household is in the process of purchasing a home.
- 5 families have been pre-approved
- All household include youth under the age of 18
- In partnership with numerous local partners, we are fighting for additional dollars toward eviction prevention in Metro Louisville’s fiscal year 2024 budget.
- Each year, the Muhammad Ali Center and Metro United Way partner to host “The Greatest Give Back,” a day of service honoring The Greatest and Louisville’s own humanitarian legend, Muhammad Ali. Join us on Thursday, June 8, 2023, for the 4thAnnual Greatest Give Back as we work together to TKO the need in our community! This year, 500 community volunteers will work in two shifts to assemble 2200 backpacks filled with school supplies and 2200 Healthy Snack Kits. Learn more and sign up today!
- We are also working with Humana to complete additional healthy snack kits and New Covenant Trust Company to make personal care kits for individuals in need in our community. We just wrapped up projects two other projects where for the first time we completed financial empowerment kits!
- Save the date for two United Community events: Lunch & Learn on Thursday, May 18th and Convening on Wednesday, May 31. Register HERE and HERE. This convening will highlight policies and efforts that aim to combat the housing crisis and create opportunities for policy change guided by data evidence and informed by the needs of the communities, and the organizations working to serve them.
- Our next virtual Beyond Buzzwords speaker series event on diversity, equity, and inclusion is Tuesday, June 6 featuring award-winning author Sally Kohn who wrote The Opposite of Hate: A Field Guide to Repairing our Humanity. In her book, she explores divisive political speech, online trolling, and escalating hate crimes. She has made a career out of bridging intractable political differences and remaining good-natured in the face of intense provocation. Her hopeful message: While we all have the potential to hate, we also all have the capacity to combat it. Register here!
- Metro United Way in conjunction with United Way Worldwide will soon join a few other cities in a new initiative that supports up to 25,000 young men of color to increase post-secondary attainment and workforce preparedness.
- We are currently recruiting members to our Community Impact Cabinet from Shelby, Oldham, and Bullitt Counties who are passionate about their community and the work of MUW. Please reach out robert.gunn@metrounitedway.org if you or someone you know may be interested in this volunteer opportunity.