If you caught our article last month, you read about the community conversation that took place last summer. Bringing people together to plan and create and brainstorm is one of the best ways to make an impact. Working together to figure out the needs and desires of our community allows us to work collectively to bring about new solutions that can advance our work.
The past two years have brought new challenges, on top of the level of need that already existed and organizations throughout Story County had to innovate like never before. We forged through the hard and uncomfortable and now these new partnerships and collaborations exist because of it. Through our community conversation, we learned of these inspiring efforts being spearheaded by local partners.
Every day we work to advocate for access to vital medical care, especially for those in rural areas, the medically vulnerable, those with transportation barriers. We heard about the new Pediatric Healthcare Collaborative that was established involving many health care leaders across the state, including our own partner agency, ChildServe. The goal is to “identify and address issues affecting children’s healthcare in Iowa” by sharing a “collective voice of pediatric providers to better educate and inform local, state, and federal policymakers about existing and emerging issues impacting the health of Iowa’s children.” Working collectively with leaders from all around Iowa gives great depth to what’s causing these issues and provides a communication stream that fosters solutions.
In Nevada, Food at First collaborated with the local school district, trailer court managers, and others to implement food delivery stops, bringing meals to those who are food insecure. This creative solution to tackling hunger was successful in its initial year, and plans have been developed to continue this service into the future.
For utility and rental assistance, Story County Community Services along with our partners Good Neighbor Emergency Assistance, The Bridge Home, and The Salvation Army, created a Centralized Intake Process this past summer. This is intended to be a streamlined process for those seeking help covering costs during hard times. Instead of connecting directly with each agency, those in need are able to submit one application that can be reviewed by all four agencies.
These great achievements for our community are just a few of the many successes that came out of uniting together. As a convenor, United Way believes in improving lives by mobilizing the caring power of our community. Here are examples of the work UWSC does with the help from many partners.
Our Wheels for Work program, although not new, partners with Ames Ford Lincoln, ACCESS, MICA, The Salvation Army, and Story County Community Services. This year the program hit a new record of giving away the most vehicles in one fiscal year! Fifteen vehicles were given to hardworking individuals providing for their families. That’s more than one giveaway a month!
UWSC also brought a handful of local organizations together last year to create the Covid-19 Emergency Fund for Story County Immigrants. This fund provided 1,010 emergency rent and utility payments to aid those impacted by the pandemic. Since inception, this fund has been able to provide nearly $370,000 in assistance to local families.
Lastly, the Story County Workforce Innovation Project, made possible with partners such as the Ames Chamber, Center for Creative Justice, DMACC, and Story County College Access Network, graduated its first cohort of students. The project’s intent was to expand career opportunities for underserved individuals and those whose employment had been adversely affected by the pandemic. With 26 students receiving certificates in new career paths, our partners came together to eliminate many barriers that these students had in completing their education such as paying for child care, computers, transportation to classes, and more.
Our list goes on. The number of bright spots over the past two years is long. While it’s certainly easy to remember the hardships of this pandemic, many protocols and partnerships have been created or changed for the better. We’ve come together to fight hunger, homelessness, and financial instability and to promote education and health for all. Let’s keep moving forward together.