GREENWICH, Conn., JUNE 16, 2023 – The Greenwich United Way this week awarded $571,000 in Community Impact Grants to local health, education and self-sufficiency programs across 25 partner agencies: Abilis, Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich, Building One Community, Coffee For Good, Family Centers, Filling in the Blanks, Food Bank, Food Rescue US, Greenwich Alliance for Education, Inspirica, Jewish Family Services of Greenwich, Kids In Crisis, Laurel House, Liberation Programs, Neighbor To Neighbor, Pacific House, Pathways, River House Adult Day Center, The Rowan Center, Saint Joseph Parenting Center, Transportation Association of Greenwich (TAG), UJA-JCC, The Undies Project, YMCA of Greenwich, and YWCA of Greenwich.

Grants were made to programs in priority areas – mental health, self-sufficiency and early childhood education – as identified by the results of comprehensive research conducted by the Greenwich United Way.

“After an in-depth Community Investment Process, we put our donors’ capital to work where needed most, positively impacting thousands of lives,” said David Rabin, CEO of Greenwich United Way. “We remain committed to our mission to ‘find it and fix it’ so that every Greenwich resident has the opportunity to be educated, healthy and self-sufficient. We are grateful for the generous support of our donors and volunteers who contribute the time, talent and funds to make our hometown a better place.”

Greenwich United Way Community Investment grants are awarded to local organizations based on submission of grant applications and a rigorous review process by dozens of community volunteers. Greenwich United Way volunteers on the Community Investment Process committee review grant applications from human services agencies that serve Greenwich residents and visit program sites. Following intensive evaluation of the financials, applications and other data, trained volunteers recommend funding to the Greenwich United Way Board of Directors. The Community Investment Process is guided by the research of local needs as published in Greenwich United Way Needs Assessment Report and Executive Summary.

The 2023 Community Investment Grants went to the following specific programs at the recipient organizations:

Abilis: Abilis Businesses – Aids Abilis clients to develop job skills in various café settings around Greenwich.

Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich: Power Hour Tutoring – Provides after-school homework help and tutoring program for members ages 6-18 with extra attention and focused assistance to at-risk members and those in need of motivation and direction.

Building One Community: Family & Individual Services (FIS) – Consists of two main areas: (1) education, which includes an Academic Enrichment (AE) program and Special Education (SPED) advocacy and (2) direct case management, in which participants’ needs are analyzed and then referred for an array of services internally and externally.

Coffee For Good: Trainee Program – Workforce development program provides people with intellectual and developmental disabilities with customized learning plans for trainees to develop and execute appropriate job skill training.

Family Centers: Literacy Volunteers – Focuses on strengthening literacy and English language skills, digital literacy, workforce skill development, and parent involvement in education.

Filling in the Blanks: Greenwich Weekend Meals Program – Provides weekend meals for children living and attending public school in Greenwich.

Food Bank – Provides food at wholesale cost for the organization’s Greenwich member agencies and programs during the upcoming year.

Food Resource US: Greenwich Inflation Relief Program – Identifies new sources of food donations in Greenwich and appropriately matches different types and amounts of food with Greenwich-based agencies that are facing a spike in demand due to inflation rates and the rising costs of food.

Greenwich Alliance for Education: AVID SUCCESS ­– Addresses the opportunity gap facing diverse and underrepresented demographic groups, including first-generation college students as they enter and complete the first year of postsecondary education.

Inspirica: Family Housing Program – Provides emergency shelter (up to 90 days) and transitional housing (up to 24 months).

Jewish Family Services: Immigration and Legal Services – Provides direct service to under-resourced families in the community in need of no-cost immigration and legal support to improve the quality of their life, and work toward US citizenship.

Kids In Crisis: ClubTalk at Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich – Works to meet the mental health needs of the younger children at the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich to protect kids who are struggling with difficult issues and those around them from potential crises and the sometimes devastating consequences they can generate.

Laurel House: Thinking Well –  The cognitive remediation program addresses the long-term cognitive impairment that interferes with the daily lives of people with serious mental illness. The goal is to improve the underlying cognitive skills that lead to better functioning and success in the workplace, school and in community living.

Liberation Programs – Provides substance use disorder treatment services for low-income Greenwich residents through comprehensive low- to no-cost outpatient treatment services.

Neighbor to Neighbor: Supplemental Food Program – Provides sufficient food for three days’ worth of healthy meals, three meals a day, for each household member during each visit to Neighbor to Neighbor.

Pacific House: Young Adults Program – Provides support services and responds to basic human needs for food, shelter and the safety and security those needs ensure for individuals ages 18-24.

Pathways: Zoobook Electronic Health Record System – Enables Pathways to provide higher quality and safer care for their residential and community clients, 95% of whom are Greenwich residents, while creating tangible enhancements for the organization by way of more efficient encounter/progress notes and streamlined billing.

River House – Provides respite for caregivers of low to moderate income elderly, particularly those suffering from Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, stroke, and other life-altering diseases.

Rowan Center: Student Support Services – Provides weekly counseling hours at Greenwich High School, with additional follow-up and ongoing counseling and support services for students.

Saint Joseph Parenting Center: Provides education, case management, and other supportive services to provide parents with skills and strategies for financial literacy, negotiation, self-advocacy, resiliency, efficacy, culturally competent services, and family violence prevention.

Transportation Around Greenwich (TAG): FEED Greenwich – Provides weekly home food deliveries in partnership with Neighbor to Neighbor To Greenwich residents in need.

UJA JCC: Dignity Grows – Provides personal hygiene totes for men, women and families to avoid Greenwich families from having to choose between buying food or buying menstrual and hygiene products.

The Undies Project – Provides undergarments to low-income Greenwich residents.

YMCA of Greenwich: Summer Camp Scholarship Program – Provides eight-week summer camp programming for children of low-income essential workers and families in financial need.

YWCA of Greenwich: Domestic Violence Crisis Intervention – Provides a 24/7 hotline, safety planning, and emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence.

About Greenwich United Way
The Greenwich United Way (GUW) shares a name with approximately 1,200 other similar organizations across the nation, although the Greenwich, Connecticut division is a privately incorporated, locally governed, nonprofit agency. As a volunteer-driven organization, the Greenwich United Way exists to help identify and address the health, educational and self-sufficiency needs specific to its local community and to create and affect meaningful, lasting solutions. Through various fundraising efforts and on-going research, the organization is able to directly grant the funds necessary to accomplish this goal. The Greenwich United Way also invests in and conducts collaborative efforts to address broad-based community needs with partnering nonprofit agencies. For more information, visit https://greenwichunitedway.org, or follow us on Instagram and Facebook.