It’s been a tough few years. Too many people struggle to pay the weekly grocery store bill, make up for the learning lost during pandemic school interruptions, and recover from natural and man-made disasters. Partisan politics and pandemic-fueled isolation fracture our communities.
But we know individuals can change the world. They don’t need to be powerful CEOs or elected officials, and they don’t even need to be adults! Just think about Women In Training Inc founders Brooke and Breanna Bennett and the change they’ve made in the River Region through their advocacy for Period Poverty (link). That’s United Way’s sweet spot. Our superpower is bringing people together to make positive, lasting change. For example, River Region United Way collaborated with the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to bring high-quality children’s books directly to enrolled children in Autauga, Elmore, Lowndes, Macon, and Montgomery Counties. As of today, we have registered 2,169 children who will be receiving free books mailed to their front door each month. That’s over 100,00 books by the time they graduate from the program!
With our partners, experts, community leaders, and residents, River Region United Way looks at the most challenging problems and is thoughtful about local solutions that work best in our community. River Region United Way makes it easy for you to take meaningful action that makes a difference. That can be volunteering for a program that empowers children to shift the odds, like the Boys & Girls Club of the River Region (link)—or speaking up for more support for Alabama’s incarcerated women like Aid To Inmate Mothers (link)—or investing in solutions that are showing results like Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Positive change is happening, but it doesn’t “just happen.” Change is created together, and we hope you’ll join us.
