The United Way of the Midlands has recently announced its community investments for the 2018-2020 cycle.
Shawna Forsberg, President and CEO of United Way of the Midlands, says they raised over $19 million from over 40,000 donors. Of that, $16.5 million will be reinvested into the community for the next two years.
Forsberg says the Community Care Fund is one of the main ways UWM invests into the community. Through it, $8.1 million will be distributed for the next two years to programs in Omaha and Council Bluffs that help those most in need.
“We fund programs in basic needs, such as access to physical and mental health support, providing healthy meals for people, being able to fund programs that provide services that keep people in stable housing. We also do a lot of work in funding programs around education and financial stability. So, ensuring children have access to books and stay on grade-level reading, attend school – do all those things that are going to help a kid get through their school years productively.”
Forsberg says UWM’s long-range Community Impact Goals, to reach by 2025, include increasing the number of 9th graders that are succeeding in school and the number of people experiencing financial security. She says by 2025, over two million services that address people’s basic needs will have been funded by the United Way of the Midlands.
For more information, the website is unitedwaymidlands.org