Equipping schools to help students who suffer trauma and helping vulnerable families promote better health for newborns are among five programs receiving a total of $196,736 in funding from United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region.

UWBCKR announced a third set of grants under its new impact strategy. The new grants are one-year investments to support programs aligned with United Way’s strategic goals in education and health. Since August 2016, UWBCKR has announced a total of $7,232,693 in single- and multi-year grants supporting 130 programs at 71 agencies.

“These investments are changing lives, saving lives and building a stronger regional community for all,” said Chris Sargent, Interim CEO for the regional United Way. “We’re focused on leading shared efforts with local and regional partners to impact the biggest issues.”

These supportive and innovative grants cover the following areas: Education: $17,900 for two programs in two school districts to provide training around childhood trauma; and Health: $178,836 for three programs with three organizations addressing family and infant health for at-risk families, including home visitor trainings in the areas of safe sleep and attachment and bonding, and wraparound supports for pregnant women to improve access to care.

Unveiled in 2016, UWBCKR’s impact strategy sets specific, measurable outcomes and collaborative efforts with a strong focus on equity. They include the following:

– EDUCATION: Improve high school graduation rates and reduce racial and economic disparities in graduation rates. The measure of success will be a four-year high school graduation rate of 83 percent region-wide by 2030, with a focus on graduation rates for students of color and students from low-income families. Efforts will focus on early childhood success and kindergarten readiness, early grade reading proficiency, and the social emotional wellbeing of children.

– INCOME: Increase the number of economically stable households. As measured by ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) standards, UWBCKR seeks to elevate 8,500 households to economic stability by 2030. Strategies center on assuring stable and affordable housing, and providing workforce and income supports—such as access to child care, transportation and financial literacy—for low-income and working people.

– HEALTH: Improve family and infant health while reducing racial and economic disparities. As infant mortality rates are a key measure of a community’s overall health system, UWBCKR set a goal of reducing the infant mortality rate region-wide to 6.0 by 2025—that is, no more than six infant deaths in the first year of life per 1,000 live births. This is an especially urgent need among some minority groups that face worse infant mortality rates than seen in undeveloped countries. Efforts will focus on physical, behavioral and mental health for families and infants, and on health education and awareness.

– BASIC NEEDS: Ensure a safety net is in place to help individuals and families access basic necessities in times of crisis. Efforts in this area include making sure people can get food, shelter, clothing, transportation, vital records and other basic needs.

This collective work is based on a clear vision: “A vibrant community where all people realize their full potential.” By driving shared efforts that engage diverse people, resources and ideas, as well as addressing racial and economic disparities, United Way expects its impact strategy will produce healthy, educated and economically stable individuals and families across the region.

For a complete list of supported programs and partner agencies, click here or go to the Menu tab and select the Partners & Programs option. Progress on UWBCKR’s focus areas can be found by selecting the Scorecard link.

[Editor’s note: This information was released to the news media this week.]