Years of Service
Try your luck and win big!!
Once again, United Way of Gloucester County presents…
the Lottery Tree Raffle!
the Lottery Tree Raffle!
United Way of Gloucester County, The County of Gloucester, and Rowan College of South Jersey
Hold Inaugural LEAD GLOUCESTER COUNTY Class…
A Program to Develop Well-Informed,
Next-Generation Leaders
Hold Inaugural LEAD GLOUCESTER COUNTY Class…
A Program to Develop Well-Informed,
Next-Generation Leaders
Learn more about the Born Learning Trails!
The Born Learning Trail is an interactive trail designed to boost school readiness in preschool children through a series of 10 engaging activities, resulting in increased language, reading and problem-solving skills. This initiative helps parents, caregivers, and communities create quality engagement opportunities when visiting local parks and playgrounds. A larger version of the Born Learning Trails flyer can be found here.
Women United is looking to have a Born Learning Trail in every Gloucester County Township and City. Please email Michael Gower for more information on our Born Learning Trails or any other initiative being undertaken by Women United. In addition, if you would like to learn how to be an active member of Women United, please download the most recent Women United Brochure and look over our webpage found here. We are always looking for women who would like to lead through philanthropy and advocacy, and wish to create positive change in our community!
Amazon Wishlists help our area non-profits get the tools and supplies they need and use on a daily basis. Our wish lists are a great way to help United Way of Gloucester County with specific items that we know our area non-profits need. One donation can help several different area non-profits because we can split up the purchases OR know who recently got a donation and make sure that it can be used right away.
Alternatively you can search for UWGC on Amazon. Simply visit the Amazon List or Registry search page, then use the drop down menu under “Accounts & Lists” and select “Find a List or Registry” to use the search tool to search for UWGC.
Introducing Operation Read Along!
We would like to introduce you to Operation Read Along with United Way of Gloucester County. This video collection helps young readers have new and interesting people to read with from different backgrounds and walks of life. It also assures that they are safe whether in the classroom or at home. Promoting lifelong literacy is important to the United Way of Gloucester County and this is a really special way for us to reach families, after school programs, classrooms, and beyond. This project started as a distance volunteer program with the National Honor Society from Gloucester County Institute of Technology.
Videos of all types of stories are uploaded to our dedicated playlist on our YouTube Channel that can be viewed here.
We will be adding to our Operation Read Along playlist and hope to have new titles and stories uploading so make sure to subscribe to our channel so you get notifications when a new story is live.
If you would like to see our full title list please check this out! Books are added here when they are uploaded to the channel, not all videos are currently showing on the channel, some are uploaded as premieres so we have new content going up.
If you have questions or concerns, or would like to submit your own video to add to our content library please email Mike Gower, Executive Director at mgower@uwgcnj.org or phone 856-845-4303 x14.
Did you know that you can give to United Way of Gloucester County just by shopping at your favorite local merchant? Download the Xspero app and 20% of your Xspero Digital Gift Cards will be donated to us if you select UWGCNJ as your preferred charity. To learn more about how it works or to download the app, visit their website!
International Women’s Day is March 8th…
Here are 9 Ways You Can Choose to Challenge Gender Inequity
Black History and Black Futures
While celebrating Black history, we also work to create a more equitable future.
Black History Month is a time to celebrate influential leaders and impactful moments of the past. But celebrating Black history is not enough.
United Way continues to work toward a future where Black Americans have the same access to employment, education, health care and housing as their white neighbors.
As part of that work, below we highlight an important moment from Black history that aligns with our focus areas of health, education and financial stability, outline a few current challenges faced by Black Americans, and explain what United Way is doing to help solve these problems.
Health
Moment in History
July 9, 1893: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performs the first successful open-heart surgery at the black-owned, interracial hospital he founded in Chicago. Both Dr. Williams and his patient were Black.
Current Challenges
But since Dr. Williams’ groundbreaking work, health outcomes for the Black population are still significantly worse than for whites.
- Nearly 100,000 fewer Black Americans would die each year, if the Black mortality rate was the same as it is for whites.
- A Black individual will live three fewer years on average than a white person with the same income.
- Black Americans are nearly 4 times more likely to be hospitalized and 3 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than whites.
United Way’s Work
United Way believes that an individual’s race, ZIP code, or income should never be a barrier to quality health. We work to address health inequity by:
- Fighting for improved access to health care coverage
- Creating exercise and recreation opportunities in low-income and segregated neighborhoods
- Making it easier for people to access substance abuse programs
- Setting up mobile food pantries
- Supporting the mental health needs of veterans
Education
Moment in History
April 23, 1951: 16-year-old Barbara Rose Johns leads a strike to protest segregation and poor conditions at her Virgina high school. Her leadership inspires local lawyers to sue the federal government, a case that eventually becomes part of the landmark Brown v. Board decision.
Current Challenges
The Supreme Court ruled school segregation was unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education. But segregation in public schools has only risen since 1996. This kind of structural racism along with institutional racism has hurt the educational outcomes of Blacks students.
- The graduation rate for Black students (79%) is lower than the national average.
- Schools with 90% or more students of color receive $733 less per student.
- Only 57% of Black students have access to the full range of math and science courses needed for college-readiness.
- More than 70% of Black students were learning remotely in fall 2020, compared to 40% of white students.
United Way’s Work
United Way fights to shift the odds for students of color and those in low-income areas. Our work includes:
- Recruiting volunteers to read with preschool and elementary students
- Providing after-school programs and extracurricular activities and clubs
- Supporting middle and high school students through graduation
- Connecting students with volunteer mentors and tutors
Financial Stability
Moment in History
May 12, 1968: Thousands of Black women, led by Coretta Scott King, begin the first demonstrations in the Poor People’s Campaign. After building Resurrection City on the National Mall, they stayed in temporary shacks for over a month in a fight for jobs, unemployment insurance and a higher minimum wage.
Current Challenges
Decades of segregation, discrimination and low wages have impacted the financial stability of Black families in the U.S. Since 1992, the racial wealth gap has grown.
- The net worth of a typical Black family is $17,150, compared to $171,000 for white families.
- Only 44% of Black families own a home, compared to 72% of white families.
United Way’s Work
United Way battles chronic unemployment, homelessness and financial illiteracy; issues which disproportionately affect Black Americans. In April, United Way Worldwide created a relief fund for Black Americans harmed by the financial devastation of the pandemic. Our ongoing work includes:
- Providing free tax preparation services for middle- and low-income families
- Offering financial education and coaching, especially to unbanked individuals
- Training adults for careers in thriving industries, like health care
- Providing job counseling and application assistance to the unemployed
Please help us by considering being a part of this important work. Learn how you can give, advocate or volunteer to ensure that every single person, no matter their race, can thrive in our community.
