• Our Ready for K Alliance was recently invited to join EC-LINC, a country-wide network of organizations and communities doing work in the early childhood space. This learning community will allow MUW staff to learn best practices from other communities as well as share our own work.
• A member of our early care and education team attended the national Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program at the CDC in Atlanta this month to learn about lead prevention work being done across the country and prepare for the new CDC grant MUW received to support our lead prevention work in Louisville. More about this work here:

  

• Our Ages & Stages (ASQ) team is working to better serve families that do not speak English.
• Our Youth Success Network (YSN) Continues to grow and as of this month we have 162 youth serving organization partners that are in the network. That is a 50% increase since the beginning of the year and the supports that we provide to build the knowledge and capacity of these partners grows more important. 64% of YSN partners have revenues under $100,000 and 67% are led by people of color.
• We launched our Build-a-Bed program in 2017, to date we have built 741 beds for children who need them.  Our next event will take place at Prosser Carrer and Education Center on Saturday, February 10, 2024 and will include seven of the eight public school systems and a projection of 150 additional beds.

  

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• Through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) workforce grant we have currently served 103 individuals, of whom many are already realizing gains in important areas of financial stability, noted as follows: 17 have reduced their debt; 9 have improved their credit; 17 have increased their savings; and 6 have increased their income.
• Of the 262 families with 528 children who have been served thus far this year through our homelessness prevention and school instability work, 65% have increased their income, 66% have improved their housing situation, and 99% have avoided a disruptive school move.
• Collaborative partners including Kentuckiana Works and Goodwill Industries of Kentucky recently hosted the national Fund for Workforce Solutions Board of Directors to highlight Louisville’s efforts to develop talent, including how we are working alongside employers to create more inclusive and inviting workplaces for young adults of color. Metro United Way is proud to be a partner in this Generation Work initiative.
• Our first Louisville FundBlackFounders cohort has begun launching their crowdfunding campaigns. To date, our founders have raised over $78,000 toward their campaigns. Metro United Way will match the entrepreneurs’ campaigns up to $25,000. This innovative program supports early-stage startups founded by underrepresented entrepreneurs, helping them to bring their ideas to life and grow their businesses.
• We will officially launch our Housing Safety work in January 2024 which will address home repairs that are negatively impacting the quality of life. This work will take place via a partnership with New Directions Housing Corporation and we will begin promoting with work with local community partners and government offices. There is an application associated with this work, it will be posted on our website at the time of the launch.
• We would like to thank Caesars Foundation of Floyd County for awarding us a grant that will advance our housing work with residents in Floyd County, Indiana!

  

• We had a surprise visitor to MUW last month who gave away 1,000 shoes to kids and adults in our community! Thank you, Jack Harlow for tapping Metro United Way to help!

  

• The Molina Healthcare Charitable Foundation, in collaboration with Passport by Molina Healthcare (“Passport”), presented a $10,000 grant to Metro United Way in support of our Black L.O.V.E. Philanthropic Partnership.
• Our Equity team is actively seeking an individual motivated and passionate about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to support the Young Men United program. This internship presents an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in conducting focus groups aimed at gathering valuable insights from men of color within college campuses, community-based programs, and school systems across our 7-county region. Email trent.findley@metrounitedway.org for more information.

COMING EARLY IN 2024!

• Our very first Impact Tracker in both printed and digital formats. Hear from our CEO, see the work that we did together in 2023 and the outcomes in each of our three priorities: Thriving Kids, Strong Households, Equitable Community, and more!
• A map of our 7-county region that shows WHERE and HOW we impact our community.