The future success of our community is directly tied to the financial stability of hard-working families and individuals. To that end, we’re proud to help local people and families achieve their dreams by increasing income, building savings and gaining assets through careful budgeting and sound financial decision-making greater independence. The United Way annually distributes over $600,000 to address basic emergency needs such as food, clothing and shelter as the number of families living in poverty hovers around 14 percent and more than 20 percent of area children are impoverished. While addressing emergent needs is critical, we know that to begin to break the cycle of poverty, there is much more we can do to help area families and individuals build a sold financial plan for long-term financial stability and economic independence.