CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Furthering its community impact, United Way of the Greater Clarksville Region recently extended its agency partnerships to include two local nonprofits, American Red Cross of the Tennessee River Chapter and Project Transformation.
These partner agency programs join United Way’s collective efforts to fight for the health, education and financial stability of residents in Montgomery, Houston and Stewart Counties.
“United Way continually seeks to broaden available resources in our community-wide network of support,” said Ginna Holleman, local United Way CEO. “We are proud to stand alongside these high-performing partners to accomplish our common goal of improving the lives of local residents. Working together, we maximize limited resources for the greatest impact. Whether receiving funding, volunteer support or collaborative tools, United Way partners are able to use these assets to focus their efforts directly on serving people in need. This partnership allows us all to best strengthen our community from the inside out and bring organizations together to work more efficiently.”
United Way and its partners seek to address the most critical present needs and help prevent them in the future. Often that includes responding to individual or natural crises. With a joint mission to ensure every family can learn to protect themselves from crises and receive vital relief if they do face one, United Way and American Red Cross are natural partners when disaster strikes.
American Red Cross of the Tennessee River Chapter is dedicated to helping victims of disaster and provides programs and services that help the local community prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies. Disaster disrupts life in ways that can be both immediate and long-term. A home, a job, a child’s education and an individual or family’s health can all be impacted by an unexpected crisis. In a strong local partnership, United Way and Red Cross work in hand in hand to enable communities and families to rebuild and recover, ensuring that vital assistance is available immediately when and long after disaster occurs.
“We are thrilled to revitalize our partnership with the United Way of Greater Clarksville,” said Katy Hagstrom, Executive Director of the Tennessee River Chapter of the America Red Cross. “The United Way is an integral partner in our disaster relief mission. Together we will be able to accomplish a significant amount of work in order to better serve our community.”
Among United Way’s initiatives is a strong focus on education, particularly early literacy. Research indicates that four out of five children from low-income backgrounds are reading behind grade level. A key contributor to this growing achievement gap is loss of learning during the summer. Addressing that challenge, Project Transformation partners the leadership skills of college-age young adults to build literacy and development in children from low-income families, while igniting in them a lifelong love of learning.
Established in Clarksville in 2017, the program operates a free day camp at New Providence United Methodist Church during the summer months. Staffed by college student interns living at Austin Peay State University, the site serves approximately eighty elementary-age children. Each child is paired daily with a volunteer to read one-on-one. Positively transforming the lives of those leading and served, the college students providing this service provide high-quality programs for children and youth while also learning from them.
“Project Transformation is thankful for the collaborative work of the United Way of the Greater Clarksville Region to strengthen our Clarksville community, and we are honored to partner in this way to support children in reading & holistic health,” said Courtney Aldrich, Executive Director of Project Transformation.
For more information about United Way and its local impact, visit www.liveunitedclarksville.org or call (931) 647-4291.