In this month's newsletter:
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Education Readiness Initiative Grant Application Now Open
United Way of Central Virginia (UWCV) recently announced the beginning of an open, competitive application process for funding for the period of July 1, 2015 - June 30, 2018 for its first Community Impact Issue, Education Readiness. The application period officially opened on January 2nd and will continue until February 12th when it will close at 3:00 p.m. UWCV's Education Readiness Initiative's (ERI) Long-Term Goal is 90% Third Grade Reading Proficiency by 2025 in Central Virginia, and we are seeking proposals for projects and programs that directly support the educational readiness of children at the third grade level and younger, with a particular focus on ages 0-5, and the families of those children. Proposed programs should focus on the fulfillment of one or more of UWCV's Education Readiness Initiative Sub-Goals: Ready Children, Ready Families, Ready Schools (Early Childhood Education and Care), and Ready Services. Grant awards will be announced by April 20th, and the first round of funds will be disbursed in July. Any organization which is planning on applying for the grant must attend one of two upcoming Mandatory Meetings for RFP Applicants to be held on January 7th at 9:00 a.m. and January 8th at 3:00 p.m. All meetings will be held at UWCV's offices, 1010 Miller Park Square, Lynchburg. Information about the ERI Grant, including a full description of the ERI goals, a press release, frequently asked questions, a complete timeline, and downloadable application and required documents for the grant, may be found on UWCV's website at www.unitedwaycv.org/rfp. For more information, please contact Dawn Wise, Director of Community Engagement and Public Relations at dawn.wise@unitedwaycv.org or (434) 455-6900.
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Join us for a Rock'n Good Time at AMF Lynchburg Lanes!
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Thank you to Robert W. Baird & Co. for being a "Lead Singer" Lane Sponsor!
Registration is now open for United Way of Central Virginia's annual Bowl-A-thon! All necessary forms are available for download below in the Quick Links, but feel free to let us know if we can drop off a packet to your business. Contact us at (434) 846-8467 to get your team rolling!
This year's theme has changed and we will be hosting our first ever Rock 'N Bowl-A-Thon on January 24th and 25th at AMF Bowling Center. Experience a DJ, Rock-n-roll picture taking opportunities and music themed prizes. If you are interested in participating this year, we are currently taking registrations for the following time slots: (1/24/15) 9am-12pm & 3pm-6pm; (1/25/15) 3pm-6pm.
There are 5 bowlers to a team and each bowler should raise at least $35 to participate. The more money you raise the more chances you get to win prizes throughout your time slot! Registrations should be turned in before January 20th. PRIZES GALORE!
Grand Prize is a 5th Generation 32GB IPOD Touch with a $100 iTunes Giftcard!!
Other prizes include: *The popular R2-D2 Cooler! *Rocker from Grand Home Furnishings *Moore & Giles bag
*Guitar Lessons from Lynchburg Guitar Lessons
*Passes to Endstation Theatre's 2015 Season *Passes for admission to any 2015 Hillcats game
*Friday Cheers tickets from Lynch's Landing
*Depot Grille giftcards
*Moe's Bucks
*Buffalo Wild Wings giftcard
*Bulls Steakhouse giftcard
*Golden Corral giftcard
*Carol's Place giftcards
*Free haircuts at Sports Clips *More prizes to come....
You can also enter a raffle to win a signed cap from Rashad Jennings with the New York Giants!
Get your forms/materials here: Bowler Donation SheetTeam Summary Form/Envelope (for team captains)Poster
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TED Talks
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Saturday, January 10, 2015
The Most Watched TED Talk of 2014
Maysoon Zayid: I Got 99 Problems....Palsy is Just One
TED is a nonprofit organization that features internationally-renowned speakers discussing topics in the areas of Technology, Entertainment, and Design. TED Talks are short video recordings of these discussions.
New TED Talk topics will be chosen each month and moderated by United Way staff or other members of the community. Round table discussion follows.
These talks are free and open to the public. Participants are welcome to purchase the White Hart Cafe's delicious beverages and breakfast items at the Saturday morning sessions.
Registration is not required, but appreciated. For more information, contact Tracy Price or like us on Facebook.
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A Little Change Goes a Long Way
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On December 19th, 2014, students from R.S. Payne Elementary School in Lynchburg presented United Way of Central Virginia with a check for $455.31. The monies were raised as part of a student-run fundraiser created by the school called, "Change for Change." The event was held for three weeks in December where students brought in their spare change and held classroom competitions to see who could raise the most money. UWCV's Director of Community Engagement and Public Relations, Dawn Wise, accepted the check from the students of the winning classroom during a school assembly.
Thank you to R.S. Payne's Principal, John Blakely, the teachers, families, and all of its amazing students for being a part of the "change" and helping to make Central Virginia a great community!
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Women's Leadership Council
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The Board of the Women's Leadership Council will meet Tuesday, January 20, at 4:00PM at the United Way office. Ellen Jamerson, chair of the Nominating Committee, will report on officers and board members for 2015. Current and prospective members are invited to attend.
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Young Leaders Society (YLS)
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The S.O.S. (Sustaining Our Students) Backpack Program received quite a bit of help in December! We to say THANK YOU to those companies that donated! We received free haircut coupons from Sylvain Melloul International Hair Academy for each student as well as canned food donations. Georgia Pacific Big Island donated food, five new book bags, goodie bags, and gave a generous monetary gift to the program. Genworth donated a wonderful amount of food as well as their time. The mountains of canned goods and other foods were cleaned up and organized neatly on the storage shelves by one set of volunteers, while others came to help stuff the backpacks and get them prepped for delivery to students at Paul Munro Elementary School before they were dismissed for winter break. We cannot thank these companies enough. You literally "have our backs" with this backpack program :)
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This  moment brought to you by
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Dawn Wise
Receives Screenwriter Award
Dawn Wise, Director of Community Engagement and Public Relations at United Way of Central Virginia, recently received one of three Virginia Film Office 2014 screenwriters awards for her screenplay "The Poem", which is based on the life of Lynchburg poet Bransford Vawter.
Please join us in congratulating Dawn on this major accomplishment! Find out more about Dawn's screenplay in this News and Advance article.
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United Way Initiatives
|  Need a referral? Have a question about services in your area? Call 2-1-1. It's the non-emergency answer to 9-1-1.
Get Connected is an easy-to-use web-based platform that matches the right donors, advocates, and volunteers with the right opportunities in our neighborhoods. Use Get Connected to find ways to give your unused materials and household items to agencies in need of donations, advocate for causes that require your passionate voice, and volunteer your time in ways that make a real difference. Sign up HERE.
Is your passion working to improve the quality of care and education for children from birth until kindergarten? That's the Smart Beginnings mission, and they do it well!
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Stay up-to-date with all the great things happening in our community and share photos and stories of your United Way fun!
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2015 United Way Holiday/Closing Schedule:
January 19th
February 16th
April 3rd
May 25th
July 3rd
September 7th
November 26th & 27th
December 24th & 25th
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