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Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season,
Kathy, Jennifer, & Jill - United Way of Oxford & Lafayette Co. |
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Greetings!
Your United Way has been very active this fall with: grants written and awarded; a fantastic Kick Off to the 2012 UW Campaign; and a very active campaign schedule of visits, presentations and mailings. MSU's Resource & Referral Center moved to town. LOU Excel by 5 Coalition received results of Lafayette County's kindergartener's readiness for school. A collaboration of churches and non-profits was formed to provide better service and coordination. A Reading a Grade Level is forming and plans to meet in mid-January. The UM Pro Bono Initiative, the Oxford Public Library, Metro Cast and United Way of Oxford and Lafayette County (UWOLC) will be bringing an expanded Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Center to the Public Library starting on February 5th. Lots happening and lots of plans for the New Year! Remember to Give, Advocate and Volunteer!
We hope your holidays are more fun and less frantic and full of friends, family, health and happiness.
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Kathy |
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2012 Campaign Update | |
With 60% of our workforce campaigns reporting, we are at $400,000 and counting. That $500,000 goal is getting closer! If you have not yet made a pledge or given a donation, your community needs your support so that children succeed in school, families become more financially stable and adults and children become more healthy and stay that way.
The United Way's 2012 campaign got started with the September 19th Kick Off luncheon that 175 UW supporters, friends and campaign workers attended. The record high results ($464,222) of the 2011 campaign were reviewed, along with the programs made possible by United Way funding to partner agencies. Mary Harrington, UM Director of Institutional Research and Assessment, UW Board member and LOU EB5 Coalition Certification Manager, informed the audience about the United Way's transition to a more pro-active role by addressing priority issues in partnership with others and used the process and progress made by the Lafayette Oxford University Excel by 5 Coalition as a key example of the community impact approach to change.
2012 Kick Off Sponsors included BancorpSouth, Bank of Commerce, Baptist Memorial Hospital, Caterpillar, City of Oxford, First National Bank, FNC, Inc., Hayakawa Electronics, M & F Bank, Oxford Conference Center, Oxford University Bank, University of Mississippi, University Sporting Goods, and Winchester. |
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Lafayette Oxford University Relief Organization | |
LOU Recovery Organization (LOURO) held its quarterly meeting in November and reported that all the cases awarded funds by the Disaster Relief Fund established by United Way on behalf of the LOURO were now closed. Homes were rebuilt and renovated and appliances purchased, as people left FEMA trailers for their own homes.
Thanks to all who helped support the Disaster Relief fund: Governor's Disaster Relief Fund, AT&T Foundation, United Way of Oxford & Lafayette County, Pine Flatt Methodist Church and Oxford University United Methodist Church. The group plans periodic updates for volunteers who have been trained in case management to maintain skills and knowledge. The LOURO 2012-13 Board of Directors Executive Committee is comprised of: Donna Long, Chair; Darryl Whittington, Vice Chair; Davii Jo Chinault, Secretary; Fred Johnson, Treasurer; and Gene Bramlett, Community Assesssment. |
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LOFT Awards UWOLC $2,000 | |
LOFT (Lafayette Oxford Foundation for Tomorrow) awarded $2,000 to United Way of Oxford & Lafayette County on behalf of the LOU Excel by 5 Coalition. LOFT funds will be matched dollar for dollar by United Way, so the total award is $4,000. The grant will be used for chairs and tables and other materials for the training and education of parents, child care workers and other child care providers. |
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Lafayette County Awarded Homeland Security/FEMA EFSP Grant | |
United Way of Oxford & Lafayette County serves as the administrator for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) grants that are awarded to Lafayette County. We were recently notified that Lafayette County has been awarded Phase 30 funds in the amount of $19, 577 to provide emergency food and shelter. The EFSP Local Board must advertise the availability of EFSP funding, solicit and review applications and submit a plan for the allocation of the award by December 21.
Contact Kathy Sukanek, ksuwlou@bellsouth.net (662 236-4265) for further information or an application. Phase 29 funding was allocated to Interfaith Compassion Ministry, Salvation Army and the Pantry. |
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Holiday Gift Guide As the holidays approach and we reflect on the blessings we have received during the last year, our minds and hearts turn to those most in need in our community. United Way of Oxford & Lafayette County, Volunteer Oxford, and the Office of the Dean of Students/Volunteer Services at the University of Mississippi, are proud to bring you the Holiday Gift Guide as a way to help people in need, right here in the LOU community. The list offers a wide range of opportunities for individuals and businesses to support local non-profit organizations. | |
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, Jan. 21 | |
The Lafayette-Oxford-University community is invited to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a national day of service, with an event at the Oxford Activity Center, 400 Price St., on January 21, 2013, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The event, sponsored by Volunteer Oxford in partnership with the McLean Institute at the University of Mississippi, the Office of the Dean of Students/Volunteer Services, the United Way of Oxford and Lafayette County, and the Oxford Park Commission, aims to encourage volunteerism in the community and celebrate the spirit of Dr. King's dream for all.
See event flyer |
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Charity Tracker Network Established | |
A Charity Tracker network was recently launched in Oxford. Charity Tracker aims to network agencies and organizations offering aid to members of the community who are in need. This network streamlines efforts and makes helping the community a more effective act.
UWOLC organized the project and agencies, like ICM, Lift, the Salvation Army, and the Red Cross, and churches, like St. John's, St. Peter's, First Presbyterian, and Second Baptist, are now using the system. As of Dec.10, 26 acts of kindness, 52 people have been served and $4,406 of assistance have been given and documented within the system.
Agencies and organizations using CharityTracker can now communicate more effectively with each other. This results in better service for people who need it and a reduction in duplications of service for certain individuals who might try to receive aid in two different places. |
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MSCCRR Site Opens in January | |
A Mississippi Child Care Research and Referral Network site, a project of the MSU Extension Service, is coming to Oxford in conjunction with the Lafayette Oxford University Excel by 5 Coalition family resource center and is scheduled to open in January.
Parents and caregivers of children under the age of 5 will be able to check out educational materials from the resource center and keep the items for up to two weeks at a time. Available resources include math and science materials, dramatic play costumes and props, gross motor play items, music CDs and instruments, and all types of books, including board books and books with puppets. To check out materials from the center, parents and caregivers must be at least 18 years old (photo ID required) and complete a short form.
Andrea Barton is the Program Assistant for the resource center. Andrea will help parents and caregivers select and check out items, and she will be the contact person for individuals registering for one of the child care classes offered in the area. Anne Marie Ross is the trainer for the child care classes and will be working from the family resource center.
The family resource center is located at 1097 W. Jackson Avenue in Oxford. For more information call 915-2704 or email abarton@humansci.msstate.edu.
 | | The family resource center is located at 1097 W. Jackson Ave. |
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