United Way empowers people to become financially independent so that our entire community can thrive. Those living in financially unstable homes frequently struggle when it comes to other foundational basic needs. Without a stable income, people can find themselves falling behind rather than moving forward.
Through funded partners, United Way of Mower County has achieved measurable success by putting individuals and families on the road to financial stability.
Through 2019 funding...
success stories.
Parenting Resource center
"We assisted a single-parent household after the mother re-entered the workforce. This mother had three children, one that had a mental health diagnosis and developmental delays, a typically developing child, and an infant who was born prematurely and was in the process of being tested for developmental delays. This mother took a second-shift job with a major employer in our community, but did not meet Child Care Assistance criteria because her gross monthly income was too high.
This mother reported financial relief and peace of mind knowing that their children were in a licensed child care, whereas previously they were in the care of an unlicensed provider that sat them in front of a television for at least five hours a day. The children reported liking the programming, and the special needs child which was the eldest showed an increase in social skills."
Cedar Valley services
The Designated Employment Specialist (DES) started working with Lydia in December of 2018. Lydia was working in our laundry department and had expressed an interest in working competitively. Once her team was on board the placement process began and the DES started working with Lydia to fulfill her goal of working in a pizza restaurant.
In February of 2019, an opportunity for Lydia to work at a local pizza place was developed. The DES worked with the restaurant’s management team and staff to make it a successful transition for Lydia. She started out working 2 evenings per week with a job coach to prep meat, label and store it in the walk-in refrigerator. After a couple weeks it was determined that Lydia’s prepping skills would be more beneficial during the day prior to the store opening. The General Manager scheduled Lydia to work 2 days per week from 10-11:30am, where she continued with the prep work. To help make sure that Lydia was successful, a job coach from CVS worked with Lydia for over a month in assisting her to build a routine, follow the steps involved with labeling the meat and documenting dates, and shifting product in the walk-in refrigerator. Lydia used a check list to help spell words when labeling and used a calendar to help with dating the prepped products. This helped Lydia become more independent while on the job. The support from a job coach helped Lydia transition from a job where she had a couple familiar supervisors and co-workers with disabilities, to a competitive setting where she learned new rules/policies and how to work around others without disabilities.
Lydia is going on 1 year at this pizza place, and has gone from 2 days a week to working 4 days a week from 10:00a-11:30am. She utilizes a taxi service to get to and from work each day on her own and is working without a job coach. The only on-going support she receives for her competitive job is 1 weekly visit from the DES to check in with her and the employer. Lydia is no longer just prepping meat, she has now learned how to make pizzas, salads, and stock the front case cooler when she arrives to work each morning. Lydia loves her job, and the staff that were there a year ago when she started continue to be a part of her success! They have been very supportive, accommodating, and enjoy having Lydia be a part of their team! Cedar Valley is pleased to have such a wonderful employer working with us and who believes in the success of working with individuals with disabilities.
