United Way of Northern Arizona — (Video) The Programs You Support

There is so much your donation supports when you Step Up and donate to United Way of Northern Arizona.

Like QCKids, the program featured in the video above. Families who have children with disabilities often have difficulty finding care that will prepare their children for kindergarten. The problem is compounded for low-income families, many of whom have difficulty finding affordable, quality child care at all.

QCKids provides a program for children from infancy to 6 years with a focus on identifying and addressing cognitive, physical, social, intellectual and emotional disabilities in order to support learning at a young age to help them better prepare for their future.

Sometimes your gift allows our youth to grow into mentors. Like Ailcia, a Coconino High School student who was virtually paired with Killip Elementary fifth-grader Isaiah for the STEAMing Toward Successprogram. While the two seemed to bond quickly (Alicia’s a former Killip student herself and both played chess there), it wasn’t certain if this online partnership was going to work. Isaiah was shy and soft-spoken, and a lack of internet connectivity often resulted in his turning off his camera.

Was he really engaged in the program? The answer was yes. Thanks to Alicia’s excellent mentoring, Isaiah was not only engrossed in what he was learning; he was working on creating computer code in his free time. In fact, because of the program, Isaiah wants to become a coding mentor once he’s in high school – just like Alicia!

There are times when your generosity literally keeps a family together. Such was the case when Anna (not her real name) was facing losing her two-year-old child because of additional issues. But because you Stepped Up, she was able to get a place at Sage Home, northern Arizona’s first and only family based residential treatment program. Once there she was able to meet the requirements made by the state Department of Child Safety in order to keep her family intact. We are happy to report that Anna left the 10-week program with the tools needed to become a stable, sober and responsible parent.

These are just a handful of examples of how your dollars are transformed into grants that are changing lives.

In the past year, UWNA has supported more than 40 programs that are improving early childhood development, fostering positive youth development, and providing safety and security to families in Coconino, Navajo and Apache counties.

Please consider a donation today that can let these programs and dozens more like them improve our communities and make them stronger. Thank you for your consideration and for Living United.