Because of you, we were able to provide $180,000 to support 10 local agencies and 11 programs throughout Onslow County. Each of the programs focuses on one or all our three pillars for a better tomorrow - Education, Health, and Financial Stability. We were also able to provide $20,000 in sponsorships to assist nonprofits in their fundraising efforts. Bringing our total community investment total to $200,000 to our local nonprofits doing much needed work in our community.
We are grateful for the county and city’s trust in the United Way to allow our continued partnership of Volunteer engagement through Volunteer Onslow. Volunteer Onslow now has 13,681 registered volunteers willing to support 131 agencies. Volunteer Onslow was able to provide $2.6 million in sweat equity into the county. Volunteer Onslow is the leading community involvement provider in Onslow County. We recognize these amazing volunteers during National Volunteer Week each year in partnership with the Jacksonville Onslow Civic Affairs Committee’s Fabric of Our Community inductees.
Our 211 Resource Hotline provides information and referral service to 3,878 residents in Onslow County this year, with over half of the calls requesting housing or shelter. Families and individuals can dial 2-1-1 to obtain free and confidential information on health and human services and resources within our community. This service is available 365/24/7. 211 provides NCCare360 with valuable resources to help its efforts as the first statewide coordinated care network that better connects individuals to local services and resources.
In 2024, United Way expanded the reach of the CHEW Program. We supported 1,077 food insecure children and their families throughout our Onslow County School district each weekend. The CHEW program provided 32,844 bags of food totaling 197,064 meals for our food insecure children. This year, we are working with the Department of Health and Human Services, through the Healthy Opportunity Program, to provide food boxes for food insecure children enrolled in MEDICAID. In this endeavor, we provided 2,933 boxes of food. We are reaching more children through various avenues to ensure our children receive the resources they need to thrive. We have also partnered with Door Dash to make deliveries to our student’s home for children experiencing embarrassment for his or her parents’ financial situation or the inability to pick up the bags. This partnership provided 2,485 deliveries. We will also establish a lunch site at Sandy Run Missionary Baptist Fellowship Hall to feed children throughout the summer.
Through our 24-hour Stuff the Bus Event, we were able to provide 34,000 school supplies to our school social workers. This event helps the children have the necessary supplies to start school with the tools they need to learn. We are excited to continue this partnership again this summer and look forward to another successful event.
We are excited to continue our partnership with Lyft providing rides to 349 residents. This grant allows us to offer our residents safe and reliable transportation to medical appointments and substance treatment. This year, we have been able to extend this service even further through an additional grant opportunity and added a partnership with Naval Hospital.