| United Way of Central Washington

YC-LIFE

YC-LIFE began in early 2010 as a collaborative project to develop a new sustainable system for measuring the overall quality of life in Yakima County by tracking key indicators of economic, social and environmental well-being. With this information, Yakima County residents would be able to recognize the true needs in their community and work together to identify strategies and resources to help address those needs.

As organizations and community leaders participated in developing YC-LIFE, a new vision for tackling community issues emerged, partly based on successes in other communities using a model for community action called "Collective Impact". United Way of Central Washington, the Yakima Valley Community Foundation, and Yakima County have provided support for the development of YC-LIFE as a backbone support capacity for collective impact initiatives in Yakima County.

Go to the YC-LIFE website to:

view the indicator data for Yakima County
Read the YC-LIFE charter
Download the membership application
See the list of organization, coalition and individual members

Read about Collective Impact

Vision

The vision of YC-LIFE is that Yakima County will be a safer, more harmonious community by supporting Economic Self-Sufficiency, Educational Attainment, Healthy Family and Social Relationships and Community Connectedness through collaboration between citizens, service providers and leaders.

Mission

YC–LIFE’s mission is to support local Collective Impact projects by tracking key indicators of Economic, Educational, Social and Environmental well-being; advocating for cross collaborations of citizens, service providers and leaders; and providing assistance to existing and developing initiatives to create measureable solutions to identified needs.

Objectives

YC-LIFE will operate as a Backbone Support organization for local Collective Impact initiatives by:

Providing strategic direction by advocating collective impact strategies to assist in strategic solutions to build and sustain a healthier community.
Facilitating dialogue between partners by publishing an Annual Data Report and promoting ongoing collective impact efforts.
Managing data collection and analysis by maintaining centralized data collection and analysis to ensure data-driven solutions and reduction of duplication of efforts.
Coordinating community outreach by providing community mobilization assistance to engage the community in new and existing initiatives.
Mobilizing funding by supporting collaborative grant writing and resource development efforts to ensure sustainability.

Bank On Yakima County

Bank On Yakima County is an initiative to connect those without a bank account with mainstream financial services such as affordable checking, savings, credit and financial education.

Bank On Yakima County is sponsored by the Yakima County Asset Building Coalition, the United Way of Central Washington and participating financial institutions.

Participating in Bank on Yakima County will allow you to:

Open a free or low-cost checking account and cash your checks for free.
Have your paycheck or check from the state, IRS or other federal agency deposited directly into your account, so you can access your money right away.
Know your money is safe. Your deposits are insured by the U.S. Federal Government.

Many additional services are available to those who participate in Bank On Yakima County, for more information click here.

Save Money Today On Prescription Medications With FamilyWize!

Have you saved money on your prescription medicine? If not, join the more than 4,500 people in our community that are benefiting from the FamilyWize card program. The FamilyWize cards provide much needed relief to families, both insured and uninsured, that feel the pressure of the high costs of prescription medications. As of May 15, 2013 over $280,000 was saved in our community alone on prescription medications. United Way of Central Washington is one of the 1,000 local United Ways that have joined the FamilyWize Community Service Partnership program as an important part of our strategy to improve health and financial stability in our community.

FamilyWize, established in 2005, strives to help people get the medicine they need at prices they can afford. Operating nationally, they have helped over five million people save over $500 million. FamilyWize cards can be used at most pharmacies including all chain pharmacies and groceries nationwide.

If you or anyone you know needs assistance paying for medication download a card on FamilyWize online www.familywize.org OR text 700700 to get a text version of the card.

Support 2-1-1

Nonprofits like United Way and various government agencies provide excellent programs to support people in need. The problem: The people who need these programs often don’t know they exist.

That's why United Way supports the Calling for 2-1-1 Act. The bill would create a national social service hotline, 2-1-1, to help people find organizations that can help them.

There are already 240 active 2-1-1 call centers in 46 states, but they lack the resources needed to build an adequate telecommunications infrastructure, provide appropriate staff levels and training, establish or maintain 24-hour-a-day service, ensure complete and accurate informational databases, and reach rural populations. The Calling for 2-1-1 Act would provide funding necessary to meet these needs.

While there is significant support for the bill, we need your help to ensure that legislators view passage of the bill as a priority and get it done.

Right here in Yakima and Kittitas Counties, United Way has partnered with People For People, a local social service agency, to develop the 2-1-1 information and referral service. So if you, or someone you know, needs help...call 2-1-1!

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