Albion-Homer United Way Needs Support
Thanks to you the Albion-Homer United Way has being working to provide grants to many area organizations. From providing funds to organize food distributions to making clothes available for back-to-school the AHUW has been there for Albion and Homer.
Currently the philanthropic organization needs more donations to make sure programs continue to be funded. Without financial support Albion-Homer United Way will be unable to provide the necessary grant funding to help non-profit organizations.
To allow AHUW to continue to support local organizations there are several good reasons to donate to the local United Way, Executive Director Marcia Starkey said. These reasons include that donations fund Albion and Homer specific programs and that funding decisions are made by a local board. Donor lists are never shared with other agencies and payroll deductions make donating easier.
Donations can always be mailed to AHUW P.O. Box 55, Albion, MI 49224, made on-line at www.albionhomeruw.org or by contacting Starkey at 517-499-2563.
In the past months AHUW has been able to help organizations like the Homer Public Library. A $2,100 AHUW grant allowed the library to add an additional six hot spots to its lending library. With these funds the Homer Public Library is able to better provide internet service for those families without access or with limited access to the web.
Albion and Homer students received new outfits to start school this year through a $2,000 grant from Albion-Homer United Way to Charitable Union. This event helps students be ready to return to school in the fall and boosts self-confidence.
Electricity, water and gas service are essential to everyday life. For those having difficulty paying for these utilities a recent Albion-Homer United Way grant could help.
Through a $3,000 grant to the Albion First United Methodist Church’s “House by the Side of the Road” on-going fund, the local United Way has helped pay for utilities for many area families. According to the grant application the church has been able to help residents who need a minimum payment amount to keep utilities on or help with service restoration.
Food has been a focus of the United Way during the pandemic. Helping fund a Community Table of Albion coordinator to organize the food distributions and to open a small food pantry was another accomplishment of the AHUW. This grant was made to the Albion Health Care Alliance which is the umbrella agency for the CTA. Another grant helped fund food distribution specifically for Homer residents.
Supporting school readiness for Homer children entering kindergarten was the focus of another grant to the Calhoun Intermediate School District. The $2,000 grant was given to the CISD Early Childhood Connections program. The grant is to help with school readiness. According to the CISD helping a child be ready to start school “affects everything from reading at grade level to higher high school graduation rates.”
The second year of implementation of AHUW funding will also continue to help support the Albion Promise & Kids at Hope Mission under the direction of Harry Bonner. The $10,000 grant has been implemented over two years to help Albion, Homer and Calhoun County school-age youth experience success.
Programing to implement this year’s portion of the grant focuses on supporting activities for youth during after-school hours. These 2021-22 school year programs will include mentoring, physical fitness and making healthy choices while providing leadership development. In addition the grant will help with substance abuse and violence prevention efforts.
Play Right Sports Academy has recently received local United Way funding to help provide holiday turkeys to area residents. According to Milton Barnes founder and president of Play Right the grant was added to other agencies funding to help expand the turkey distribution.
In addition to the grant funding provided to many non-profits, Starkey said during the ongoing pandemic AHUW also purchased and distributed over 3,000 masks to adults and children in the Albion Homer area.
Board members are Carolyn Amos, Donisha Brewer, Chris Burdette, Robert Hawkins, Ryan Hopkins, Art Kale, Isabell Nazar, Marc Newman, Gary Tompkins, Eddie Williams and Shane Williamson make the decisions on which grants to fund.
“Without more donations Albion-Homer United Way will not be able to grant as much money for important programs in the two communities, “ Starkey said. “Our mission is to help create long lasting changes in the lives of our community members. We need your help to continue to accomplish that goal.”
Lenn Reid, Albion Precinct 2 councilperson, Kyle Godfrey one of the owners of College Chevrolet, where turkeys were distributed through Play Right Sports Academy and Milton Barnes, founder and president of Play Right set up the holiday distribution. The turkey give-away was made possible in part by a grant from the Albion-Homer United Way.