Thursday, July 16, 2015

The pieces to stability...

Do you often wonder how a program at the UFRC affects you-even if you are not a participant? Just because you are not the person seeking food assistance or reaching out for guidance as a teenage mother, does not mean that your life is not impacted somehow.

Did you know that high school dropouts cost American taxpayers over $320 billion each year?  Or that they would earn $1,000,000 less than a college graduate over their lifetime (note: this is discussed in a Family Solutions Program session which has a session focusing on education).  Are you aware that someone could be employed and be food insecure?  There are 24% of children in Spartanburg County who are food insecure but their family earns too much to receive SNAP benefits.  The UFRC is here to help any family, in any situation.


Economic Stability Programming

The value of assistance families received is graphed below.  Take a look at our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program!  246 tax returns were prepared by a small group of faithful volunteers!!!  Over $240,000 of Federal Refunds were received! 
Saving Up! is one of our new programs.  Individuals or families with earned income could sign up.  Participants had monthly classes covering a range of subjects from basic budgeting to preparing for Christmas.  For every $25 saved, we matched $25 (up to $300)- that is potential savings of $600 in one year!
A new piece of the "puzzle" is Goal Setting.  We want to provide our clients with the tools they need to break the cycle of poverty and we, along with other Spartanburg County agencies, are working to implement strategies for clients to identify their own strengths and personal values to reach their goals. 


Adult Education
90.38%
Percentage of GED students who reached their educational goal level 
(i.e. improved reading or math skills a grade level or obtained their GED)

Work Keys Certificates Obtained last school year:  

ACT WorkKeys is a job skills assessment system that helps employers select, hire, train, develop, and retain a high-performance workforce. This series of tests measures foundational and soft skills and offers specialized assessments to target institutional needs.  Spartanburg County is an ACT Work Ready Community.

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