United Way Yavapai County News

How the United Way of Yavapai County and Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Arizona are Working Together to Support Youth in Prescott & Prescott Valley, AZ. In this article we will be looking at the impact that the 2021-2026 Strategic Plan for Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Arizona (BGCCAZ) and United Way of Yavapai County (UWYC) Grant Program have on the youth in Prescott and Prescott Valley, AZ. This article will provide an overview into both BGCCAZ's 2021-2026 Strategic Plan and UWYC’s 2022 Grants Program, as well as how they are working together to help support youth in [...]

As the holiday season quickly approaches, it is important to remember those in need. Donating coats, hats, gloves, and warm weather clothing through Yavapai County United Way's Share The Warmth event is one small but impactful way to make a difference this season. The wintertime can be especially difficult for those facing poverty or the unhoused. Winter brings with it cold temperatures that can be dangerous for vulnerable populations who lack the proper clothing and shelter to stay warm. By donating your gently used coats, hats, gloves, and other warm weather clothing items such as sweaters, gloves, hats, and jackets [...]

Food insecurity is becoming an increasingly severe problem in America, and its effects are strongly felt in Yavapai County. Roughly 1 in 7 households in our county struggle with food security daily, making it difficult for families to put healthy meals on the table or access nutritional resources. The causes of food insecurity are complex and multifaceted. Still, they include low-wage jobs that do not pay enough to support basic living expenses, high living costs such as housing or utilities, health issues that make it difficult for individuals to work or cook for themselves, and insufficient government benefits like SNAP [...]

Valentine’s Day is going to be extra sweet on the campus of Bagdad Middle and High School this year. The school’s Peer Assistance and Leadership (PAL) program has asked teachers and staff to write down one thing about each of their students and colleagues that makes that person special. On Feb. 14, PAL members will deliver those hand-written messages with a card that says “Bee My PAL” along with a bee keychain/bag tag to every student, teacher and staff member. The morale-boosting project is one of several done every year by PAL, a program that began nationally [...]

Many public libraries across the country rely on a nonprofit "friends" group that helps with fundraising and covers the cost of programs or services not addressed in a library's official municipal budget. For the Friends of the Paulden Public Library, much of that additional funding comes from selling second-hand books. But what happens if you have no place to warehouse your volumes of Tom Clancy, Sue Grafton or Stephen King? That was a very real concern for Paulden Friends group after it started asking for book donations. The group has a mini "book store" inside the library where books are [...]

January is going to be an exciting time at The Launch Pad. In early 2022, the all-inclusive teen space in Prescott will open the doors of its new facility, a 6,000-square-foot warehouse on 6th Street. The new location will be a "one-stop-shop" for youth, with a coffee café, computer lab, classrooms, dance floor, stage, music production studio, art studio, workshop area, and lots of outdoor space surrounded by a community garden. Teens will be able to come after school and find everything from a quiet nook for doing their homework to a rowdy room for playing games. [...]

Old Town Mission, a Christian faith-in-action outreach charity that has served the Verde Valley for more than 30 years, recently reopened after a four-month remodel that included new bathrooms, flooring and paint. Located in a historic building built in the early 1900s, the Old Town Mission works with community members and partners to provide a food pantry, homemade meals, a homeless resource center complete with showers, breakfast, hygiene items, clothing, blankets/sleeping bags and other necessary things to withstand the year-round outdoor elements, a vision clinic and free legal counsel. In addition, they do several annual outreach events [...]