SitemapShannon Stamp, a United Way volunteer at the Youngstown Community School, is about to start her fourth year of helping with the Success After 6 Initiative.
Volunteers engage with children one-on-one, not just teaching them how to read but also mentoring those who show genuine interest in the kids and their education. The rooms are alive with activity as volunteers guide the children in a personal way that helps develop the emotional and social aspects of learning, not just academics.
Stamp is passionate about the program, she says. She also serves as vice president of Women United, the Youngstown United Way’s leadership program for women.
“I have never done anything more rewarding in my life than the volunteer work I do with the United Way,” says Stamp. “I personally know the destruction illiteracy does to a person and a family.”
Throughout the Mahoning and Shenango valleys, volunteers give their time and money to advance the United Ways’ missions.
The focus of these programs is not only to address needs such as providing food, clothing and shelter for the less fortunate but to also alleviate many of the causes of poverty.
“We as the United Way, with limited dollars, are getting to the root cause,” says Jim Micsky, executive director of the United Way of Mercer County. “The dollars we invest go into prevention programming and early education. The birth to age six timeframe for children is crucial and the community needs to be engaged.”
Success By 6 is just one of the programs to address one of United Way’s top objectives: to effect poverty through early education. To read the full article from The Business Journal, click here.