OUR COMMUNITY IMPACT PARTNERS
Through Community Impact Grants, United Way of the Brazos Valley is investing $350,000 each year from 2023-2025 to 28 nonprofit support programs demonstrating measurable impacts in the areas of health, education and financial stability.
United Way of the Brazos Valley to support 28 Brazos Valley nonprofits through Community Impact Grants
By Emma Wright, United Way of the Brazos Valley
BRYAN, TX (June 1) – United Way of the Brazos Valley is proud to announce the Community Impact Grant recipients for 2023-2025. Through this grant, United Way of the Brazos Valley will annually invest $350,000 across 28 nonprofits serving the Brazos Valley.
“The Board of Directors is excited to support our new and existing partner agencies,” said Sara Mendez, DrPH, Board Chair. “The impact our partners make every day is vital to the health, education and financial stability of our community.”
Each year, over 56,000 lives in the Brazos Valley are changed by the efforts of United Way of the Brazos Valley and its Community Impact Partners.
“Our area takes pride in giving back to the community, and these grants will help folks within these organizations do what they do best,” said Max Crawford, Campaign Cabinet Chair and board member. “We are confident these resources will stay here in the Brazos Valley and look forward to continued efforts to make this place we love even better in the future.”
2023 – 2025 Community Impact Grant recipients:
- Adult & Teen Challenge of Texas
- Aggieland Pregnancy Outreach
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Brazos Valley
- Boys & Girls Clubs of the Brazos Valley
- Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living
- Brazos Valley Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse
- Brazos Valley Rehabilitation Center Inc.
- Bryan/College Station Habitat for Humanity
- Catholic Charities of Central Texas
- Easter Seals of Greater Houston, Inc.
- Family Promise of Bryan-College Station
- Grimes Health Resource Center
- Health For All
- Madison Health Resource Center
- North Bryan Community Center
- OnRamp
- Project Unity
- Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas
- Scotty’s House
- Sexual Assault Resource Center
- Son-Shine Outreach Center
- SOS Ministries
- Texas Ramp Project
- The Prenatal Clinic
- The REACH Project
- Twin City Mission
- Unbound Now
- Voices for Children CASA of Brazos Valley
The Community Impact Grant application is a competitive process that occurs every two years. Over 45 organizations began the application process in January, resulting in 28 funded partners. Applications are reviewed by teams of community volunteers, who then make funding recommendations to the United Way of the Brazos Valley Board.
“We are so grateful to all of our community volunteers who acted as grant reviewers during this process,” said Kat Gammon, Vice President Community Impact. “Our work is community driven and wouldn’t have been possible without their help.”
These grants are funded through annual workplace campaigns, sponsorships, and giving events throughout the year. Anyone interested in contributing to Community Impact Grant funds can support United Way of the Brazos Valley through community campaigns.
United Way of the Brazos Valley fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in the Brazos Valley. To learn more about United Way of the Brazos Valley and support their mission, visit uwbv.org.
THROUGH UNITED WAY…
Our 2021-2023 Community Impact Partners received funding for:
Men’s Transitional Living Campus
Adult and Teen Challenge of Texas provides yearlong, residential, faith-based recovery programs for men in the Brazos Valley area who are struggling with a life controlling issue, typically substance abuse. While enrolled, residents are provided with re-entry services, helping them become employed in the community.
Outreach to Teen Parents through the Mama Club
Aggieland Pregnancy Outreach’s Mama Club is a faith-based mentoring program for teen parents. Their children face the highest risks for abuse and neglect, but with education and emotional support, they are able to break destructive cycles, empower them to rise above their circumstances and protect their children.
Disaster Relief
The American Red Cross provides outreach and assistance to residents of the Brazos Valley in times of disasters. This outreach allows those who have lost their home to a disaster to access basic immediate needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and financial support. This immediate stabilization is critical to keeping families intact and safe during a crisis. Once stabilized, Red Cross, via its staff, volunteers and partners can assist the victims with returning to “normalcy.” The disaster services work of the American Red Cross aligns with the mission of the United Way of the Brazos Valley to provide financial stability for individuals to receive basic needs assistance for food, shelter, utilities, etc.
Mentoring Youth to Build Assets for Success
Big Brother’s Big Sister’s of the Brazos Valley’s Community Impact Grant will support the initiation and support of mentoring relationships each year. These mentoring relationships will help youth to gain and keep the assets needed to succeed in school and make plans for successful futures.
Independent Living & Life Skills Training Services
The Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living (BVCIL) helps people live independently. Services for individuals with significant disabilities include: independent living skills training, peer support, individual and systems advocacy, transition services, job placement and support, health and fitness programs, social/recreational activities and accessible transportation.
Substance Abuse Screening Program
The Brazos Valley Council of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (BVCASA)’s fighting for health in the Brazos Valley by offering substance abuse screening, brief intervention and referral services in the community. These services are provided free of charge to low-income adults and youth by a licensed counselor and helps connect them to needed treatment.
Wellness & Rehabilitation Program
The Brazos Valley Rehabilitation Center’s mission is to improve the lives of families in our community by providing medical therapy services to all needing assistance in the areas of physical, occupational and speech therapy services.
Financial Literacy & Education
The Bryan/College Station Habitat for Humanity will be offering free HUD-Certified Housing Counseling to Brazos County residents to assist them in the areas of pre-homeownership counseling, financial literacy and foreclosure prevention. Thanks to the United Way of the Brazos Valley, dozens of families will gain the skills they need to purchase or keep their homes!
Financial Stability & Education Program
Catholic Charities of Central Texas’ Financial Stability program provides housing and utility assistance, financial education, case management and wraparound services to build the well-being of Brazos Valley families.
Housing Services for Low-Income Families
Family Promise of Bryan-College Station’s Guest Families Resources Support Program provides shelter, meals and support services as well as a safe environment where children can remain with their parents while families work toward achieving sustainable independence.
Resource Center
The Grimes Health Resource Center’s goal is to impact the individual/family in a way that will set them up for financial success. Helping people meet their basic needs in a time of uncertainty ensures they can maintain self-sufficiency and allows us to help when clients have nowhere else to turn in a time of need.
Preventative Health Care and Chronic Disease Management for the Uninsured
Health for All works to provide and expand access to free, high quality and comprehensive, primary and preventive health care for low income, medically uninsured individuals in the Brazos Valley.
Resource Center
The Madison Health Resource Center’s goal is to impact the individual/family in a way that will set them up for financial success. Helping people meet their basic needs in a time of uncertainty ensures they can maintain self-sufficiency and allows us to help when clients have nowhere else to turn in a time of need.
Mental Health Education and Support Services
The National Alliance on Mental Illness of the Brazos Valley (NAMI BV) is using their Community Impact Grant to support their “Health, Hope and Education” program. This program provides evidence based mental health support groups to those living with mental illness, community education to better understand mental illness and mental health resources to the seven county region of the Brazos Valley.
North Bryan
Community Center
Math & Science Program
The North Bryan Community Center’s Math and Science Program works with Bryan ISD to determine what is needed to help the children who are falling behind on the required levels. Tutorials are available each day to help with math and science assignments.
Transportation Services
OnRamp partners with local charitable, government and religious organizations to bless Brazos Valley individuals and families in need with the gift of reliable transportation to help them on the road to self-sufficiency.
Parents as Teachers (PAT)
Project Unity utilizes the child abuse prevention, prenatal-5 years of age Parents as Teachers (PAT) model. PAT is brought to parents in their homes by trained parent educators whose goal is to help them build on their own strengths-using the most up-to-date research on brain science, child development and early learning.
Jack Threadgil Vocational Training Program
Save Our Streets Ministries’ Jack Threadgill Vocational Training Program is a 12-week program that teaches men and women employable trade skills (such as plumbing, welding and commercial driver’s license training) while coaching them individually on how to make wise decisions in life as they lead their families and manage finances.
Counseling Program
The Scotty’s House Counseling Program seeks to reduce the psychological and emotional trauma faced by victims of abuse and ensure that the child will have the tools to recover and live a life free from the debilitating symptoms so often experienced by victims of trauma.
Crisis & Advocacy Services for Sexual Assault Survivors
The Sexual Assault Resource Center’s (SARC) mission is to end the cycle of sexual violence through education, empowerment and advocacy. SARC works to empower survivors of sexual assault through individual and group counseling, advocacy and accompaniment via our 24-hour hotline, and education/prevention services.
Utility Assistance
The Son-Shine Outreach Center helps families who find themselves unable to pay for reasons out of their control such as job loss, illness and natural disaster, pay their utility bills. We hope that with our help they will transition out of crisis and get back on solid financial footing.
Wheelchair Ramps for the Elderly & Disabled
The Texas Ramp Project builds free wheelchair ramps for low-income older adults and others with disabilities. The ramps are built exclusively by local volunteers. The ramps follow ADA guidelines so they are safe, strong and durable. They are provided without regard to age, gender, race, religion or ethnicity.
Creative Critters Program
With this grant, the Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley is launching a “Creative Critters” hour where they provide a story, gross motor activity and craft for pre-readers. They will also partner with a local elementary school to pilot an outreach program that offers STEAM kits to underserved students.
Health Education to Pregnant Mothers
The Prenatal Clinic provides health education to expecting mothers. The provision of health education during pregnancy has been shown to be a critical aspect of prenatal care. This approach has been associated with a broad variety of maternal and child outcomes including reduced prematurity and low birth weight and increased rates of initiation and continuation of breastfeeding.
Rent & Utility Assistance
The Salvation Army provides emergency financial assistance to community members in Brazos County to prevent homelessness. Services provided by this program include rental assistance to prevent a family from being evicted and utility assistance to allow clients to keep their power on, which in turn also prevents evictions in some cases.
Rapid Re-Housing & Financial Education
Twin City Mission Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) program provides rental assistance and supportive services to individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness. The RRH program provides rental assistance for up to six months, as well as, food boxes, assistance with job searches, budgeting, eye/dental exams and transportation. RRH is intended to be short-term assistance to help those in need regain self-sufficiency.