Valley of the Sun United Way

**Our Aspirations** We can’t beat today’s issues with yesterday’s thinking. Change demands bold new solutions. So, we’re redeploying our energies and realigning our resources and partners to drive Mighty Change in our community. Together, we tackle the systemic, interrelated issues that are holding us back to create more opportunity and access throughout the Valley. Progress will be tracked and reported annually, and we will change courses as needed to stay focused on the right programs and solutions to reach our goals. Every dollar you donate stays in Maricopa County, invested into creating Mighty Change. **Our Story** Since 1925, United Way has mobilized the caring power of individuals and organizations to improve lives and is the largest non-profit investor of health and human service programs in Maricopa County. We bring partners together from every sector – public, private, non-profit – to do what no single organization can do alone: create solutions that transform the lives of individuals and families and drive systemic change that impacts entire communities. **What We Do** We create Mighty Change in our community by: - Strengthening and supporting the emergency food system to reduce hunger among families and senior citizens. - Reducing barriers to accessing healthcare through outreach and services that increase participation in healthcare programs. - Increasing investments in services and programs that prioritize social determinants and wraparound services that prevent and assist those experiencing homelessness. - Investing in individual and family shelters that move households out of crisis. - Building and strengthening literacy capacity of practitioners in early learning environments. - Increasing online learning and socio-emotional supportive services for parents, caregivers, and teachers. - Increasing resources to help individuals obtain job opportunities that will raise their income and create sustainable careers. - Research that helped to direct our five-year plan MC2026 confirmed that issues that existed before the pandemic are even more intense now and systemic racial, social, economic and educational inequities exist in every issue so equity must be part of every solution. Woven into each of the plan’s strategies is a focus on diversity, equity, access and inclusion. We've started this important work by looking inward first, and have developed a committee of staff and board to help assess and direct our work. That committee, with input from our community, will develop a plan for the most effective role Valley of the Sun United can play in building racial, economic, education and social equity in our community.