UWSWA Awarding $15K to Support Youth-Focused Community Programs
United Way of Southwest Alabama’s (UWSWA) Board of Trustees met on Thursday, June 25, 2015, to award $15,000 to support youth-focused community programs thanks to the generous donations of students in Mobile County Public Schools.
UWSWA is pleased to announce it will be investing in the following programs that address key social issues vital to improving outcomes for our young people in the areas of health, education, and life’s basic essentials:
- Bay Area Food Bank’s Backpack Program
- Mobile Preschool for the Sensory Impaired’s Preschool Program
- Penelope House Family Violence Center’s School-based Prevention Education Program
- United Cerebral Palsy of Mobile’s Preschool Program
To help decide how best to invest these student-raised funds, 
UWSWA worked with trained high school volunteers as part of UWSWA’s Student Philanthropists Actively Reaching the Community (SPARC) program. SPARC is designed to raise student awareness of community needs of youth, while engaging them in raising and distributing money to address these needs.
This year, Martha Peek’s Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council, an initiative of Mobile Area Education Foundation, participated in the program. The members of this advisory council met earlier this month to review funding applications from UWSWA partners.
“At the heart of everything at UWSWA are our communities and their needs,” said Donald Keeler, 2015 Chairman of the UWSWA Board of Trustees and Vice President of Human Resources at Austal USA. “We are very grateful for the hard work and enthusiasm of the students that are helping us improve the quality of life in the community of southwest Alabama. Not only are they creating opportunities for a better tomorrow, but they are learning hands-on what it means to be facilitators of change. SPARC is molding future community advocates and equipping them to LIVE UNITED for years to come.”
After reviewing all of the initial applications, the students selected finalists. The students then went on site visits to talk to the staff and observe some of the programs before making final recommendations to UWSWA’s Board of Trustees.