Last week, I attended a United Way breakfast that focused on Indy’s pre-K pilot program. United Way was instrumental in pulling this program together with other partners in a matter of months. If you heard everything that had to be done to pull this off – securing public and private funding, evaluating and selecting pre-K providers and reaching families most in need to promote the application process – you would have been as impressed as I was.
They discussed research showing high-quality early education has an impact on improving school readiness and reducing future crime. A strong pre-K program can jump start a child’s learning process. I know from experience with a first grader that the skills baseline and progression expectations are much higher today than when I was school. If a child gets behind, they get pulled out for remediation. They further shared how criminal activity is often the result of a lack of connection to one’s community. A loss of connection can begin early in childhood, from events like being pulled out of class, away from their friends.
Borshoff is proud to have been a United Way Company that Cares for 21 years – since its inception – and I’m helping to lead our campaign this year. I know from serving on a United Way committee and participating in focus groups that many people do not fully understand what United Way does. They are mainly known for supporting many nonprofit agencies that help thousands of people in need. But people realize how instrumental they are in broader community issues through their public policy work and corporate partnerships. They become the advocate for those in need.
It’s that time of year when you hear about the United Way campaign through your work, school or from seeing banners hanging from local businesses. You may have questioned, “Where does the money really go?” A majority of non-designated funds go to support their agencies and those in need. The pre-K pilot program is an example of how the United Way supports broader community issues A pre-K program is not a quick fix to societal problems, but it is targeting issues early and making a significant difference for families and the community for years to come.
