Kids Matter
All infants, children, and youth should be nurtured and provided with the opportunity to succeed in school, develop life skills, and reach their full potential.
Through United Way’s own initiatives and through investments in community programs, the Kids Matter Vision Council is targeting areas such as childcare, adult mentoring, parent education, and parenting support systems. The results are good news for kids.
United Way invests $469,217 in quality childcare and early learning.
Thanks to United Way’s Education Initiave, 2,876 children are in quality childcare preparing to start school ready to succeed.
The result?
More than a third of all children tested showed significant improvement in their ability to form attachments, control their behavior and take initiative.
Every $1 invested in early learning pays back $16 in higher graduation rates, workforce readiness and lower teen pregnancy and crime.
We also distributed 14,900 books to young children to build literacy.
United Way has trained 1,000 adults in Youth Developmental Assets—the 40 building blocks kids need to succeed. A pilot project at Marysville Middle School is using developmental assets to improve behavior, reduce bullying and increase graduation rates
31,867 at-risk youth received support through programs funded by United Way.
Many of those kids have disabilities. Even more live in poverty. Some just need a second chance. And a lot are benefiting from quality childcare, a safe place to be after school, and programs that build strong minds and bodies.
They live in Marysville, Lake Stevens, Arlington, Startup, Sultan, Everett, Darrington, Index, Monroe, Granite Falls, Snohomish—every community and neighborhood. They live next door.