What’s in a name? For our local United Way, the answer is: a lot.
The nonprofit recently changed its name from United Way of Deschutes County to United Way of Central Oregon. The change reflects the regional catchment area that the organization has been serving for several years. The organization’s influence touches all of Central Oregon: Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties, as well as the lands of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.
United Way is focused on childhood trauma as the root cause of challenges faced by many in our community and thus began TRACEs — a partnership of nearly 150 organizations and agencies throughout Central Oregon working together to raise awareness of the effects of trauma, and to reduce its incidence and impact, as well as to build resilience in individuals, families and our community. TRACEs launched in 2017.
As the Backbone Agency supporting this community-wide collective action partnership and serving as fiscal agent, United Way of Central Oregon is facilitating the far reach of TRACEs in our region. Also a member of the Steering Committee, United Way is guiding and funding this work.
As the most reliable agency with capacity to reach our most marginalized community members and a community leader with a deep and long-standing familiarity with agencies serving Central Oregon’s most vulnerable, United Way of Central Oregon has also emerged as a clearinghouse for COVID-19 donations in our region.
In March of this year, the nonprofit established the Central Oregon COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund and raised $135,000 to distribute to 29 local and regional nonprofits providing essential services and meeting the emergency needs of our community’s hardest hit as the pandemic first started.
Since then, United Way has pivoted towards ongoing needs that members of our community and the agencies that serve them are facing in adapting to the pandemic. It has created the Central Oregon COVID-19 Recovery & Resilience Fund, from which the first round of grant funding to local agencies will be announced next month.
United Way of Central Oregon has been in existence in our region for 67 years, fighting for the health, education, financial stability and resilience of every person in our community. New name. Same venerable organization.
