Everyone in our community wants to enjoy good health, but not everyone has equal access to healthy foods and to safe places to move their bodies. We know that poor nutrition and a lack of exercise contribute to increased risk factors for heart disease, diabetes, and reduced life spans. By supporting efforts to increase access to and education about healthy eating; as well as projects that promote and support physical activity for all residents, United Way is helping to create a healthier Henderson County.

Our middle and high school youth face a complicated landscape today, and it’s never been more dangerous to make poor choices with life and death consequences.  But United Way knows that when we equip our youth with skills, knowledge, and support, they can and will succeed.  We are committed to reducing the use of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco among our youth, and to preventing teen pregnancies.  By focusing our efforts on this critical age group, we know we can improve the future for everyone in Henderson County.

We are working across the community to help get young learners ready before they even get to Kindergarten. We know that students who are ready to learn have a much better chance of succeeding throughout their school years, and even into adulthood! Through investments in improved access to high quality preschool and outreach to young children who are not in formal childcare settings, we are helping to prepare the youngest Henderson County residents with the skills they need to be successful in Kindergarten and beyond.

As in most communities across North Carolina and the United States, our children who come from disadvantaged homes struggle to keep up with their peers academically. In fact, students who live in poverty tend to score about 10 percentage points behind their peers when it comes to reading on grade level. United Way believes that by providing high quality afterschool and summer programs, along with caring adult mentors, we can support these students and help them achieve their goals.

We believe by giving people the skills they need to increase their incomes, pay down their debts, and manage their money, we create a ripple effect that improves life for everyone in Henderson County.  Poverty is a real problem in our community, even if we don’t see it every day.  United Way is committed to helping the most vulnerable among us to get on their feet and build a solid future.

Henderson County is a wonderful place to live, with our fabulous outdoor resources, great schools and hospitals, and friendly neighbors.  But working families in our community face a significant shortage of affordable, decent, safe housing.  We know that affordable housing is one of the key stabilizing factors that enable people to create a good quality of life, and we simply need more of it in this community.  United Way is working with our partners to increase the availability of this critical housing resource so that everyone in our community can have a great place to call home.