Today, United Way of the National Capital Area (United Way NCA) announced that it is awarding 18 grants totaling $157,885 to 15 member organizations serving Prince William County. The funds came through designations to the Prince William Community Impact Fund in United Way NCA’s annual workplace giving campaign. Each of the grants directly addresses United Way NCA’s focus areas of education, health and financial stability. In total, nearly $1.65 million was raised through Community Impact Funds in United Way NCA’s eight regions thanks to the support of employees from over 800 workplaces with more than 3,000 locations throughout the Washington region.

Specifically, the Prince William County grantees are: Action in Community Through Service, American Red Cross, Brain Injury Services, Center for the Arts of Greater Manassas/Prince William County, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Children’s Intervention Services of Prince William, Greater Prince William Community Health Center, Habitat for Humanity of Prince William, Just Neighbors, Literacy Volunteers of America – Prince William, Inc., National Capital Poison Center, Northern Virginia Family Service, Prince William Health Partnership, Project Mend-A-House, Inc., The ARC of Greater Prince William/INSIGHT, and Transitional Housing BARN, Inc.

The United Way NCA Community Impact grant will enable Just Neighbors to continue providing critical immigration legal services to low-income immigrants in Prince William County. “Our work unites families, enables women and children to escape from situations of domestic violence, and enables eligible immigrants to attain authorization to work,” said Director of Legal Services Allison Rutland Soulen. “This grant comes at a time of great need, as Just Neighbors’ call volume from clients seeking help increased by 87 percent in 2012 and continues to grow. The grant will allow us to serve residents of the county who are most vulnerable and whose lives will be most impacted by our services.”

CASA Children’s Intervention Services serves the abused, neglected and abandoned children whose cases are before the court in the 31^st Judicial District (Greater Prince William) and the 20^th Judicial District (Fauquier, Loudoun and Rappahannock). “This grant will help to ensure that we can continue to give hope for a safer, more loving life for these children who have lived in pain, fear and shame,” said Chief Executive Officer Charlyn Hasson-Brown, “and provide assistance to improve the chance that they will be physically, mentally and emotionally healthier as adults.” In the first half of their fiscal year, CASA Children’s Intervention Services worked with 400 child victims of abuse. The United Way NCA Community Impact grant will help to provide specially trained advocates for the hundreds of maltreated children CASA will serve in Prince William throughout the year.

Each year, United Way NCA solicits funding proposals from its member nonprofit organizations for specific programs and work in these communities. This year, Prince William County member organizations submitted 47 proposals totaling $850,500. Funding decisions are made by a volunteer, citizen-led task force that works together with area nonprofits, governments, and business leaders to determine where there are gaps in services and where the funds will do the most good.

“Very worthwhile” is how educational consultant and Manassas resident Debi Stepien describes her participation in this year’s Prince William Community Impact grant selection committee. “The rigor and care, the community and professional expertise that go into this process is truly inspiring,” said Stepien. “With government funding for nonprofits so drastically reduced, the community impact grants are allowing nonprofits to do unique things, to go over and above what they would normally do, and do what they would otherwise never be able to do.”

“The generous contributions from the Prince William community, the teamwork of the selection committee volunteers, and the localized, collective power of the Community Impact Fund showcase what Living United is all about,” said Bill Hanbury, President and CEO, United Way NCA.

All donors to United Way of the National Capital Area have the option of directing their pledge to the Community Impact Fund in one of United Way NCA’s eight regions including Alexandria, Arlington, District of Columbia, Fairfax/Falls Church, Loudoun, Montgomery, Prince George’s and Prince William counties. These funds help United Way solve critical challenges facing its communities that no one person, nonprofit, or company can address alone.

Region wide, United Way NCA awarded a total of 154 grants to more than 120 member organizations. All of the grants awarded fall in one of United Way NCA’s three community impact areas of Education, Financial Stability and Health. There were 50 programs funded in Education, 56 in Health and 48 in Financial Stability. In total, United Way NCA raises more than $30 million each year to address the needs of the community, and in the past five years has raised and dispersed more than $122 million across the greater Washington region.

About United Way of the National Capital Area

Focusing on the critical areas of education, financial stability and health, United Way of the National Capital Area and its nonprofit members not only provide immediate relief of social problems affecting the community, but also works to alleviate the underlying causes of these issues. Serving the District of Columbia, Northern Virginia, and Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties for more than 35 years, United Way of the National Capital Area works to inspire acts of caring, deliver hope and improve lives. For more information about United Way of the National Capital Area, visit www.unitedwaynca.org.