CINCINNATI — The United Way is giving about 135 nonprofit agencies a total of $9 million to help people get back on their feet, with food, childcare, transportation or employment, the agency announced.
Easterseals is one of the nonprofits prepared to receive just shy of $100,000.
Easterseals provides workforce development services for people with disabilities, veterans and for those who are economically disadvantaged. They said they employed more veterans during the pandemic than in 2019.
Their goal is to help local employers build a more diverse workforce. Pam Green, president and CEO of Easterseals Serving Greater Cincinnati, thinks of work as being more than a paycheck. It’s a connection to purpose, a sense of achievement, a social network for many.
They plan to use the money for two programs that faced funding challenges.
"It was a huge sigh of relief, quite frankly,” Green said. “The workforce is changing so much and for us to submit a new funding application to the United Way right now would be a real challenge because, quite frankly, we're still trying to figure out what are the needs of employers, what are the training and development needs for the individuals that we serve that are different than they were a year ago."
The YWCA of Greater Cincinnati and 4C for Children both expect to receive about $200,000 from the United Way. The money will be distributed at the start of 2022, but the announcement will allow the nonprofits to start planning how to use the funds.
