• Early Learning – Our programs are designed to give PreK students the educational start they need to be prepared for kindergarten and ensure K-3 students are reading on grade-level by the end of 3rd grade. This a critical indicator of future success as studies show that children who read on grade level by the time they start 4th grade are four times more likely to graduate high school. Programs include:
  • • Reading Rooms – located at La Mirada Garden Apartments and Bradenton Village Apartments; bring educational resources and programs to community housing neighborhoods 
    • Reading All-Stars – connects volunteers with students who need a little extra support with their reading skills.
    • The Big Plan – a community partnership focused on improving reading scores at 10 Title 1 elementary schools in Manatee County
    • Summer Care – provides books, scholarships and tutoring to students to avoid the “summer slide,” where students fail to retain academic gains over the summer.
• Youth Success – Housed at our North Greenwood Resource Center, Operation Graduate, a partnership between United Way Suncoast, Pinellas County Schools, the Clearwater Police Department, and St. Petersburg College promotes on-time high school graduation and prepares students for college or career through tutoring, mentorships and summer programs that introduce students to the college experience.
• Financial Stability – Our work centers around the 43% of Suncoast households who can’t cover basic needs and are one emergency away from crisis – the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) population. Help is provided through a variety of program including:
  • • Resource Centers – help adults reach a more financially stable future for themselves and their families by providing GED classes, job training, computer access and more.
      • Campbell Park 
      • North Greenwood
      • Sulphur Springs
    • VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) – provides one-on-one and online tax prep assistance to thousands of lower-income households, ensuring they receive their maximum refunds. The refunds, along with fees saved from paying for tax prep, go back into the community to pay for housing, childcare and debt, among other things. In 2021, VITA volunteers prepared 8,449 returns that delivered $10.9M back to the community in the form of refunds and saved fees and another $1.4M in economic recovery payments that would otherwise have been missed.
    • Bank On Suncoast – helps the unbanked and underbanked access safe, affordable checking accounts
• Help in a Crisis – through partnerships and our own emergency funding, we are here to help when our community is in crisis.
  • • 2-1-1 – A strategic community partner of United Way Suncoast, 211 provides assistance to individuals in crisis including help with housing, food access, utilities, and mental health issues.
    • COVID-19 – Providing weekly food distributions at our resource centers, help dealing with evictions, assisting individuals in accessing their economic impact payments and providing ongoing resources through our Coronavirus Assistance Center are just a few of the ways we’ve been helping our community through the pandemic.  

But, Manatee County Govt. employees go far beyond donations in giving back to the communities in which you live and work. 

You participate in a variety of volunteer opportunities including the Reach Out and Read project in which employees affixed stickers to books going out to children throughout the community to support early learning efforts. 

Employees also belong to our Community Impact Committee and Big Plan Advisory Council. 

Other ways to get involved with United Way Suncoast include our Leadership Societies – Tocqueville, Women United and Young Leaders’. All offer opportunities for networking, special events, volunteering and advocating for our impact areas – early learning, financial stability and youth success. 

Your gifts of time and treasure are invaluable to our community.