Make a Difference Every Day of the Year
by Brittany Gordon
Life as a single mother of three children is difficult. Add in a disability and your children’s sudden problems with school, and life becomes a real struggle. Enter Project Unity, a non-profit organization that has been helping people in our community since 1995. Project Unity’s mission is to help people in need lead a productive life, often despite seemingly overwhelming obstacles by providing direct services and also by linking clients to other services when appropriate.
Founder Jeannie McGuire says the program started as a simple act to help families who are struggling. With 22.3% of the Bryan/College Station population below the poverty line, Project Unity is a major reason locals enjoy the quality of life Bryan/College Station enjoys today. Without Project Unity and other nonprofits that assist the poor, demands on city and county funding would undoubtedly be higher.
From child abuse and neglect prevention to feeding the hungry; uniting families with parenting support; providing medical help; providing supervised visitation; finding jobs for the unemployed; providing educational opportunities and providing HIV/AIDS assistance – Project Unity provides direct services and connects people with needs to service providers so they have the chance to lead productive lives.
McGuire says what they are really about is keeping children and families together, safe and strong 365 days a year. Building on this, Project Unity has recently developed a program called Club 365. The program is designed to donate $1 a day to help those in need in our community. The donation is 100% tax deductible, and donors receive the knowledge they have helped a family in desperate need to help themselves.
“When I called Project Unity I didn’t know what to expect,” says a recent client. “It was a blessing and came at a time when I really needed it.”
A single mom of two boys, ages 14 and 9, and an 8-year-old girl, the client was on disability and struggling to keep her family together. Her kids, usually very quiet and reserved, began having problems with school and refused to open up to her.
Lauren Mahle, a staff member at Project Unity, was assigned her case. Mahle helped the client build social skills in her life, learn skills to help her children and provided groceries, among other things.
Project Unity helped enroll the middle child in a program to play basketball, a sport he loves. The eldest wants to be an artist and record music, so Mahle took him to a studio and encouraged him to write songs; he has now written 400. The girl had a problem sucking her thumb and stayed locked up in her room; now the client says she has opened up and the whole family has united.
“When I got to know Lauren it was like talking to a friend and she was giving real help that I needed, not textbook help,” the client shares. “I have been through a lot in my life and I knew I didn’t want my kids to go through that so I had to get help.”
The client advises anyone who feels at a loss or needs help to call Project Unity. “A little at a time goes a long way,” the client says. “It was like a new beginning, a perfect start.
This client is one of many impacted by the work of Project Unity and is the reason McGuire says she began the program: she loves this community. It is her desire that everyone – from all walks of life – come together to help those in need in B/CS learn to help themselves.
“Everything we do is about giving people hope for a better future,” says McGuire.
How to help
Have ever wondered what you can do to help the less fortunate in our area or how you can make an impact on someone’s life? Club 365 is one such opportunity.
Matching Grant
Funds Needed
Project Unity must raise $100,000 each year to receive matching grant funding. The staff is working hard to make sure these funds are met so their services in the community can be continued. Club 365 was created to raise these funds. Project Unity is looking for a core group of the first 365 Club members to sign up to meet Project Unity’s financial needs.
For more information about Project Unity, Club 365, or other ways to volunteer to help raise matching grant funding, visit www.projectunitytx.org, call (979) 775-6788, or email info@project-unity.org.
Visit the Club 365 website at www.club365.org and Club 365 Facebook Page at www.facebook.com\Cub365Project.
