The United Way of the Brazos Valley kicked off their 2019-2020 Community Campaign by raising $100,237 through their Campaign Kick-Off Luncheon last Tuesday. The event, held at the new Texas A&M Hotel and Conference Center, drew nearly 500 community members, leaders, and advocates together to learn more about the United Way of the Brazos Valley and how they can support United Way’s local impact to build a stronger Brazos Valley.
“Last year alone, the United Way and its partner agencies helped 60,000 people by bettering their lives,” says Gen. Joe Ramirez, commandant of the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets and keynote speaker of the luncheon. Ramirez served on the United Way of the Brazos Valley Board of Directors for six years, including one year as the board chair. “These are great Americans doing great things for their fellow Americans every single day to support those in need in the Brazos Valley. I’m proud to be a small part of that great organization.”
Because of the success of the 2018 Community Campaign, this year United Way of the Brazos Valley is able to grant more than $325,000 in Community Impact Grants to 22 local nonprofits serving the Brazos Valley area, covering Brazos, Burleson, Grimes, Leon, Madison, Robertson, and Washington counties. The 2019-2020 Community Partners include Adult & Teen Challenge of Texas, Aggieland Pregnancy Outreach, Bryan College Station Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Brazos Valley, Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living, Brazos Valley Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Brazos Valley Rehabilitation Center, Catholic Charities of Central Texas, Easter Seals of Greater Houston, Family Promise of Bryan College Station, Health for All, NAMI Brazos Valley, North Bryan Community Center, Prenatal Clinic, Project Unity, Save Our Streets Ministries, Scotty’s House, Sexual Assault Resource Center, Son-Shine Outreach Center, Texas Ramp Project, Salvation Army Bryan College Station, and Twin City Mission.
“We have 22 united agencies and one United Way, partnered together, to ensure that a bend [in the road] is not an end. We take on, at United Way, some of the fundraising burden,” says Steve Fullhart, 2019 board chair for the United Way of the Brazos Valley. “These agencies are able to focus more on their mission because United Way takes the burden off of them [by] raising money for them. They’re also uniquely networked as a result. They’re able to find common challenges that our community’s residents are facing and take them on, head on, together."
Stylecraft Builders generously matched $30,000 of the donations collected from the Campaign Kick-Off Luncheon. United Way of the Brazos Valley also thanks their sponsors Caldwell Country Chevrolet, Schulte Roofing, and Baylor Scott and White.
United Way of the Brazos Valley fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in the Brazos Valley. They strengthen the community by identifying the Brazos Valley’s greatest issues, engaging individuals to build strategies, and investing in change. In addition to investing through Community Impact Grants to local nonprofit organizations, the United Way of the Brazos Valley has several Investment Initiatives including 2-1-1 Texas, Youth Leadership Cabinet, VolunteerBrazosValley.org, and the Early Literacy Program, which impact more than 60,000 people per year.
For more information about the United Way of the Brazos Valley’s Community Campaign or to support their work and learn more about how you can become involved, visit www.uwbv.org.
