To the editor,
Today the Sentinel Tribune published a story suggesting that United Way of Greater Toledo (UWGT) was ending its support for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL) reading program. Unfortunately, no UWGT staff were contacted for comment or represented in the article. Both the headline and the representation of our role in DPIL in Wood County are misleading.
Our organization’s primary purpose is to help private donors, corporations, and agencies find common goals and leverage pooled resources to improve the lives of everyone in the region. As such, UWGT has a history of assisting strategically significant programs in getting off the ground. Though we rarely lead them, we do often support them once they have taken root in a community.
In Wood County, our purpose includes bringing agencies together to improve food distribution for those who are hungry. United Way helped reorganize the Wood County Food Insecurity Council this past spring, and we’re now offering 17 food banks volunteer coordination training to help meet their needs.
United Way also allocates donor funds to proven programs that impact key moments in a child’s education, such as Early Childhood education at the Children’s Resource Center, and the Reaching New Heights Reading Program at Perrysburg Heights Community Association. Kindergarten readiness is one of the strategies to expand educational opportunity, according to dozens of partner agencies working together on a road map for better service delivery, with an assist from our program and community data. Other focus areas include providing housing, improving healthcare, and stabilizing finances for those in need.
The need is great. In Wood County alone, 14% of the population lives below the federal poverty line.
The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is a wonderful program, and United Way is proud to have helped incubate it in Wood County. After several successful years establishing the program, it is time for a local leader to take the reins to ensure relevancy and sustainability. The Wood County libraries are strong, vibrant organizations, who are well connected to their constituents. We look forward to continuing to work with them as we support early literacy, giving our donors a chance to make a real difference in the lives of local kids.
Wendy Pestrue
CEO, United Way of Greater Toledo
