A dozen Chilton County nonprofit agencies were awarded a total of almost $25,000 by a United Way of Central Alabama (UWCA) board made up of people exclusively from that county on Monday during an afternoon gathering at Butterfly Bridge Children’s Advocacy Center, itself a UWCA partner agency.
“Each of these agencies are touching lives in different ways,” said Shannon Hamilton, Administrator at UAB St. Vincent’s Chilton. “We can’t all do it through healthcare, but we can all do it together. We impact the lives of the people that we’re around every day.”
Hamilton, a member of the United Way County Advisory Board (CAB) for Chilton County, was one of the several community members who chose 12 agencies to fund from the many applications. All of the grants were given out as part of UWCA’s Community Project Grants.
Funding from these grants will go specifically toward community-based programs aimed at improving people’s lives in Chilton County. These include a new school-based mentoring program and a healthy lifestyle education program, as well as new equipment for some agencies, including an automated external defibrillator and hygiene implements.
The organizations that were awarded grants are listed below.
- Auburn University – Alabama Cooperative Extension System Chilton County
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham
- BondFire Ranch
- Care Net
- CASA of Autauga and Chilton Counties
- Chilton County Chamber of Commerce Foundation
- Clanton Library
- Heart of Alabama Food Bank
- Prayer Pillow Ministry Outreach
- Rotary Club of Chilton County
- Senior Connection of Chilton County
- SPAN of Chilton County
The grants must be used to fund direct costs related to the execution of programs meeting community needs or for one-time expenses that will positively impact the residents of the county.
Drew Langloh, President and CEO of UWCA, said it’s important that people take ownership of their United Way.
“The point of United Way is all of us saying, ‘We’re going to put our shoulders together, raise money together and we, as a community, are going to make sure it goes to the right places, to help people that need it the most,’” Langloh said.