What We Do

Since 1923, United Way of Central Ohio has been solving our community’s most pressing issues by mobilizing and convening individuals, organizations and systems. Over the past century, we’ve empowered our neighbors to succeed at every stage in their lives, and raised and invested more than $1.7 billion into building a more equitable central Ohio for everyone.

Our long history of strong partnerships and understanding of our community’s issues led us to the focus our expertise on the needs of our community’s students and their families with Success by Third Grade. We know that children’s success in the classroom is impacted by more than just instruction and materials. Students and their families must be supported inside and outside of the classroom.

Our nonprofit partners and our network directors, who work to create community partner networks within school districts, strategically support the unique needs of students and families, accelerating the path to reading proficiency like no one organization can.

Last year, our community joined us in strengthening families and putting more children on a pathway to succeed in school and life:

Students Received Support and Services

Neighbors With Food Insecurity Received Nutritious Meals

Families Experiencing a Housing Crisis Received Stable Housing

Because our young learners are tomorrow's leaders and innovators, our Community Response Fund invests in local, high-quality nonprofit partners that provide direct services in Success by Third Grade's participating school districts, focus on racial equity and have strong outcomes for programs serving families and students.

Our Nonprofit Partners

SEE BRILLIANCE UWCO 2025 Investment $10,000

Organization Description:

Our mission is to provide youth and families with educational opportunities rooted in Black and Latinx cultures that equip them to discover their innate Brilliance.

Partner Description:

Discovering Culturally Relevant STEAM Experiences empowers youth in underrepresented communities through hands-on learning rooted in their cultural identities. By blending STEAM disciplines with cultural exploration, we ignite curiosity, confidence, and creativity. Through engaging workshops and access to resources, we foster a sense of belonging and inspire future innovators. Experience diversity, unlock potential, and advance equitable STEAM access with our culturally relevant STEAM program.

Address:

2935 E Main St, #91012 Columbus, OH 43209

Phone:

(614) 753-3894

Website:

https://www.seebrilliance.org/

OHIO YOUTH DEVELOPMENT UWCO 2025 Investment $10,000

Organization Description:

Ohio Youth Development's mission is to end systemic racism and classism by providing afterschool activities that offer children academic support, fitness, and healthy development opportunities.

Partner Description:

The OYD Reading Raiders, based in Columbus, Ohio, targets literacy for K-3 children in Franklin County. Through personalized, tech-enhanced learning and diverse reading materials, it aims for reading proficiency by third grade. This program bridges educational gaps and nurtures a love for reading, integrates technology, and student's creative minds, promoting long-term literacy youth success.

Address:

4312 Westport Rd. 2FL, Columbus, OH 43228

Phone:

(614) 732-4907

Website:

https://www.oydkids.org

KEEP BOOKS OSU UWCO 2025 Investment $9,500

Organization Description:

KEEP BOOKS are an option for educators and literacy organizations to build classroom and take-home book programs for PreK-Grade 2 children that are meaningful and purposeful. Children will enjoy reading these grade-appropriate books in class and taking them home to re-read. Sending Keep Books home provides extra reading, helps children see themselves as successful readers, and builds a bridge between a child’s most important worlds—school and home.

Partner Description:

KEEP Books are little books designed for the literacy needs of children Pre-Kindergarten to mid-second grade. Created and written by literacy educators at The Ohio State University to deepen at home connections, and build classroom reading libraries that promote a love of reading. KEEP BOOKS make it possible to quickly build a child’s home library to ensure reading at home and at school. A variety of titles are available in both English and Spanish. We also offer laminated Big Books measuring 8.5" x 11" that are ideal for classroom and community education settings for children who may need larger format books. Our catalog also features titles that introduce children to the concepts of health, nutrition and safety that are a great resource for community health organizations in need of quality support materials to help children and families build a love of reading and health and safety awareness at home. Each book includes ideas for additional activities after reading the book or offer recipes. This is a way to connect how literacy plays a role in everyday life and offers practical ways for building positive literacy environment at home. For more information or to view our catalog https://keepbooks.osu.edu/index.html

Address:

1100 Kinnear Rd. Columbus, OH 43212

Phone:

(800) 678-6484

Website:

https://keepbooks.osu.edu/

CHARITY NEWSIES UWCO 2025 Investment $10,000

Organization Description:

The mission of Charity Newsies is that no child shall be kept out of school for lack of adequate clothing.

Partner Description:

Since our founding in 1907, Charity Newsies has served over 800,000 kids. Our mission is that no child shall be kept out of school for lack of adequate clothing. Charity Newsies received over 18,000 applications for clothing for kids in 2023. More than one third of the children we serve each year falls within Kindergarten through third grade. Each child receives a package of clothing worth $150. Charity Newsies provides brand new clothing to children in need, from Kindergarten through twelfth grade, who reside in Franklin County and attend in person schools. We have provided clothing to over 90% of the schools in Franklin County. Families directly apply for clothing assistance in the summer. Each child will receive a brand new clothing package consisting of six pairs of socks, underwear for the week, a coat, hat, gloves and three shirts and three pants. Should the child attend a school with a dress code, dress code compliant clothing will be provided. Children attending schools with a uniform with a logo will receive a full clothing package along with a voucher to use at a local uniform store for the items requiring a specific logo. In addition to applications received directly from families, Charity Newsies works with a number of partners to provide clothes to kids in need year-round including homeless shelters and families affected by fires, flooding, violence, etc.

Address:

4300 INDIANOLA AVE, COLUMBUS, OH 43214-2221

Phone:

(614) 743-0104

Website:

https://charitynewsies.org/

MOTHERFUL UWCO 2025 Investment $25,000

Organization Description:

Motherful supports, nurtures, and empowers single mother families in Central Ohio through education, resources, community, arts and wellness. Vision: Our vision is to create a Motherful world in which all mothers and their children are valued, nurtured, supported, and cared for, and where single mothers never again feel alone, abandoned, cast aside, stigmatized or marginalized systemically or personally. We seek to build a safe, intentional community where single mothers joyfully and peacefully work together, uplift each other, and share an abundance of resources in a collaborative, equitable collective.

Partner Description:

The Resource Garage ensures that mothers and children never go without basic needs such as clothing, hygiene items, diapers, school supplies, and shoes. The Food Pantry, a central component of the Resource Garage, is especially critical for advancing food security and addressing health disparities, particularly among Black, Indigenous, and Mothers of Color.

Address:

254 Agler Rd, Gahanna, OH 43230

Phone:

614-735-8467

Website:

https://www.motherful.org/

JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF CENTRAL OHIO UWCO 2025 Investment $25,000

Organization Description:

At Junior Achievement of Central Ohio (JA), we imagine a future where each new generation of students is inspired and prepared to achieve personal success in their career and in life. We come to work each day to prepare central Ohio K-12 students for the business of life after graduation by convening and aligning government entities, for-profit partners, and educational systems to integrate and implement JA’s proven, groundbreaking career-preparation, financial literacy and entrepreneurship programs.

Partner Description:

Junior Achievement of Central Ohio K-3 programming is focused on teaching students about financial literacy, workforce readiness and entrepreneurship using standards aligned and grade level appropriate lessons. We are supplementing the curriculum with an increased focus on literacy by creating digital books for students that are aligned to the content taught at grade level. Each book is intentionally designed to give students a greater understanding of the content using vocabulary that is appropriate for the grade level. For students in kindergarten, the content focuses on Individual choices, money, the importance of saving, giving, and the value of work. For students in first grade, the content focuses on needs and wants, how families plan for and acquire food and services, and how students' skills can help support their families. For students in second grade, the content focuses on businesses and jobs in their community, production methods, taxes, decision-making, and how money flows in an economy. The goal is to incorporate literacy with relevant experiences so students are able to put what they read into context.

Address:

68 E. 2nd Ave, Columbus, OH 43201

Phone:

(614) 704-3707

Website:

https://centralohio.ja.org/

HEART FOOD PANTRY UWCO 2025 Investment $25,000

Organization Description:

Our Mission: Nourish Neighbors to Flourish Our Vision: Modeling God’s Love, HEART Nourishes hungry neighbors with healthy nutritious food today, connects them to life building resources for tomorrow so they can flourish for a lifetime. HEART is an acronym: Helping Eastside And Reynoldsburg Thrive

Partner Description:

HEART works with the school district to ascertain nutritional needs. HEART provides food security by offering free food and resources to stabilize the family and individual

Address:

6475 E MAIN ST STE 101, REYNOLDSBURG, OH 43068

Phone:

(614) 448-8915

Website:

https://heart-market.org/

FRANKLINTON FARMS UWCO 2025 Investment $10,000

Organization Description:

Franklinton Farms’ (FF) mission is to nourish neighborhood wellbeing and connection through farming, gardening, and education.

Partner Description:

Franklinton is a USDA-classified food desert where 1 in 5 residents over age 25 do not graduate high school. To support success by third grade, Franklinton Farms’ Garden Education Initiatives combine: knowledgeable, trauma-informed staff; place-based therapeutic and academic programming; and neighbors who are eager to learn! As a result, the next generation of neighbors are cultivating social-emotional skills and nutritional literacy, which are foundational to long-term wellbeing and success.

Address:

867 W Town Street, COLUMBUS, OH 43222-1668

Phone:

614.233.1887

Website:

https://franklintonfarms.org/

FINAL THIRD FOUNDATION UWCO 2025 Investment $20,000

Organization Description:

The Final Third Foundation's mission is to inspire, engage, and educate through soccer-based youth-focused programs and events. The Foundation strives to promote health, wellness, achievement, leadership and character development, both on and off the field. Its overall objective is to unite diverse communities and empower them to achieve their goals.

Partner Description:

As our Soccer and Literacy program works to enhance our students ability to learn to read up until 3rd grade, our Sprouts program provides the opportunity to engage with real life representations of what they learn about in the classroom. The two, paired together, are aimed at ensuring our students excel and thrive beyond third grade when they read to learn, with a pre-established interest in scientific/environmental principles that was developed from their experiences in their learning garden.

Address:

2404 E MAIN ST, COLUMBUS, OH 43209-2478

Phone:

(614) 962-7222

Website:

https://www.finalthirdfoundation.org/

FEED THE KIDS COLUMBUS UWCO 2025 Investment $25,000

Organization Description:

Feed The Kids Columbus strives to ensure food insecure children in Central Ohio have access to nutritional meals and snacks so they are able to learn and grow.

Partner Description:

FTKC Snack Program provides snack items to our partner schools for teachers and administrators to provide to students in the classroom during the school day who have missed meals, are exhibiting challenging behaviors for which a snack could help refocus their attention or are feeling unwell due to hunger. USDA nutrition programs and school funding are unable to provide these critical nutritional resources therefore FTKC programming aids in filling this gap.

Address:

7147 Wilton Loop Dublin, OH 43017

Phone:

(937) 901-1016

Website:

https://www.feedthekidscolumbus.com/

What We Do

Last year, our community joined us in strengthening families and putting more children on a pathway to succeed in school and life:

Students Received Support and Services

Neighbors With Food Insecurity Received Nutritious Meals

Families Experiencing a Housing Crisis Received Stable Housing

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