United Way of Morris County News
Recent News

United Way and Youth
Building Tomorrow's Leaders Today
June 1, 2007

Childhood can be a magical time – so much to learn, so much to experience – the world is so new.  But, for too many kids, childhood is a struggle.

Did you know? 
A child from a low-income family has a vocabulary of only 3,000 words by the age of six … a child from a family with higher income has a vocabulary of more than 20,000.

Sixty-three percent of New Jersey teens have smoked cigarettes…
56% drank alcohol last month.

A recent national study ranked New Jersey as one of least affordable states
for child care in the U.S.

United Way invests in children of all ages - infants, toddlers, "tweens", and teens – providing them with the support they need to succeed in childhood, adolescence, and beyond.  

Here are just a few of the ways that United Way and its partners are helping children succeed – right here in Morris County:

Every year, United Way provides over 1,000 children from low-income families with scholarships so that they can attend quality child care programs – from top notch infant care to enriching after school and summer camp programs. 

That's good news for our youngest neighbors, as numerous studies show that quality early learning helps a child succeed in school, work, and life.

United Way's Youth Empowerment Alliance is finding new and unique ways to "build tomorrows leaders today."  Our recent Youth Summit Day, designed especially for middle school students, brought together almost 100 students from across the County for a day of teambuilding and problem solving exercises that develop leadership skills.

That's good news for our middle schoolers, as the overwhelming majority of students commented that they "learned something new," from being a better leader or friend to deciding not to "judge people first."   School personnel are already requesting that we hold a second summit in 2008!

Our Mentor Training and Consulting Center promotes and increases mentoring in Morris County by providing free twelve-hour programs that prepare volunteers for their roles as mentors.  Since its inception in 1998, the Center has trained over 1,600 mentors in the community.

That's good news for our youth, as a 2002 study conducted by Child Trends, Inc. shows that mentored young people are 46% less likely to try drugs and are more likely to go onto college.  

The Youth Leadership and Service Council of United Way provides high school students with the opportunity to get directly involved in helping people while learning about local issues.   This year's students have volunteered their time in many ways – everything from collecting diapers for children in need, to planning an extremely successful fundraiser, to deciding how to distribute a community grant.   

That's good news for our youth, as research suggests that young people who participate in community service are more likely to develop strong values associated with volunteerism and philanthropy, and are more likely to graduate from high school and avoid at-risk behaviors such as drug use.