Women United, a giving circle of United Way of Southern Maine, has announced investments of $259,700 in programs that advance single mothers and their children.
In Southern Maine, 69% of single women with children cannot afford basic necessities like housing, child care, food, transportation, and clothing and have little opportunity to save for the future or invest in education, home ownership, or retirement. Women United invests member contributions and corporate support into local initiatives that provide single mothers and their families with comprehensive support and move them toward financial stability.
Beth LaBossiere, Women United Steering Committee Chair, and Anne Dalton, Community Investment Committee Chair, announced five renewed investments at the Women United Fall Gathering earlier this month to an audience of nearly 90 members and supporters.
- $110,000 for Project WIN (Women in Neighborhoods) operated by The Opportunity Alliance, a cohort-based program that takes a two-generational approach to provide single mothers with a pathway out of poverty.
- $68,750 for Anchoring Youth to Succeed, an afterschool program operated by Boys & Girls Club of Southern Maine and A Company of Girls, offering comprehensive services to Project WIN children and neighborhood youth.
- $25,000 to Project HOME (Trust) through Quality Housing Coalition, which offers direct cash assistance, individualized skill-building, and a peer-to-peer support network to single mother households who are housed through Project HOME.
- $30,000 to MomCore through York County Community Action Corporation, a targeted coaching program focused on improving financial knowledge and household stability.
- $22,543 to Mothers Thriving through New Ventures Maine, a class series for single mothers to build their confidence, knowledge, skills, and access to resources to be able to obtain high wage, in-demand jobs.
Dalton also shared that Women United would invest $3,408 in a new program, Family/Women and Children’s Food Programs, operated by Freeport Community Services, to address food insecurity for single mothers, their children, and others. Since 2017, Women United has invested more than $1.2 million into the community.
Women United’s impact is made possible with support from corporate partners. We are grateful to the John T. Gorman Foundation, Hannaford Supermarkets, MEMIC, and WEX for their generous programmatic support and KeyBank for sponsoring the Women United Fall Gathering.
Join Women United and be part of a vibrant community, bound together by a powerful sense of belonging — to each other, to our mission, and to the communities we call home.
