Trumbull United Way Holds ‘Community Conversations’
WARREN, Ohio – United Way of Trumbull County will host a “Community Conversations” event at 8:30 a.m. Thursday at the Trumbull Metropolitan Housing Authority. “These discussions are designed to better understand the needs of our community and prioritize issues,” says Julianna Marsco, resource development and marketing manager.
The goal is to identify five or six key areas where United Way of Trumbull County can work with the community to make a difference. Second meetings will be held in January with the intent to develop strategies for United Way of Trumbull County’s involvement.
The focus area of Thursday’s meeting will be education, one of the agency’s three impact areas. Topics may include ways to increase health education, increase graduation and/or GED rate, reduce crime and violence, reduce drug and alcohol use, and improve percentage of third grade students achieving proficiency on state standardized assessment, Marsco says.
Expected to be in attendance are community leaders such as Brian Higgins of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mahoning Valley, Joe Caruso of Compass Family & Community Services, Jennifer Good of the Easter Ohio Education Partnership, Sharon Carlson of Huntington National Bank, Michele Merkel of Junior Achievement of the Mahoning Valley, Edward Stark of the Trumbull County Board of DD and John Wilson of Turning Technologies. There will also be representation from Potential Development, Someplace Safe, Trumbull Community Action Program, Valley Counseling, Warren City Schools and the YWCA of Warren.
“The needs of our county have not been assessed by United Way since 2009 when conversations resulted in five focus areas,” Marsco says. “About five years ago, United Way Worldwide shifted to the three focus areas of income, education and health . By using plans developed by other organizations as a starting point, United Way of Trumbull County was able to list issues that apply to their mission of health and human services.”
“Community Conversations” have been conducted around the areas of health and income, she notes.
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