SparkPoint @SparkPoint

Yesterday we hosted our yearly @SparkPoint Convening at Fremont Downtown Event Center! This year we focused on the theme of Thriving Together, which featured insightful sessions, meaningful networking opportunities, and collaborative problem-solving sessions designed to strengthen our collective impact. We heard from regional leaders, practitioners, and our Ambassadors with lived experience. Special thank you to our keynote speakers: 🎙️Ana Mendoza, UWBA Ambassador 🎙️Kiwoba Allaire, CEO and Founder, Girl STEM Stars We are so thankful for the community support that SparkPoint receives every year. We cannot do this work without you! Visit uwba.org/what-we-do/spa… to learn more about SparkPoint!

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Tacos & Taxes in Fremont was a smashing success—connecting working people with free tax prep 📂, anti-poverty tax credits 💵, and tacos 🌮 for all those who attended. Thank you @GSOpportunity, Fremont Resource Center, @SparkPoint Fremont 🤝 @SenAishaWahab #CalEITC #FreeTaxPrep

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Did you know the IRS is rolling out a new Direct File option that is free? @FreeTaxHelpBA is hosting a webinar today at 12pm to share with you the details of how to use this new tool, and how to share it with our Bay Area community! Visit okt.to/RAkNM7 to sign up!

Today at 12:30pm! Did you know the IRS is rolling out a new Direct File option that is free? We're hosting a webinar next week to share with you the details of how to use this new tool, and how to share it with our Bay Area community! Visit okt.to/EgXqFf to sign up!

Meet Clayton! Clayton has been a @FreeTaxHelpBA volunteer at @TriValleyJobs for 5 years now. He enjoys helping our neighbors maximize their tax refunds and helping them understand the process. We have two more volunteer info sessions before the Free Tax Help season begins! Join us TODAY at 5:30 to learn more on how you can help us make a positive impact in the lives of our neighbors. Or join us at the next session on Jan. 22 at 5:30 pm! Visit uwba.org/what-we-do/fre… to learn more! #FreeTaxHelpBayArea #TheWorkUWBA

Show us what it means to have access to these vital resources, or what the world might look like without them, through your chosen medium—whether it’s visual art, music, video, spoken word, photography, or other forms of creative expression. Submissions run from January 6 - February 11, 2025. Two winners, People’s Choice Winner and Judge’s Award, will be selected for a chance to win $1,500 each. The People’s Choice winner will be selected via an online voting process at uwba.org/get-involved/e…. Voting will be based on the top 25 selections and will run from February 12-26th. The Judge’s Award will be selected by UWBA. Both winners will be announced February 28th, 2025. Visit uwba.org/get-involved/e… to learn more!!! Please help us spread the word of this contest by sharing it with your networks! #contest #artcontest #TheWorkUWBA

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We're excited to announce the return of our 211 art contest! This year we are expanding the accepted mediums to include performing arts! We invite artists and creators of all kinds to take part in UWBA’s second annual 211 Art Contest. This year’s theme is “You Are Not Alone” - making sure people know how access to 211 Helpline services in our communities connects individuals in times of need. ⬇️🧵

This year our @SparkPoint program turned 15! The first SparkPoint TM center evolved out of our long-time partners, @EBALDC, in 2009 after a successful collaboration with our Earn It Keep It Save It program (now Free Tax Help). Our staff, including current staff member, Kelly Batson, and Carol Watson, the Godmother of Free Tax Help and SparkPoint worked with Representative Barbara Lee and the IRS. This collaboration gained the attention of our friends at the office of Alameda County and birthed SparkPoint. SparkPoint provides full economic, financial, and personal coaching to individuals to better their financial outlook. SparkPoint is more than a financial coaching center. It is hub for hope. Countless individuals and families have created a pathway to prosperity that started with SparkPoint. We are looking forward to the next 15 years with SparkPoint. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? Visit web.uwba.org/donors-care?ut… to give today! #TheWorkUWBA #FinancialStability

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@UWBayArea @BMO @BMO_US @211BayArea Thank you @BMO!!!

Thank you, @BMO, for your important partnership! Yesterday we hosted over 60 BMO employees to launch their Employee Giving Campaign to build stronger neighborhoods and healthier communities. Together we built 1200 snack kits and wrote 400 notecards of inspiration for @SparkPoint clients. These kits will be distributed to 3 of our SparkPoint centers – Fremont Family Resource Center, @SFSU, and @OfficialCCSF! Your contributions not only help us raise essential funds for our programs, but also demonstrates the incredible spirit of giving within our community. Your support will make a significant difference in the lives of those we aim to help and allow United Way Bay Area to continue fighting poverty by providing immediate and long-term support for employment, housing, financial stability, and meeting basic needs. Thank you for your partnership and spirit of volunteerism! To stay connected with our programs, visit uwba.org/get-involved/s… to sign up for our newsletter! #TheWorkUWBA #GivingTuesday

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Don't forget to consider spending your Giving Tuesday (December 3rd) with us at Winter Wonderland in San Francisco! Visit okt.to/qN8kC7 to RSVP! Enjoy interactive activities, mingling with your fellow UWBA supporters, and delicious food and beverages! #TheWorkUWBA

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United Way's Real Cost Measure analysis estimates the amount of income required to make ends meet (including food, housing, health care, childcare, transportation and other basic needs). The percentage of Bay Area household incomes that fall below that Real Cost Measure minimum ($122,663) is a shocking 28%. We live in a region where some thrive, while many struggle to get by, with the gap in median household income between the top 10% and bottom 10% of wage earners being much more pronounced in the Bay Area than across California and the rest of the country. Bay Area residents continue to struggle to access affordable housing, with nearly 210,000 low-income renters not having access to an affordable home. In our region alone, there are 34,000 individuals experiencing homelessness and nearly 500,000 individuals - including 147,000 children - going hungry. Visit uwba.org/our-impact/res… to download the full report. #TheWorkUWBA

Welcome to #HungerAndHomelessnessWeek day 4. Today we are focussing on food insecurity in the Bay Area. Our 211 program allows us to see real time needs in the community, including hunger and housing data. Our SparkPoint program helps alleviate these needs with their 1000's of food pantry services each year. How can you help? Share this post. Education is power. We don't know the needs in our communities unless we communicate them! Follow us to learn more as we continue through Hunger and Homelessness week. #HHWeek #TheWorkUWBA

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211 is always here to help. Even with mental health resources. Visit okt.to/JEOoVK, text your zip code to 898-211, or call 211 to learn more.

"It's beyond the statements of support, being in support of communities in talk, and it's moving into the walking space" - VP of Equity Sara Brissenden-Smith Visit uwba.org/our-impact/jus… to check out our Just A Moment series and learn more about how we are diving deeper into elements of our work to combat regional poverty while highlighting the importance of data and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. #TheWorkUWBA #TheJourneyUWBA

You're invited!! We're hosting DEI or Die: The Critical State of DEI Across Sectors, a webinar to engage with leaders from various sectors in a vital discussion on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Moderated by Founder and CEO of Freedom Lifted, Mia Henry, we are so excited to welcome our panelists: Janice Gassam Asare, Founder of BWG Business Solutions Eric Abrams, Chief DEI Officer at KQED Dr. Larissa Estes (@DrLarissaJEstes), Executive Director of the State of California Racial Equity Commission Join our unique panel discussion to connect thought leaders from various sectors—public, nonprofit, education, and corporate—to engage in a dialogue about the successes and challenges we face, especially at a time when the importance of this work is under heightened scrutiny. We hope you can join us on September 25, 2024, at 1 PM PST Visit uwba.org/get-involved/e… to RSVP for free! #TheWorkUWBA

Can you spare 2 minutes to help us improve our 211 program!? We will use this survey to assess 211's reach to communities and neighborhoods throughout the #BayArea. Thank you for helping us improve our services! Spanish: okt.to/AkjB5h English: okt.to/9LDGoO

What is our Youth Opportunities Pathways program? How does it get Bay Area youth connected with job and career opportunities? Learn directly from our VP of Economic Success, Nicole Harden! Just A Moment is our video series that takes a deep dive into everything we do to dismantle the root causes of poverty in the #BayArea. Visit uwba.org/our-impact/jus… to see more episodes! #TheWorkUWBA

Thank you to all of our SparkPoint Centers who helped distribute these backpacks! @SparkPointCC, @SparkPtSolano, @SparkPointMarin, @skylinetrojans, Napa, @CanadaCollege @chabot_college, Fremont, @skylinetrojans,@OfficialCCSF,@SFSU, Contra Costa, Marin, Oakland, and @csmbulldogs!

United Way Bay Area @UWBayArea

2 years ago

School is starting and our Backpack Drive has come to an end! Together we assembled and distributed 3,232 backpacks! Thank you to everyone who supported #BayArea students going back to school! This year we engaged 383 volunteers through 14 backpack drives/ assembly events.

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We're excited to be presenting at the Prosperity Now summit in September! Our SparkPoint Director, Elizabeth Maggio will be joining the @natdisability to present on Inclusive Financial Counseling: Bridging Race and Disability Gaps. Visit web.cvent.com/event/9259f5b8… to learn more!