United Way Celebrates New Children's Health Clinic

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Retired Widenmann Elementary School Principal MaBella Gonzales visits an exam room named in her honor in the school's new health center. Gonzales retired last year after 11 years as the school's principal.

In May, United Way gathered with community leaders from the North Vallejo Health Collaborative to celebrate the grand opening of a children’s health center at Vallejo’s Elsa Widenmann Elementary School.   United Way provided a $100,000 grant to support the clinic.  The grant is one of our many investments in Community Schools, which bring essential services to families and students on school campuses, leveraging them as community hubs.

Before the launch, the only school-based health center in Solano County was located at Pennycook Elementary School in east Vallejo.

“Children who are in poor health have a difficult time achieving in the classroom. By offering health services to families where their children attend school, the Health Center at Widenmann Elementary makes it easier and much more convenient for parents and caregivers to ensure children receive the care they need, so they can stay healthy and focus on school work,” said Aimee Durfee, United Way’s Vice President of Community Investments for the North Bay region.

The new health center — funded by grants from United Way, SH Cowell, McKesson, and Kaiser, as well as in-kind support from Vallejo Unified School District and a host of other local agencies — makes the vision for a second school-based health center in Solano County a reality.

The clinic hopes to serve 250 children during its first year. Services are available to students of the Vallejo City Unified School District and their siblings who are uninsured or under-insured. For more information call (707) 556-8921, extension 56549.

Widenmann students enjoy the celebration

Services delivered through the health center include:

  • Immunizations
  • Regular physicals, sports physicals
  • Sick childcare and treatment
  • Lab services
  • Health and prevention education
  • Dental screenings
  • Health insurance enrollment
  • Referrals to community-support agencies

Read the Times-Herald newspaper article about the clinic’s grand opening.

The North Vallejo Collaborative is a collaboration of agencies that support and/or provide services through the health center to students and families. Those agencies include:

  • Vallejo City Unified School District
  • Fighting Back Partnership
  • United Way of the Bay Area
  • First 5 Solano
  • Bay Area Partnership for Children and Youth
  • Kaiser Permanente
  • Touro University
  • Children’s Nurturing Project
  • Solano County Health & Social Services/Mental Health
 
  • McKesson Foundation
  • Soroptimist International of Vallejo
  • Planned Parenthood Shasta-Diablo
  • La Clinica Vallejo
  • Solano County Chapter of the Links. Inc
  • Solano County Substance Abuse Division
  • Solano Kids Insurance Program
  • Solano Community Foundation
  • Solano Coalition for Better Health

United Way Helps Marin Nonprofits Prepare for Disaster

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United Way of the Bay Area, the American Red Cross Bay Area Chapter,  and Marin Interagency Disaster Coalition will host our annual Marin Disaster Readiness Conference on June 8 in Novato.

More than 180 people, representing a variety of agencies and organizations, have already registered for the conference, which is now at full capacity.  The event will  focus on helping agencies “put pen to paper” to develop emergency plans to keep essential operations running and coordinate relief efforts following a disaster.

According to United Way’s 2010 Nonprofit Pulse Survey, more than half of Bay Area nonprofits do not have plans in place for how they will serve our community during times of disaster.  To help local nonprofi ts prepare for disaster and cope with its aftermath, United Way is helping community organizations create plans to continue operations, coordinate responses, and mobilize volunteers after a disaster.  The Marin conference is one example of our work in this arena.

Last year, United Way and our partners helped nearly 250 human-service nonprofi t agencies to prepare for disaster.

Schwab Volunteers Spruce Up Community Center

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Last week, a team of volunteers from Charles Schwab helped spruce up a community center at the Lion Creek Crossings Complex, which is home to United Way’s SparkPoint Oakland Center.  In addition to cleaning and painting, Schwab volunteers purchased and assembled a small table and stools to create a new reading nook.

“The Schwab team was incredible.  They had a big project to complete in a limited time, and they worked hard and fast to get it done.  The space is now much brighter and cleaner than it was this morning.  What a wonderful ‘all hands on deck’ effort!” said Frances Rosario of East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC).  EBALDC co-developed the Lion Creek Crossings Complex and continues to provide a wide variety of services for tenants and neighborhoods residents.  The organization is one of five SparkPoint Oakland partner agencies that collaborate to provide services at the East Oakland location.

The renovated space will be used for community meetings and as a play area by children who visit the EBALDC Family Resource Center.

Sharon Robinson, United Way’s site coordinator at SparkPoint Oakland Center, said, “Thank you all for taking time from your busy day to help us make our work ‘home’ nicer.”

Before and After the Schwab mini-makeover

Volunteers painting the community room