Face of America Bike Ride - April 27-29

April 5,2012

United Way of the National Capital Area is excited to announce the start of our President and CEO’s blog, “From the Desk of Bill Hanbury.” The blog will be written once a month, including an update on what is occurring at United Way NCA and will provide some of Bill’s personal advice and expertise. Each blog will center around one of our three impact areas: Health, Financial Stability, and Education.

We look forward to this new journey and strongly encourage you to share and comment on individual posts. Happy reading!

I’m training for a big personal challenge the weekend of April 27-29, 2012. World Team Sports is hosting their tenth Face of America Bike Ride, a two-day ride of 110 miles from our Nation’s Capital to Gettysburg. The ride honors the men and women wounded in the nation’s military service. Riders include many wounded warriors as well as current active military. Hundreds of able-bodied citizens also participate.

I’ll be riding on the Capital One Bank Team who is the presenting sponsor of the three-day event. It’s a great honor for me to join the Capital One Team to honor the men and women who have been injured serving our country.

As I train for this event, I’m reminded that United Way NCA supports many nonprofits who are providing valuable support to our veterans, reserves, active military and their families. With over 500,000 active duty military and their families, and tens-of-thousands of veterans in the region, plus more government budget cuts forthcoming, it’s clear we have an emerging crisis.

The needs are compelling and the facts are undeniable. From homeless veterans and veterans lacking job skills, to wounded warriors and military families depending on food stamps, we believe the situation requires a more aggressive approach. For our area, United Way NCA intends to build additional focus and support for relief (veterans, service members and family needing basic needs), stabilization (wounded warriors, mental/emotional concerns and unstable family situations), and workforce readiness (for veterans and active military returning to civilian life).

Over the next few months United Way NCA will be “building-out” this program to better address the most compelling needs for this highly valued constituency. And, as I train for the Face of America Bike Ride, I’m reminded every day of the important work United Way NCA is accomplishing and will accomplish for the men and women whose valor and service we honor. Additionally, I’m also reminded of how valuable Capital One’s sense of corporate social responsibility is to your community.

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Did You Know?

In 2011, the Lamb Center, a United Way NCA member nonprofit, provided: 44,725 meals,12,952 showers, 9,531 loads of laundry, 270 AA meetings, 575 job counseling sessions, and more.

The Capital Area Food Bank reports more than 641,000 residents of the Washington region are experiencing or at risk of hunger, including more than 100,000 in Fairfax County alone.

Residents in Ward 8 have to travel far to gain access to a public library. This distance can make it hard for residents to continue to succeed in their education.

Residents in Ward 7 have to travel far to gain access to a public library. This distance can make it hard for residents to continue to succeed in their education.

Residents in Ward 5 have to travel far to gain access to a public library. This distance can make it hard for residents to continue to succeed in their education.

In Ward 8, over 40% of single-family home and condominium sales resulted from foreclosure completions or owners selling under distress.

45.0% of residents living in Ward 8 receive food stamps.

In Ward 7, over 40% of single-family home and condominium sales resulted from foreclosure completions or owners selling under distress.

35.0% of residents living in Ward 7 receive food stamps.

5.0% of residents living in Ward 2 receive food stamps.

9.8% of residents in Ward 4 are unemployed.

3.2% of residents in Ward 3 are unemployed.

6.0% of residents in Ward 2 are unemployed.

In Ward 1, over 40% of single-family home and condominium sales resulted from foreclosure completions or owners selling under distress.

12.0% of people living in Ward 1 receive food stamps.

6.0% of people live below the poverty level in Prince William County.

9.4% of students in Prince William County drop out of high school.

More than 130,000 residents in Prince William County do not have health insurance.

8.9% of students in Montgomery County do not graduate high school.

In Montgomery County, 1 in 6 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

6.7% of people live below the poverty level in Montgomery County.

13.9% of students in Prince George's County do not graduate high school.

7.8% of people live below the poverty level in Prince George’s County.

In Prince George's County, approximately 1 in 4 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

30,000 children in Northern Virginia live in poverty.

In Northern Virginia, 1 in 6 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

In seven out of the eight wards in the city, residents are closer to fast food restaurants than large grocery stores, which could have a negative impact on residents’ health.

17.2% of residents in the District of Columbia live below the poverty level.

19.0% of residents in the District of Columbia receive food stamps.

11.9% of residents in the District of Columbia are unemployed.

22.0% of students in the District of Columbia do not graduate high school.

32% of children live below the poverty level in the District of Columbia.

In the District of Columbia, nearly 1 in 2 children under 18 is at the risk of hunger.

12.5% of residents living in Maryland do not graduate high school.

9.2% of people live below the poverty level in Maryland.

Last year 2-1-1 Maryland answered 240,000 calls around basic needs such as food, shelter, eviction prevention and financial assistance for prescriptions

Ward 8 public schools have the lowest average share of students testing at required standards, only 33% in reading and 32% in math.

Over 28% of residents living in Ward 8 are unemployed.

Nearly 20% of people living in Ward 7 are unemployed.

67% of children living in Ward 6 are below the poverty level.

15.8% of people living in Ward 5 are unemployed.

There are more than 40,000 uninsured residents living in Loudoun County.

6.1% of students living in Loudoun County drop out of high school.

Nearly 8,000 people in Loudoun County live on an income of $20,000 to support a family of four.

10.6% of people in Fairfax County do not have health insurance.

5.6% of people live below the poverty level in Fairfax County.

7.9% of students living in Fairfax County drop out of high school.

10.5% of children in Arlington County live below the poverty level.

9.4% of students in Arlington County drop out of high school.

More than 3,000 people in Northern Virginia are homeless, 10% of these live in Alexandria, Virginia.

In the past year, 2-1-1 has answered approximately 632,000 calls from the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia from residents seeking services.

Last year 2-1-1 Maryland answered 240,000 calls around basic needs such as food, shelter, eviction prevention and financial assistance for prescriptions.

In Northern Virginia, 1 in 6 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

In Prince George's County, approximately 1 in 4 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

In Montgomery County, 1 in 6 children under 18 is at risk of hunger.

In the District of Columbia, nearly 1 in 2 children under 18 is at the risk of hunger.

Kids who attend a high quality preschool are more likely to graduate from high school and have higher lifetime earnings.

Every $1 invested in high quality early childhood education saves taxpayers $7.

Upon entering first grade, the average middle-class child has spent 1,000 to 1,700 hours of reading time with picture books; a low-income child averages just 25 hours.

Food stamps last an average of 2 1/2 weeks.

By age three, middle-class children have a vocabulary of about 1,100 words compared to 525 words for low-income children.

According to the Partnership for America's Economic Success, if 50 first graders enter school with reading problems, 44 of them will still have difficulties reading in the fourth grade.

The 2009/2010 official federal poverty level for a family of four is an annual household income of $22,050. 185% of poverty is $40,792, a level at which people still struggle with hunger.

The Rand Corporation states that 90% of a person's brain growth happens before the age of 3.

More than 130,000 residents in Prince William County do not have health insurance.

Our Impact

Success Stories

Camp Fire Patuxent Area Council: Sam and Nikki’s Story

We had the privilege of having two children at Camp Fire, both adopted with special needs and identified as having serious learning and behavioral problems, participate in our program.