Impact
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The lives we touch: together we help make life better.
Learn more about how donations to UMC impact the lives of 1 in 3 residents of Knox and Waldo counties through UMC’s grants supporting the work of 50+ nonprofit agencies.
Neal – Trekkers
Rebecca – Parent Program
Giff – Restorative Justice Project
Ray – MCH Meals on Wheels
2024 Impact
Together through grant funding support we . . . did a lot of good in the Midcoast.
Each grant cycle, funded agencies submit a mid-cycle update as to what the grant funding has allowed them to accomplish and the impact UMC donors are having through the support distributed to these 40+ partner agencies each year. The impact listed below represent work being done by partner agencies through September 2024. With 42% of households in Knox and Waldo counties working and still not bringing in enough to cover the cost of living here—these services are. more critical than ever. These friends and neighbors are only able to survive with the support of funded agencies like those listed below, and it is only because of you that we’re able to provide as much funding as we are. For that, THANK YOU!
FOOD
Nearly 220,000 prepared meals were served or delivered by local soup kitchens and meal delivery programs. Partner food pantries served 9,914 people. AIO saw a 33% increase in clients last year, and Belfast Soup Kitchen’s Kindness Market saw more than a 100% jump in usage. However, because of your generosity through UMC, the grant to AIO was enough to cover half of all their direct costs for one month!
HEALTH & SAFETY
Because of your generosity, we helped the Knox Clinic provide 712 low or no cost mental health visits and make $1.4M in prescription support available. And, we helped Maine Family Planning offer 200+ cervical cancer screenings and 864 STD & HIV tests for free or at a reduced cost.
Thanks to you we helped 474 seniors continue to age in place by providing free or reduced-cost home health care through one of four partner agencies: Belfast Public Health Nursing, MaineHealth Care At Home, Rockland District Nursing Association and Camden Area District Nursing Association.
United Midcoast Charities Grantees over the last year put on 82 blood drives collecting nearly 2,000 units of blood, 38 Immunization clinics, 4 Blood Pressure Clinics, 2 Health & Wellness events for the public, and Red Cross trainings for 418 people.
Because of you we were able to help Finding our Voices offer immediate support to 29 families fleeing domestic violence with no one turned away and help New Hope Midcoast make 76 school presentations to raise awareness and help prevent future incidents of domestic violence.
With a shortage of dental providers in Maine it is phenomenal that we were able to help bridge funding gaps so 2,690 people could receive 4,381 dental visits at one of two dental clinics in the region and the Knox Dental Clinic was able to remain open 3 days a week.
Your gift helped more than 2,000 people receive hospice or bereavement support though Hospice Volunteer Organizations in Knox and Waldo counties.
HOUSING
Because of your support, 61 homeless youth in Waldo county received aid—30 of them directly because of the UMC grant. Together we helped Midcoast Recovery Coalition deliver 5,282 nights of sober shelter to 48 individuals and allowed New Hope Midcoast the ability to offer 1,121 nights of shelter for 77 victims of domestic abuse. And, 22 more people were able to access affordable housing through Midcoast Habitat.
ECONOMIC SECURITY
UMC grants bridged childcare funding gaps for 96 children in Belfast, Rockland, Rockport and North Haven so their parents could remain employed. 1,390 people received heating assistance via the Waldo County Woodshed, and 950 youth received essential hygiene products they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford through The Soap Closet.