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A Publication of United Way of Salt Lake |
March 10, 2008
United Way of Salt Lake has always sought to improve lives by bringing people and resources together. We work hard to change community conditions.
Because we can’t effect changes alone, UWSL has organized four Community Change Councils. Through these change councils, we are bringing together skilled professionals from government, business, faith groups, nonprofits, and the private sector to tackle four serious issues within the communities we serve: financial instability, a lack of life skills, barriers to education, and insufficient opportunities for child and youth development.
Last month in this newsletter forum we introduced you to United Way of Salt Lake’s Improving Financial Stability Community Change Council and drew your attention to its work to help Utahns increase incomes, assets and savings, while decreasing debt.
Today’s newsletter introduces you to the Educational Achievement Community Change Council. Like UWSL’s other three change councils, the Educational Achievement Community Change Council seeks to increase awareness and understanding of our community’s most serious issues and work to find solutions. Collectively, the councils help develop United Way of Salt Lake’s community impact agenda by developing priorities and objectives and monitoring results of specific community programs and initiatives.
The Educational Achievement Community Change Council was organized because educational achievement is fundamental to United Way of Salt Lake's goal of creating stronger, more prosperous families and communities.
While Utah’s 79 percent high school graduation rate is higher than the national average, it is really nothing to boast about when you consider a full 21 percent of our students do not graduate. What’s more, Utah adults between the ages of 24 and 35 are less likely than the national average to have a bachelor's degree—only 25 percent of adults in this age category have a four-year degree. UWSL believes that an education, whether it be a high-school diploma, a secondary degree, or job training, translates into higher-paying jobs and a more complete set of life skills.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the more education you get, the more money you are likely to earn. BLS data shows that median earnings increase at every level of education. In 2005, people who finished high school earned almost $175 more every week than those who dropped out, and people who completed an associate degree program netted more than $100 compared with high school graduates.
Read the Impact Matters article in this newsletter to learn more about the objectives of the Educational Achievement Community Change Council, and what we’re doing to open doors to education.
Deborah S. Bayle
President and CEO
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COMMUNITY MATTERS |
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United Way of Salt Lake has always sought to improve lives by bringing people and resources together. We work hard to change community conditions.
Because we can’t effect changes alone, UWSL has organized four Community Change Councils. Through these change councils, we are bringing together skilled professionals from government, business, faith groups, nonprofits, and the private sector to tackle four serious issues within the communities we serve: financial instability, a lack of life skills, barriers to education, and insufficient opportunities for child and youth development.
Last month in this newsletter forum we introduced you to United Way of Salt Lake’s Improving Financial Stability Community Change Council and drew your attention to its work to help Utahns increase incomes, assets and savings, while decreasing debt.
Today’s newsletter introduces you to the Educational Achievement Community Change Council. Like UWSL’s other three change councils, the Educational Achievement Community Change Council seeks to increase awareness and understanding of our community’s most serious issues and work to find solutions. Collectively, the councils help develop United Way of Salt Lake’s community impact agenda by developing priorities and objectives and monitoring results of specific community programs and initiatives.
The Educational Achievement Community Change Council was organized because educational achievement is fundamental to United Way of Salt Lake's goal of creating stronger, more prosperous families and communities.
While Utah’s 79 percent high school graduation rate is higher than the national average, it is really nothing to boast about when you consider a full 21 percent of our students do not graduate. What’s more, Utah adults between the ages of 24 and 35 are less likely than the national average to have a bachelor's degree—only 25 percent of adults in this age category have a four-year degree. UWSL believes that an education, whether it be a high-school diploma, a secondary degree, or job training, translates into higher-paying jobs and a more complete set of life skills.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the more education you get, the more money you are likely to earn. BLS data shows that median earnings increase at every level of education. In 2005, people who finished high school earned almost $175 more every week than those who dropped out, and people who completed an associate degree program netted more than $100 compared with high school graduates.
Read the Impact Matters article in this newsletter to learn more about the objectives of the Educational Achievement Community Change Council, and what we’re doing to open doors to education.
Deborah S. Bayle
President and CEO