OPEN YOUR HEART. LEND YOUR MUSCLE. FIND YOUR VOICE. JOIN THE MOVEMENT
Join Cris Crawford's Clyde's Tire and Brake FILL the backpacks for local children!

Cris Crawford, owner of Clyde's Tire in Brake in Gainesville, FL, has two children and can't imagine them going without the basics in life, like food. He says, 'with all the challenges young people have and all they deal with in school, hunger shouldn't be one of them."

We agree with Cris. United Way of North Central Florida, in partnership with Catholic Charities, uses the Weekend Hunger Backpack Program to help eradicate hunger in children. Spurred by the discovery of children fighting over free breakfast pancakes at a local elementary school on a Monday morning, the Program was developed to identify the children who are at risk of weekend hunger and provide nutritious food to feed the family over the weekend, holidays and school breaks.

While currently providing backpacks to more than 500 children in 8 local schools, the waiting list is long for children who should be added to the Program and more schools where the Program is desperately needed. Your donation ensures we can continue to feed the children currently enrolled in the Program and expand to other schools to continue the fight against childhood hunger.

And know that your donation is appreciated and welcomed by those in the Weekend Hunger Backpack Program. As one parent said in a note found inside a returned backpack, "Thank you for this program. It has helped us so much. But now we are good. Please give our backpack to another family in need." Programs like this one give families a hand-UP when they need it most and help keep kids in school, healthy and ready to learn.

Help Fill the Packs with Cris and the team over at Clyde's Tire and Brake!  Click HERE to donate or swing by Clyde's on Archer Road to drop off donations. 






If you worked in 2011 and your household made less than $50,000, United Way of North Central Florida wants to do your taxes for FREE.  That's right, FREE.  Free preparation and free taxes, all done by an IRS-certified tax preparer.  No catch.  No hidden fees. 

The VITA Program is a combined effort with the IRS to help low to moderate-income working people keep more of their refund and not pay for income tax services.  Many lower-income households are owed a significant refund because of the Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC, a federal income tax credit for low to moderate-income working people. But the IRS estimates anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of eligible families do not claim the credit, either because they don't realize they are eligible or because their income is so low they believe they don't have to file a tax return.  United Way officials are hoping to find more local residents who are eligible by offering VITA, a FREE service.

Residents can find out more about the FREE program, make an appointment and find out what to bring to the appointment by calling United Way’s 24-hour information line 2-1-1.  VITA sites are located  in Alachua, Bradford, Union, Gilchrist, Dixie and Levy counties, offering various dates and times of service at each location.  A complete schedule can be found at www.getyourEITC.com .


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Annual Report Now Available!

To read our FY 2010/2011 Annual Report, please download the document HERE.  This report is available in a PDF version on-line, and does require Adobe Reader to view. 

To receive a printed copy of the report, please contact our office at (352) 331-2800 or unitedway@unitedwayncfl.org.