United Way and the Urban League
A local newspaper recently published an article detailing the United Way of Greater Stark County’s funding for local agencies – including the elimination of funding for the Urban League in the current funding cycle. The Greater Stark County Urban League (GSCUL) and the United Way of Greater Stark County offices received numerous inquiries from concerned Stark County residents wondering why the Urban League’s funding was eliminated. Some of these inquiries questioned whether racial basis played a factor in the United Way’s decision. The GSCUL Board of Directors and Vince Watts wish to dispel this perception of racial bias by the United Way as completely unfounded and without merit.
United Way of Greater Stark County has been a partner since GSCUL’s formation in 2006. United Way was instrumental in assisting the Canton and Massillon Urban League affiliates with the evaluation process which ultimately led to the merger of the two affiliates and the creation of GSCUL. We continue to work closely with both the United Way and the National Urban League during our restructuring phase.
As part of the planned restructuring, one of the two United Way funded programs was mutually agreed to transition to another United Way agency whose mission better fit the program’s focus. The second funded program did not meet required program objectives and outcomes and funding was ended. In both cases, the decisions were reached with the full knowledge of, and input from, the GSCUL board of directors.
We wish to thank our Urban League members and the Stark County community for their outpouring of support. We would also like to thank the United Way of Greater Stark County for their continued support and look forward to future opportunities to jointly meet the needs of our communities.
