DSS Employees Give Big to Charity

Students using Reading Plus software

DSS employees pledged $32,848 to local nonprofits this year through the annual United Way Charitable Giving Campaign—supporting programs right here in our own community to increase reading ability in children, improve access to health care, educate low-income families on financial planning, and more. The funds, donated by 154 DSS employees in a campaign ending October 28, represent a $2000 increase over last year’s total.

The Campaign is a month-long pledge drive held annually at the County and other large local employers. Participating employees can either make one-time donations or set up ongoing paycheck deductions. They can direct their support either to the nonprofit of their choice, or to programs within the theme of the year’s campaign. This year’s campaign theme is “United for Literacy” – the same theme as last year, because last year’s programs proved astonishingly successful.

Most low-income families do not have a single age-appropriate children’s book in their home. In response, a partnership between United Way and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library now enables the parents of every child in Santa Barbara County to receive a free book every month, from birth until kindergarten. Over 800 children in Santa Barbara County are currently benefitting from this program.

The funds also helped roll out Reading Plus—a computer-based program that provides individualized silent reading lessons for students in 2nd grade and higher. The results of this program have been record-breaking: in just 7 weeks, 82% of participating children gained 2.1 reading levels! Children in 30 schools throughout Carpinteria, Goleta, Lompoc, Montecito, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Santa Ynez, Orcutt, and Vandenberg now have access to this program.

Last year, County employees donated a total of $213,000, making the County the biggest donor to the Campaign. We’re proud that our employee donations help local nonprofits provide critical services to the community, and enrich the lives of many people who otherwise wouldn’t have access to the resources many of us take for granted. Together we are making a difference!