United Way of Greater Mercer County has received a $355,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to support community impact work in a number of different areas such as preparing children for success in school, housing and feeding families in need, enabling older adults and those with disabilities to live more independently and increasing literacy for both children and adults.
The grant funding enables funding of more critical services in Mercer County, such as the Mobile Medical Van of St. Francis Medical Center, the United Way said. The van provides health screenings, immunizations, medication, health education, and referral services to indigent and working poor people in their own neighborhoods.
In addition, the United Way is helping to fill the transportation gap by providing scholarships for free rides for low-income seniors and people with disabilities through the Greater Mercer Ride Provide, a program of the Greater Mercer Transportation Management Association.
By focusing on the underlying causes of problems and engaging the community to work together on creating lasting changes that prevent those problems from happening in the first place, the United Way said it is able to get results that no single organization can accomplish alone.
"Today’s United Way recognizes that no single group alone can address the complex problems that matter most to the community," said Pat Cacacie, United Way vice president of resource investment. "That is why we partner with organizations that share a common vision and commitment to measuring results every step of the way. We look forward to our continuing partnership with RWJF to build stronger communities and bring hope to those most in need."
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on health and health care issues. It is the nation’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of Americans.

