United Way of Summit & Medina today announced that it would collaborate with Ernst & Young LLP (EY) to open its third Family Resource Center (FRC) at McEbright Community Learning Center (CLC). Located within the school, the new FRC will provide a safe, welcoming place for families to get information, assistance and referrals to community resources.
The new FRC will house a full-time family resource coordinator – a United Way employee – who will meet with members of the surrounding neighborhood to assess their needs and provide information on, and referrals to, available resources. Through the FRC, families can access basic needs support, parent and caregiver support groups, health and wellness programs, and more.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, United Way’s FRCs in the Robinson CLC and the Helen Arnold CLC have continued to serve residents of their surrounding neighborhoods, offering monthly food deliveries and access to basic needs support and connecting families to United Way direct service programs, such as those offered through United Way’s Financial Empowerment Center. Beginning this month, families can access free remote tax preparation services through United Way’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
“Even before the pandemic started, more than a third of Summit County households earned less than the basic cost of living in Ohio,” said Jim Mullen, president and CEO of United Way of Summit & Medina. “Then COVID-19 made things harder for so many. And when families are struggling at home, kids have a hard time learning. If we want our community to make a full recovery, we need to make sure families and students have the help they need to get back on track.”
“In alignment with our national ambition programming to bridge the digital divide, we’re proud to work with the United Way of Summit and Medina counties on this local endeavor to help community members develop the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in the digital age,” said Whitt Butler, EY Akron Office Managing Partner. “Additionally, we will use our resources to facilitate access for underserved Akron Public School students to virtual mentoring and support in collaboration with the Family Resource Center.”
“We are incredibly grateful to EY for the investment they are making in our community by cosponsoring this Family Resource Center,” said Mullen. “EY is helping local families obtain the resources to overcome not just this crisis, but any future ones we may face as well.”