The USF Family Study Center’s role as a United Way Suncoast strategic community partner moves into a new era this month with the launch of a multi-year funding commitment from the venerable nonprofit leader.
United Way Suncoast kicked off its new fiscal year on July 1 by initiating the distribution of a three-year grant that will deliver $193,000 to the Family Study Center in support of an innovative new community-based initiative supporting families with infants and young children, “Cafes, Coparenting and Community.”
James McHale, director of the USF Family Study Center, expressed enthusiasm about the nature and intent of the award.
“Parents in our community have been clear that supports and services are most helpful if they’re offered when parents need them, where they need them and in the ways that they need them. This new project allows trusted members of the community to deliver useful supports in accessible family-friendly settings, so parents can connect in ways they find most beneficial”.
The project is to be led by Family Study Center Assistant Program Director LaDonna Butler, who brings extensive prior experience delivering “Parent Cafes” to community members in St. Petersburg. The project’s kickoff café takes place this Saturday, July 30, as part of the fifth annual “Healing While Black” Summit. The cafes, and other program services funded by the award, recognize and acknowledge the continuing stressors impacting families’ lives, kindle parental attentiveness to infant mental health at home, validate and support parents’ engagement in their children’s development, and highlight the important social and emotional skills toddlers and preschool children will call upon to thrive in daycare and school settings. Parents served by the initiative can choose to access support through one-time or multi-touch supports, virtually or in-person.
The community investment represents a first in United Way Suncoast’s 98-year history — a three-year commitment to 88 nonprofits that total nearly $18 million by fiscal year 2025. In past years, United Way Suncoast issued annual grants. The new approach enables the Family Study Center to advance the strategic planning behind the initiative and grow together with United Way Suncoast.
“Our strategic community partners requested a change to multi-year funding and the reasons are clear,” United Way Suncoast CEO Jessica Muroff said. “It will create trends and allow us to measure true impact; it’ll reduce the strain of the application process for the partners and UWS, and it’ll strengthen our ability to tell stories and fundraise.”
To learn more about the Family Study Center’s mission and how to support the Center’s work, visit https://www.stpetersburg.usf.edu/resources/family-study-center/about-us/get-involved.aspx. You can learn more about United Way Suncoast at www.unitedwaysuncoast.org.