The mission of the United Way of Oxford-Lafayette County (UWOLC) is to improve lives and meet community needs by uniting people and resources. We seek to make a significant impact throughout Oxford and Lafayette County by understanding as well as addressing our community’s most complex challenges. We believe no single organization can do this alone. As a result, the UWOLC works hand in hand with its donors, partners, volunteers, and advocates to support worthwhile initiatives that can make a meaningful difference within the Lafayette-Oxford-University (LOU) community. In doing so, the UWOLC focuses on four interrelated issues:

Health: We seek to improve health by helping our community and its members:

• Achieve and maintain healthy lifestyles for adults and children
• Support older adults and adults diagnosed with mental illness

Education: We seek to enable children and youth achieve their potential by helping our community and its members:

• Enter kindergarten ready to learn
• Read at grade level by the fourth grade
• Earn a high school (or equivalent) degree

Financial Stability: We seek to promote financial stability and independence by helping our community and its members:

• Attain family-sustaining employment 
• Create affordable housing opportunities
• Manage expenses and build savings

Basic Needs: We seek to meet our community’s basic needs by ensuring its members have:

• Sufficient food
• Adequate shelter
• Disaster/emergency relief services

The UWOLC plays a variety of roles in addressing community needs:

Funded Programs: The UWOLC invests heavily in programs that improve health, advance education, promote financial stability, and meet basic needs throughout Oxford and Lafayette County. Each year, the UWOLC awards hundreds of thousands of dollars to local nonprofit organizations and other eligible entities through a competitive grant-making process that aims to produce positive outcomes in an efficient, effective manner.

Community Coalitions: The UWOLC convenes and supports community coalitions such as the LOU Reads Coalition that bring together diverse groups of stakeholders to design as well as implement collective solutions to issues of health, education, and income.

Resources for Individuals: Finally, the UWOLC serves as a resource to individual community members, many of whom turn to the UWOLC for assistance in reaching a variety of local programs, services, and supports.