AUGUSTA, ME — Kennebec County’s Impact2032 — a 10-year community-wide goal-setting movement, which publicly launched in July 2022 — is now partnering with 106 organizations and 71 individuals. These early endorsers have committed to promoting healthy behavior changes, improving access to food for students and better supporting employee child care needs, among other efforts.
Impact2032 is led by United Way of Kennebec Valley (UWKV) but driven by the community — with individuals and companies from across business, nonprofit, school, and government sectors working toward goals under shared visions for health, education, and financial stability across Kennebec County.
“Impact2032 requires a coordinated and collaborative effort from the entire community in order to be successful and achieve meaningful results,” said Katelyn Pushard, director of community impact at UWKV. “We will achieve these visions for health, education and financial stability if we can continue to convene, learn from each other and work together toward these common goals.”
Of the 106 organizations that have endorsed, 76 have already met with UWKV to develop an individualized Impact2032 Plan outlining strategies their company will implement as a result of Impact2032. Those organizations have been providing regular updates about their progress and collaborating with other endorsers through a new partner program meeting series.
Overseeing the entire project, the Impact2032 Council is comprised of 14 community leaders from all sectors and is supported by three cabinets focused on health, education and financial stability. Alex Sydnor, chief strategy officer of MaineGeneral Health, and Katie Doherty, president and CEO of the Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce, are co-chairing the Council.
While it is too early to determine whether Impact2032 has affected county data, supporters are finding creative ways to address some of the concerns noted through Impact2032. “It will take some time to demonstrate long-term results on our goals,” said Sydnor. “We’re excited to see the engagement and activity from the organizations and individuals who have endorsed Impact2032 and are confident that our collective efforts will have lasting impact.”
As seen through individualized Impact2032 Plans, virtually all companies across the sectors have increased focus on health and wellness, especially for employees. Employers are creating more opportunities for staff to engage in healthy behaviors, such as providing opportunities for movement breaks or walking meetings throughout the day, promoting exercise or walking groups for employees, or allowing employees to come in later, have a longer lunch, or leave early for physical activity purposes. School districts are taking it a step further and applying some of these same concepts for their students, such as increasing movement breaks and physical education class requirements. Recent county data shows that 53% of adults and 29.9% of middle schoolers—as compared to 51.9% of adults and 25.9% of middle schoolers the year before—report achieving recommended levels physical activity.
“Augusta School Department continues to explore ways to be active and has been offering physical education for students above and beyond state requirements,” said Mike Tracy, assistant superintendent of schools. “Activities include adding yoga classes, strength and conditioning classes, and dance classes to help students meet recommended daily physical activity levels.”
Organizations supporting children and youth, including nonprofits and school systems across Kennebec County, continue to work toward improving access to food for students and their families with 15.1% of children experiencing food insecurity as compared to 18.9% of children the year before. Many organizations partner with local food banks to offer a pantry on-site and send home bags of food for weekends and vacations. Alfond Youth & Community Center (AYCC) even created the Greenhouse to Your House program, which gives families a weekly choice of meal kit boxes with fresh and quality food, including produce from its Garden to Table youth program.
“Over 50 percent of our child care families’ incomes are below the poverty line, and 80 percent of our child care families qualify for the free and reduced lunch programs,” said Ken Walsh, president and CEO of AYCC. “The Greenhouse to Your House program, AYCC’s spin on a meal kit, offers a complete meal with balanced fresh and frozen food items and an easy-to-follow recipe.”
Employers across all sectors have strengthened their support of employees caring for young children at home, which often allows a parent to enter and/or reenter the workforce. In fact, 72.9% of parents with young children are in the workforce—both parents from two-parent homes and one parent from single-parent homes—as compared to 69.8% the year before. Whether offering flexible or remote schedules, specified parental time, paid and longer parental leave, or on-site child care, organizations are developing creative solutions based on their own capacity to support parents and their families.
UWKV encourages all businesses, nonprofits, school districts, municipalities, and other government agencies to get involved with Impact2032 and asks current partners to continue pushing further to work toward achieving the visions for health, education and financial stability.
For the complete data update, visit https://impact2032.org/resources/.
