GREENFIELD — For Efrain Morales of Orange, school was never easy.
Mathematics was a challenge, and he was slow to learn the skills he needed to thrive in a traditional classroom environment at his high school, Ralph C. Mahar Regional School.
All that changed, he said, when a friend referred him to The Literacy Project, a local nonprofit that provides adult education services.
Working with his mentor Julie Wright, Morales was able to overcome his educational barriers, eventually enrolling at Greenfield Community College, where he recently completed his first year, landing a spot on the dean’s list with his 3.68 grade point average.
Thursday morning, Morales told that story at the United Way of Franklin County’s annual meeting, held at Terrazza.
“The Literacy Project means a second chance,” he told members of the United Way board of directors and other local officials in attendance, noting he now has his driver’s license and a job, too. “(It’s) a place to go when every other thing and person shoves you aside when you try to better yourself and your education.”
As a partner agency of the United Way, The Literacy Project is one of 24 local organizations that receive crucial funding from the community development nonprofit that provides support for the programs that help students like Morales succeed.
For Mayor William Martin, who delivered the keynote speech, the organization and the work its staff members do is like a good, hearty breakfast — the support it provides to the community and its less-advantaged members infuses them with the energy to get through each day.
“Some people do not have breakfast,” Martin told those gathered. “Some have no families or friends, not support systems, no chance to rebound. It is within our power, together, to give light to another.”
He noted Greenfield has historically served as a hub for the social service safety net that the United Way helps support.
Though the organization has reached 96 percent of its fundraising campaign goal this year, Executive Director Sandy Sayers noted that the nonprofit is “fighting a battle on two fronts.”
First, big shifts in the local economy have reduced the number of people employed within the region who may donate through automatic payroll deductions.
“Some local businesses are not local anymore,” she said. “Fewer large local businesses mean fewer employee-giving campaigns.”
Second, she said, misconceptions about how much nonprofits should be spending on administration and fundraising that may cause people to give less.
Sayers said United Way only spends 25 cents to raise each dollar, compared to the national average of 30 cents on the dollar.
“A vicious cycle is leaving nonprofits so hungry for decent infrastructure that they can barely function as organizations, let alone serve their beneficiaries,” Sayers said. “Organizations that build robust infrastructure, secure technology and financial systems, skills, training, fundraising and other essential overhead are more likely to succeed than those who do not.”
Members of the Recovery Learning Community and Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Franklin County also spoke of the impact United Way funding has on their organizations.
The agency’s campaign ends June 30.
To make a donation, visit: uw-fc.org/give
You can reach Tom Relihan at:
trelihan@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 264
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