
What We Do
Place Matters
The opportunity for a good life begins in our families, schools, jobs, and NEIGHBORHOODS. In Forsyth County, Census data shows us the average household income of a child of low-income parents who grew up in the 27104-zip code and is now in their mid-30s is $45,000 per year. The average household income of a child of low-income parents who grew up in the 27105-zip code who is now in their mid-30s is $17,000 per year. There is just a five-mile difference between these two zip codes in Forsyth County. We believe that your zip code should not determine your destiny. However, that is the reality for many of our neighbors and we are working hard to ensure that changes. Place Matters is an innovative, asset-based strategy to focus investments on interconnected solutions in 13 neighborhoods within Winston-Salem.
With Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods, our key partner, we are able to convene community stakeholders—residents, nonprofit organizations, the faith-based community, and business and education leaders—in an inclusive approach focused on sustainable change in the priority areas of Housing, Education, Healthy Living, and Unemployment.
HOW WE’RE DOING SO FAR
United Way’s Place Matters strategy invests in programs focused on strengthening 13 neighborhoods in northeast Winston-Salem. These innovative, collaborative strategies engage existing community assets, especially residents themselves, to enhance these neighborhoods and the lives of those who live there. Below are just a few of our successes over the past few years:
In the 2022 Fiscal Year, 100% of students receiving support from our Place Matters educational programs were promoted to the next grade level.
In the 2022 Fiscal Year, five entrepreneurial enterprises in the Place Matters footprint were launched or maintained because of our support.
Five new homes have been built in the Bowen Park neighborhood because of LER: Building Blocks – a partnership between Liberty East Redevelopment and Habitat for Humanity. These are the first new homes built in this neighborhood in 50 years.
54 residents at risk of falling have improved their mobility and can stay in their homes through Rams Employment and Community Health Equity – a program from Winston-Salem State University’s School of Health Science.
New Communion’s Mobile Food Pantry helped over 5,800 residents experiencing food insecurity receive nutritious meals, while creating jobs for local residents and establishing relationships and collaborations with faith-based congregations from across Winston-Salem.
In 2018, 104 residents learned new computer skills and were able to purchase a laptop for use in their home through Neighborhood Empowerment Through Technology – a collaborative effort between the Winston-Salem Urban League, WinstonNet, Forsyth Tech, and the Forsyth Public Library.