Northern Kentucky Community Action Commission (NKCAC) hosted their Annual Meeting and Awards Celebration on Monday, July 25th, at the Newport Aquarium. This year marks NKCAC’s 50th year of service.
Founded in 1966, NKCAC works with hard-working families, offering them the resources, knowledge and skills they need to realize their full potential. NKCAC’s main focus is on restoring families to self-reliance, guiding them to become capable of helping themselves and supporting their neighbors in any of life’s challenges. The future and opportunities for these families are what drive NKCAC.
Each year NKCAC celebrates and recognizes individuals and organizations that support and advocate for families and individuals living in poverty.
This year’s honorees:
· Crayons to Computers as the 2016 Early Head Start Partner of the Year for their support of early education and contributions to the Early Head Start program.
· Be Concerned as the 2016 Senior Employment Partner of the Year for their support as a host agency for many Senior Employment trainees is unmeasurable.
· Seven Hills Church as the 2016 Community Collaboration for Children’s Partner of the Year for their support of child abuse prevention efforts in Northern Kentucky.
· River City News as the 2016 Senior Centers Partner of the Year for their support and coverage of the region, and particularly the Senior Citizens Centers.
· PNC Bank as the 2016 Head Start Partner of the Year for their support of quality Early Childhood Education as a pathway toward success.
· Denise Asbury as the 2016 Community Services Volunteer of the Year for her ongoing volunteer efforts on behalf of Boone County’s low income families.
· Ryland Heights Family Resource Center as the 2016 kynect Partner of the Year for helping educate the public about kynect and the Affordable Care Act.
· Jonesboro Investments as the 2016 Affordable Housing Partner of the Year for their ongoing partnership in our affordable housing efforts.
· Nexigen as the 2016 YouthBuild Partner of the Year for the Tech Defenders classes they taught for YouthBuild participants.
“As Executive Director since 2005, I’ve seen some amazing things happen here at Northern Kentucky Community Action,” said Florence Tandy, Executive Director. “We have an extraordinary team of staff, volunteers, board members, and partners in this community that deserve to be recognized.”
As NKCAC celebrates its 50th year of service, it’s appropriate to reflect and share what NKCAC and its many programs do for the NKY community. This past year, there were great successes and accomplishments:
· 85% of all children enrolled in Head Start tested developmentally on track or above during the 2015 post school year data analysis.
· Neighborhood Centers processed 23,174 applications for energy assistance and provided approximately $2 million in local, state and federal funds to help low income families restore or avoid disconnection.
· Youthbuild students were selected to participate in the national Conference of Young Leaders, with one student being chosen to speak at a YouthBuild USA event.
· Senior trainees provided more than 127,000 hours of staff support for more than 100 nonprofit and government organizations in a 26 county region.
· Community Collaboration for Children served 105 families with 99% of the children being able to remain safely in their homes.
· Enrolled 7,000 individuals/families in affordable health insurance.
The 2016 Annual Meeting and Awards Celebration was a night of recognition and celebration of 50 Years of Service. The night was made possible C-Forward, Marian Development Group; Duke Energy; Peter Paul Office Equipment; Century Construction; Schneller Plumbing, Heating, Air; Barnes Dennig Accounting; Roeding Insurance; Staples; and Nexigen.