The Youth United Ambassador Program is a dynamic initiative designed for high school juniors and seniors, focusing on college and career readiness, leadership development, networking, and confidence building. Participants also serve as passionate advocates for the mission and impact of United Way of the Capital Area. Learn more.
Soar United
SOAR United is a collaborative project that enables United Way of the Capital Area to partner with , local schools, out-of-school-time and community organizations to increase book ownership among our most vulnerable children and families. This initiative aims to promote early literacy, foster a love of reading, and support long-term academic success through access to high-quality books.
Soul Café
The Soul Café creates a calm, welcoming environment where youth can enjoy a positive reading experience within a United Way of the Capital Area (UWCA) partner site. Designed to reflect a 'coffee house' atmosphere, the Café offers students a choice of 3–5 book titles per grade level, with 2–3 copies of each title available. This allows small groups of peers to read and engage with the same book, encouraging both independent reading and group interaction.
Students are encouraged to express their thoughts and responses through various forms—verbal, written, artistic, or other creative outlets. As part of the Soul Café programming, each partner site receives an onboarding session and a set of age-appropriate reading response resources to support student engagement and literacy development.
Youth United Ambassadors
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Author’s Summit
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The Soar United Authors’ Summit is held biennially to engage middle school students with local authors, encouraging thoughtful dialogue about the connection between reading and writing. The event provides students with the opportunity to ask in-depth questions, explore the writing process, and gain inspiration from real-world literary experiences. Each participating student also receives a copy of the featured author's work, further promoting literacy and a love for reading.
Imagination Library
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United Way works to create lasting improvements to education, income and health by addressing the underlying problems in these areas. Since 2009, United Way Worldwide has partnered with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to encourage local United Ways to help sponsor and support the Imagination Library in their communities. Local United Ways often help by serving as the 501(c)(3) for local Imagination Library programs, raising funds and encouraging other partners to contribute to cover the cost of books and mailing, promoting the program and registering local children.