In updating the website, we located dozens of positive images illustrating the Community Foundation's achievements during the past ten years. A sample of the major initiatives are pictured above and listed below. However, our mission TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL RESIDENTS is still blurred, if not unrecognizable, for many individuals and families.

Thus, this site serves as a reminder of the numerous unmet needs among our neighborhoods and in our communities.
 
Significant Community Impact 
  • Increased assets from donor contributions and bequests totaling $25 million, yielding nearly $6 million in grants and scholarships.
  • Launched an Internet based program, which is now statewide and annually generates $124 million in free medications from pharmaceutical companies.  
  • Developed and matched funding to establish a comprehensive dental center to provide preventative and restorative care for low-income children.
  • Collaborated with other foundations initiating the Alabama School Readiness Alliance leading to $10 million in state funding for quality Pre-K programs and adding three new centers in our region.
  • Consistently funded tobacco prevention programs, which included a clean indoor air campaign resulting in stronger ordinances in three communities. 
Significant Community Issues
  • Nearly half (49.8%) of all female-headed families in our area live below the 2007 federal poverty level ($17,170 for a family of three).[1]
  • We have a significantly higher number of adults (28.2%) who never achieved a high school diploma.[2] 
  • Child abuse in Alabama is 16.7 cases per 1,000 children. We have 23.3 cases per 1,000 children.[3]
  • Our crime rate of 7,873 per 100,000 residents is nearly double the state average (4,317 per 100,000).[4]
  • Lung cancer results in 84.7 deaths annually for every 100,000 residents in this region; whereas the state level is 67.4 and the US level is 54.7 deaths.[5]
 

[1] United States Census Bureau, Census Projection 2007
[2] University of Alabama Center for Business and Economic Research, 2007
[3] Alabama Department of Public Resources, 2005 Report
[4] FBI Uniform Crime Report, 2004
[5] Alabama Department of Public Health, 2002