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<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; The United Way of Wyoming Valley held its annual campaign kickoff Thursday at Mohegan Sun Pocono, welcoming more than 500 supporters in an effort to eliminate childhood poverty.</p><p>The event kicked off with local United Way President and CEO Bill Jones and continued with various guest speakers, including Erin Gruwell, a teacher in Southern California who inspired the hit film &#8220;Freedom Writers.&#8221;</p><p>Before introducing campaign co-chairs Bill and Jane Anzalone, Jones explained why his group has decided to tackle childhood poverty as its sole mission.</p><p>&#8220;If our community is going to thrive, we need to invest in the education, health and financial stability of our kids,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We all know that if poverty, hunger, abuse, violence, addiction, homelessness or other adverse conditions exist in the family, the spelling quiz on Monday, the math test on Friday, the English paper due on Thursday mean very little if children are not safe, healthy or if they live in a constant state of fear, uncertainty or instability.&#8221;</p><p>The Anzalones continued Jones&#8217; call to action, citing various statistics about childhood poverty in the Wyoming Valley as well as across the nation. Currently, nearly 30 percent of children under the age of 18 are living in poverty locally, they said, with 33 percent of those under the age of 5. Additionally, the poverty rate for all children in Luzerne County has doubled since 2000.</p><p>Taking turns at the microphone, Bill read a variety of problems frequently experienced by impoverished children, such as developmental and cognitive delays. Behavioral and educational problems are also common.</p><p>&#8220;Nationally, 23 percent of children who are not reading proficiently by the end of the third grade become the high school class dropouts,&#8221; he said. &#8220;What&#8217;s shocking to me &#8212; as a forensic psychologist that deals with the prison system on a regular basis &#8212; is that states, such as Texas and California, are using that third grade proficiency reading level as their indication as to what their total beds are going to be in the prison system 20 years down the road.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Outstanding Partner</strong></p><p>Starting a new tradition, an Outstanding Partner Award was announced during the campaign kickoff.</p><p>The inaugural honor went to Maternal Family Health Services, which was nominated by the Arledge family.</p><p>Holding her son, Al, in her arms, Sarah Marie Arledge began to tell the story of where she was in life when she became pregnant, and how she found not only help, but family, through the Maternal Family Health Services Nurse Family Partnership program.</p><p>She explained when she found out she was pregnant, she worked at a small cafe with her husband and had no health insurance. Not being able to afford medical care, Arledge found out about the program through a family member and decided to apply.</p><p>&#8220;I jumped at the opportunity for a nurse to come out to my house,&#8221; she said.</p><p>While she admitted that she had no idea what the relationship would become, Arledge was happy to be receiving the education and support she needed at the time. Her nurse, Lynne Mylet, assisted her and her family by providing education on pregnancy and child care. That relationship grew into a family, with Mylet even telling Arledge it was time to give birth.</p><p>&#8220;She was so in tune with the needs of a pregnant woman that she knew I was in labor when I had dismissed it as an upset stomach,&#8221; Arledge explained.</p><p>On Feb. 27, 2016, Arledge gave birth to her son through an emergency C-section. Since then, Mylet has remained with the family and will continue to act as a home nurse until Al&#8217;s second birthday.</p><p>&#8220;My family was provided good nutritional information, breastfeeding support, medical care and our own nurse &#8212; who became a part of our family, and a lifelong friend,&#8221; she said. &#8220;None of this would have been possible without Maternal Family Health Services.&#8221;</p><p>On top of receiving the award, Jones presented the organization with an additional $5,000 to help more families.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">United Way of Wyoming Valley President and CEO Bill Jones, right, chats with best-selling author and keynote speaker Erin Gruwell at the 2017 campaign kickoff dinner at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Plains Township on Thursday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_TTL090817UnitedWay_1-1-.jpg</photo0><caption0>United Way of Wyoming Valley President and CEO Bill Jones, right, chats with best-selling author and keynote speaker Erin Gruwell at the 2017 campaign kickoff dinner at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Plains Township on Thursday. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_TTL090817UnitedWay_2-1-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Karen Hayden, of George J. Hayden Inc., left, and Alicia Gomba, of Wendy&#8217;s, pose in a photo frame at United Way of Wyoming Valley&#8217;s 2017 campaign kickoff dinner at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Plains Township on Thursday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/web1_TTL090817UnitedWay_2-1-.jpg</photo1><caption1>Karen Hayden, of George J. Hayden Inc., left, and Alicia Gomba, of Wendy&#8217;s, pose in a photo frame at United Way of Wyoming Valley&#8217;s 2017 campaign kickoff dinner at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Plains Township on Thursday. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Marcella Kester</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div>

United Way of Wyoming Valley kicks off campaign