United Way Supports Boy Scouts

Position Statement of the United Way of Northwest Louisiana
Regarding the Norwela Council, Boy Scouts of America

United Way of Northwest Louisiana supports the Norwela Council, Boy Scouts of America, a long-time affiliate agency, and continues to provide funds annually for programs that make a positive impact on our community’s youth.  National media reports about the Boy Scouts of America and other communities’ United Way support of Scouting have created some inaccurate local perceptions.

Each of the 1,400 United Ways across the country is a local, autonomous organization, and actions taken by other United Ways around the nation do not necessarily reflect the policies and practices of United Way of Northwest Louisiana. No policy decisions are made for local United Ways by United Way of America, which is a trade organization and not a national governing body.

Our local United Way makes independent decisions, reflective of our community, on what local services and programs need funding. These decisions are made by local volunteers (over 100 are involved in the process) who analyze community needs and determine where the best investment can be made to address local issues. We are committed to broad based services through the programs of all our affiliated agencies.

Programs must address needs within at least one of five major focus areas considered important to building community in order to be eligible to receive funding from the annual United Way campaign:

·        Promoting successful families and children through education and awareness
·        Increasing economic security
·        Assisting families in crisis
·        Creating and maintaining an independent lifestyle
·        Providing quality supervised care

(for more information about our focus area priorities, click HERE)

United Way of Northwest Louisiana funds the Norwela Council, Boy Scouts of America in its programs with local youth, particularly for their efforts in promoting making positive decisions about staying in school and staying off drugs, and for the good work they do in the community for disadvantaged youth.  These programs address three of the focus areas considered important by our volunteers. The Scouting programs, as well as the other 70 programs supported, are funded based on their uniqueness and worthy impact on quality of life in our community.

Our current local United Way policy mirrors federal non-discrimination law, and prohibits United Way agencies from discriminating on the basis of race, religion, age, sex, national origin and disability.  We uphold our philosophy of non-discrimination by maintaining a network of agencies that represent a variety of community needs.  Diversity is the heart of United Way.