Pocono Mountains United Way received a $25,000 grant from AllOne Foundation to support the Smile In-Home Mentoring program.

The Smile Program is an intensive tool for reaching families and children ages 3-5 years who live in Monroe County.

Families participating in the program receive home and virtual visits that can positively impact their lives by building confidence and providing the tools necessary to overcome many challenges to successfully raise their children.

Smile coordinators monitor the child’s developmental milestones, promote a safe home and encourage parental engagement to help strengthen the parent-child bond.

“It is amazing what we can accomplish as a community, but when our community is supported by a group like AllOne Foundation, the impact is even greater,” said Michael Tukeva, Pocono Mountains United Way president and CEO.

Aside from supporting the Smile program, the funding from AllOne Foundation also allowed United Way to combine efforts with another worthwhile organization, Nurse-Family Partnership. NFP is a community health program that helps transform the lives of vulnerable babies born to at-risk, low income, first-time mothers. NFP partners mothers with a registered nurse health educator beginning early in pregnancy and provides ongoing nurse home visits that continue through the child’s second birthday.

The funds from AllOne Foundation have allowed the Smile program to serve an additional nine families and for Nurse Family Partnership to maintain their level of commitment to the community, serving 129 families.

“AllOne Foundation is committed to making a positive impact across the region by investing in collaborative projects like this which help promote a healthy start for children in our community,” said John Cosgrove, AllOne Foundation Executive Director.

Pocono Mountains United Way engages and mobilizes resources to improve lives through accelerated community change.

For more information, visit https://poconounitedway.org