ALICE Awareness Week
November 14-18, 2022
ALICE, an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, is a new way of defining and understanding the struggles of households that earn above the Federal Poverty Level, but not enough to afford a bare-bones household budget.
For far too many families, the cost of living outpaces what they earn. These households struggle to manage even their most basic needs - housing, food, transportation, child care, health care, and necessary technology.
When funds run short, cash-strapped households are forced to make impossible choices, such as deciding between quality child care or paying the rent, filling a prescription or fixing the car. These short-term decisions have long-term consequences not only for ALICE families, but for all of us.
During ALICE Awareness Week UWSAW seeks to make the SAW Community Aware of ALICE in our Community through the ALICE Challenge, Informational messages, and other surprises! Follow United Way of Staunton, Augusta County & Waynesboro on Facebook or subscribe to our Newsletter to make sure you do not miss any of this important information.
ALICE Challenge
Many of us know ALICE, have been, or currently are ALICE. What can we do to help?
Throughout the week of November 14 - 18, 2022 join us in learning more about ALICE by personally participating in the ALICE challenge, join community conversations for change, and help United Way spread awareness of this important population. By stepping up we as a community can impact the lives of our neighbors. Connect with friends, family, and co-workers to join you in the ALICE Challenge.
The Challenge (A week in ALICE’S shoes)
For 7 days, we challenge our community members to live off of an ALICE budget. As you take on this challenge keep in mind that this could be your neighbor’s reality. Each day community members make difficult choices just to survive. Difficult choices are made between purchasing food, or paying bills, taking care of health needs, or paying for childcare. These are just some of the many challenging decisions facing members of our own community. Maybe you too, have had to make a difficult choice, or gone without.
For one week we challenge you to budget the items below within the daily limit. In addition to following the daily budgets we also challenge you to limiting your clothing to 1-2 outfits for the week, using alternative transportation such as the public transportation system, or carpooling. You could also give up using your own laundry appliances for a week and use a Laundromat, like many ALICE families do.
ALICE Challenge Daily Budget
Food $9 per day
Transportation $10 per day
Miscellaneous $6 per day
(Toiletry items, cleaning supplies, hygiene items)
The above budget is for a single person with no children. If you would like to complete the challenge as a family,
please email info@unitedwaysaw.org for a breakdown of the daily budget for your family situation.
Now that you know the challenge, start and share!
We would love to hear your experiences with the ALICE Challenge. Please email your thoughts about your experience to info@unitedwaysaw.org and receive a copy of the book Maid by Stephanie Land!
If you are on social media, we encourage you to use the hashtag #UWSAWALICE to share your experiences during ALICE Challenge. As you complete the challenge, United Way SAW is available to help with community resources and information on how to use the public transportation system, just as we do every day for our ALICE households.