Crisis aid keeps the lights on this month. The THRIVE Project is built to make sure there isn't a next crisis. On this episode of The Valley Today, host Janet Michael sits down at the United Way office with longtime friend Andrea Cosans, Executive Director of Winchester CCAP, to talk about the most ambitious project of her CCAP tenure — a multi-agency, grant-funded initiative that will take up to 50 ALICE-population clients through a year of intensive support (case management, therapy, life coaching, financial literacy, job training) and follow them for a second year to see if it sticks.

Andrea walks through the small-scale pilots that got her here — five clients, then ten, with results so strong they convinced funders to back a $112,000 expansion — and the partner agencies who said yes to building it together: Connected Communities, I'm Just ME, United Way Northern Shenandoah Valley, Horizon Goodwill, and Family Promise. Plus a much bigger argument about how nonprofits in this community actually do collaborate, and why "too many nonprofits, too much overlap" is the wrong story to tell about the people doing this work. Plus details on two upcoming CCAP fundraisers: An Evening of Enchantment (June 18th) and the 6th Annual Benefit Bike Ride (August 22nd).

IN THIS EPISODE

(00:00) Why this conversation is happening at the United Way office (it'll make sense in a minute)

(00:30) CCAP's history — founded 1974 to help the population we now call ALICE

(01:00) Why preventing homelessness is cheaper than fixing it

(01:30) What CCAP's financial aid actually covers — rent, mortgage, utilities, heating, car repair

(02:00) Why CCAP is, by design, a Band-Aid — and why a Band-Aid isn't enough

(02:30) The origin story: a Legacy Wellness therapist, a life coach, a conference, and $1,000

(03:00) The first five clients — and what "wildly successful" really meant

(03:30) The story of the man who came to CCAP every day, and now hasn't been seen in two years

(03:30) The woman who won the Park Ranger Wheelbarrow Olympics at Great Meadows

(04:30) Round two: 10 clients, 10 successes, and a $112,000 grant package

(04:30) Why this can't be a one-agency program — and who said yes

(05:30) Why the program follows clients for a second year (the real test)

(06:30) The Valley Health Foundation and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints grants

(07:00) What clients actually do — Get on Board job boot camp, financial literacy, mentoring

(07:30) The forklift-certified couple, the substance-abuse and DV story, and the volunteers they became

(08:30) The drug-court client who came back to teach CPR classes

(09:00) Who the program is for — ALICE: asset-limited, income-constrained, employed

(09:30) The Winchester paradox — beautiful downtown, 19% food insecurity, 50% on some benefit

(10:30) Trauma-informed decisions and the myth that fast food is cheaper

(11:30) The week-by-week structure — case manager, therapist, life coach, classes, all of it

(12:30) "Room to dream" — the single father who didn't know how to go back to college

(13:30) Why nobody taught most of us how to do a family budget (Janet included)

(15:30) The first meeting — Andrea, the partners, and a ground rule for letting go

(16:30) Logistics: release-of-information forms, intake, referrals, who does what

(17:00) Kim Wilt's policy magic — and the dream of replicating THRIVE in other communities

(18:00) "They're not my clients — they're citizens who need help"

(19:30) The City of Winchester visit and what workforce partnerships could look like

(20:30) The 6th Annual Benefit Bike Ride — August 22 at the Wellness Center

(21:00) Why people fly in from Germany, England, Florida, and Ohio for it

(21:30) An Evening of Enchantment — Thursday, June 18 with New Eve Maternity Home

(22:00) Silent auction, live auction, Gore Cabin staycation, Vic the magician

(22:30) The hot water heater story (and why it outsold the jewelry)

(23:00) Why "too many nonprofits, no collaboration" is the wrong story

(24:30) How CCAP's $200/household actually works in partnership with others

(25:30) The food-pantry schedule across town — Mondays at CCAP, Tuesdays at Highland, Saturdays at the Merriman's Lane church

(25:30) The $50,000 United Way grant that pushed 50,000 pounds of produce across the region

(26:30) The Nonprofit Collaborative and the case for citizens, not clients

(27:30) What happens when Church World Services loses funding — and why CCAP feels it indirectly

ABOUT THE THRIVE PROJECT

A new multi-agency program led by Winchester CCAP and backed by $112,000 in initial grant funding. Designed to take up to 50 ALICE-population clients through a structured year of services — case management, therapy, life coaching, financial literacy classes, Horizon Goodwill's "Get on Board" job boot camp — followed by a second year of check-ins to measure durable change. Built around the premise that crisis aid alone won't break the poverty cycle, and that no single agency can deliver everything one person needs.

THE PARTNERS

• Winchester CCAP (lead) • Connected Communities • I'm Just ME • United Way Northern Shenandoah Valley (fiscal agent) • Horizon Goodwill • Family Promise Winchester Area

CCAP FUNDRAISERS COMING UP

An Evening of Enchantment — Thursday, June 18, 2026 • Joint fundraiser with New Eve Maternity Home • Silent auction, live auction (including a Gore Cabin staycation with dinner at Violino's), entertainment by Vic the Magician, emcee by Janet Michael • 120 tickets remaining — register at CCAPwinchester.org

6th Annual Benefit Bike Ride — Friday, August 22, 2026 8:00 AM start at the Wellness Center, 105 Campus Boulevard • ~270 riders expected, drawing participants from across the country and abroad • Volunteers still needed — contact Jessica Leonard • Register at CCAPwinchester.org

LINKS & RESOURCES

• Winchester CCAP: CCAPwinchester.org (new website by Wild Ember)

• United Way of the Northern Shenandoah Valley (THRIVE fiscal agent)

• Partner organizations: Connected Communities, I'm Just ME, Horizon Goodwill, Family Promise Winchester Area

• Local food pantry network mentioned: Highland Food Pantry, Hope Again Food Pantry, Catholic Charities, Salvation Army, New Life Church, Love In Action

• Workforce training partner: Laurel Ridge Community College

• Funders: Valley Health Foundation, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

THE VALLEY TODAY with Janet Michael — A decade of conversations.

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