400 jobseekers. 5,000 books. 10,000 diapers. 100,000 meals.

We packed a lot of impact into one year!

This year, United Way BCKR held three Impact Events that corresponded with our four areas of focus – Financial Stability, Health, Education and Basic Needs. These were aimed at raising awareness of the long-term solutions we’re fighting for, while also making an immediate difference for those in our community impacted by the issues.

We are grateful to have had the help of hundreds of volunteers for these events, which gave them the opportunity for deeper knowledge of the work and allowed for even greater impact.

Here’s a look back at highlights from each of our 2019 Impact Events:

Career Life Expo

As part of our work in financial stability, United Way partnered for the second straight year with Michigan Works! Southwest to put on the Career Life Expo. Much more than a job fair, the expo drew roughly 400 jobseekers, 80 employers and 26 community organizations. Jobseekers could look for potential job opportunities, and also get help with a resume, childcare, transportation, housing and other common barriers to employment. This year’s Career Life Expo is set for Feb. 26.

Live United Summer Tour

For Health and Education, we combined the impact into one big, summer-long event. The Live United Summer Tour involved stops at six community events in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo – Kalamazoo Pride, Portage Summer Reading Kickoff, Voces Family Day, Lunchtime Live, Battle Creek Pride, and Family Yoga at BC Cargo. We invited attendees to stop by our tables and volunteer in short bursts with Pop Up Volunteering projects. Our goal was 20,000 Acts of Kindness, which included book and diaper donations as well as kits assembled out on tour. We finished with more than 22,000. The tour aimed to raise awareness for United Way’s community goals of improving the infant mortality rate, particularly among black babies, and improving graduation rates – goals which are very often interconnected.

United Against Hunger

Our third annual meal-packing event anchored our basic needs quarter, and again was a huge success. Together with presenting sponsor Kellogg’s and more than 300 community and corporate volunteers, we packaged 100,000 meals in two hours. The meals, which were distributed to community food pantries via South Michigan Food Bank, were intended to help to alleviate food insecurity in the region while drawing attention to the fact that 1 in 7 people struggles to keep food on the table.

Don’t miss an opportunity to volunteer with us in 2020! Keep an eye on our Facebook page or event calendar for the latest information.