Meet the 2019 STAR Award Winners

2019 STAR Award winners

This year’s STAR Awards ceremony showed that the power of volunteerism is stronger than ever, and not limited to a single community. United Way BCKR and Gryphon Place partnered to host the first regional STAR Awards on Aug. 20 at Sherman Lake YMCA Outdoor Center, bringing together volunteers from both the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo…

Read More

See the Nominees for the 2019 STAR Awards

This year’s STAR Awards event is fast approaching, and we can’t wait to celebrate the amazing volunteers who make Battle Creek and Kalamazoo better communities every day. The public is invited to join us at 5 p.m. Aug. 20 at Sherman Lake YMCA to honor our winners, and the 40 volunteers who were nominated for…

Read More

Grants available for Census 2020 push

United Way is taking the lead in Kalamazoo County, working as part of a statewide effort spearheaded by the Michigan Nonprofit Association to mobilize local nonprofits in encouraging census participation among hard-to-count populations.

Read More

Triniti’s Story

Triniti and Patricia

Triniti was one of dozens of students this year to be paired with a volunteer Reading Buddy as part of Kalamazoo RESA’s Reading Mentorship Program, funded by United Way as a strategy to improve early grade reading.

Read More

UW Launches Small-Business Partnership

Lasting, meaningful community change isn’t something that any one organization can accomplish alone. It takes a shared vision and buy-in from nonprofits, government, schools, individuals, and businesses – large AND small. Now there’s a way for local small businesses to get involved in a powerful way. Small Business United is a new corporate partnership program…

Read More

STAR Award Nominations Are Now Open

The nomination period is now open for the 2019 STAR Awards, celebrating volunteers in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo. We, along with our partners at Gryphon Place, invite you to consider your fellow citizens and most devoted volunteers, and honor their efforts by nominating them for an award. Then, join us as we celebrate your nominees,…

Read More

5 Ways to Grow Passionate Readers

Ian reads

Learning to read is a big milestone in a young student’s life, and an important one. In fact, United Way has identified early grade reaching achievement as a key strategy in improving graduation rates and fostering success in academics and beyond. Schools and other educational programming will always be a big part of that strategy,…

Read More