Posts by unitedwaybck
Diaper Drive 2018
Education and Employment Go Hand In Hand At Y.O.U.
There’s a common misconception that today’s teenagers aren’t interested in jobs, said Karen Carlisle, Director of Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.) in Kalamazoo. The hundreds of applications that flood Y.O.U’s MyCITY summer youth employment program each year, however, tell a different story. “So often, we hear today that young people just don’t want to work,” Carlisle…
Read More'On The Ground' Lands Locally
Journalism is about storytelling—and great journalism can help change the story. A partnership involving Issue Media Group and United Way BCKR embeds reporters in a largely low-income Kalamazoo neighborhood to find the stories and the people behind them—people who face challenges that United Way strives to address. “This is journalism the way it used to…
Read MoreMay 1 Marks Start of Diaper Drive 2018
Generous community members, corporate partners and volunteers came together last year to help our region’s babies as we launched our inaugural United Way Diaper Drive. We invite you all to join us again as we kick off our 2018 drive, set for May 1-14. The need for diapers is great. We know that as many…
Read MoreWe're Kicking Off Our Health Quarter!
The health of our smallest residents can tell us a lot about the overall well-being of our communities. And the rate at which babies – particularly babies of color – are dying during their first year of life, tells us that there’s much work to be done. This quarter, we’re shining a spotlight on United…
Read MoreGenerous Donors Lift Flood Fund
Donors across the region have stepped up in a big way to support relief efforts for victims of February’s massive flooding in Kalamazoo. The Kalamazoo Flood Relief Fund, established by United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region and the Kalamazoo Community Foundation, has received $229,500 in contributions. “Once again our community shows the…
Read MoreImproving Homes, Improving Lives
[su_label type=”info”]Agency Spotlight[/su_label] A morning news report about free furnaces prompted Paul and Sharon to check out Community Homeworks. They’re glad they did. They found that, based on their fixed income, they qualified to receive a new furnace. Paul and Sharon also discovered what hundreds of the nonprofit’s clients experience each year – more money…
Read MoreWomen's History a Source of Inspiration, Resilience
Guest blog by Kama Mitchell, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Rootead, a United Way partner agency. March is Women’s History Month. Honestly, before this year, I never paid attention to it. I have spent most of my adult life in survival mode as a woman of color raising two sons on much less than a…
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Read MoreVolunteer Income Tax Assistance Lifts Families, Local Economy
Joan Miller was hesitant when the Internal Revenue Service first approached her workplace looking for tax preparation volunteers. “Taxes were something I never had a desire to do, because I really did not have any confidence in my ability,” said Miller, Marketing and Communications Manager at BlueOx Credit Union. “But, there was a need.” The…
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