Our community – individuals, companies, foundations, governments – has been exceedingly generous during this time of uncertainty as United Way and our partners work to respond to emerging needs.

Since mid-March, the United Way Disaster Relief Fund has raised more than $1,100,000 to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on people in our community – particularly ALICE families (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed) who may have been struggling even before the outbreak and are especially vulnerable now.

We’re happy to report that to date, more than $457,000 has been distributed to organizations across Battle Creek and Kalamazoo in areas including food, housing and childcare. These agencies include Battle Creek Family YMCA, Disability Network Southwest Michigan, SAFE Place, Salvation Army BC, Senior Services, SHARE Center, South Michigan Food Bank, Summit Pointe, and Haven of Rest, Voces, Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, Neighborhoods Inc. Battle Creek, Ministry With Community, Comstock Community Center, Community Healing Centers, Kalamazoo Health and Community Services, and Kalamazoo Continuum of Care.

Emergency response consortiums in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, which we are proud to have helped fund and create, are meeting weekly to identify the most pressing needs. Our team at United Way, in partnership with Gryphon Place in both communities and the Kalamazoo Community Foundation in Kalamazoo, use that information to make funding decisions every day.

You can find a frequently updated dashboard of Disaster Relief Fund expenditures at changethestory.org/disaster-relief.

Please consider donating to the Disaster Relief Fund or Kalamazoo Community Foundation’s Community Urgent Relief Fund, and remember that if you or anyone you know needs assistance, they should dial 2-1-1 to get connected to resources.

For questions related to the Disaster Relief Fund or consortiums, contact our community impact team at communityimpact@uwbckr.org.