News and Updates
Join us as an AmeriCorps VISTA member
Looking for a way to make a difference? United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region is seeking candidates for two AmeriCorps VISTA positions that will work to connect financially struggling families with local resources. In partnership with the…
Mercantile Bank Invests Tax Break in Flood Relief
Mercantile Bank of Michigan recently gave $7,500 to United Way BCKR to support the Kalamazoo Flood Relief Fund from tax savings resulting from federal tax reform approved by Congress last December. “It’s one way for us to give back,” said…
Get Your Diapers in a Bunch! Diaper Drive Starts May 1
For the second consecutive year, a massive volunteer effort will tackle a chronic need among low-income families by gathering 75,000 donated infant and toddler diapers from across Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties. United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region…
Warner Norcross + Judd is the 2017 Community Law Challenge Winner
If you’ve entered into downtown Kalamazoo from the east lately, chances are you’ve seen a glimpse of United Way’s 2017 Gerard Thomas Community Law Challenge winners. Warner Norcross + Judd employees, featured on a billboard overlooking Kalamazoo Avenue, stood out…
Alejandro's Story
Finding purpose Alejandro is well-spoken and talkative, but at times he simply doesn’t have the words to describe how much his life has changed. Five years ago, he was in a jail cell, serving time for a drug offense. Today,…
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…
'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…
May 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,…