Income/Financial Stability Latest Highlights

Income/Financial Stability Latest Highlights 84% OF ALICE HOUSEHOLDS WHO RECEIVED WORKFORCE SUPPORTS SUCCESSFULLY INCREASED THEIR WAGES; 41% OF THOSE WERE BLACK. Communication Skills 59% OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ATTAINED CREDENTIALS WERE ABLE TO ATTAIN OR ADVANCE EMPLOYMENT; 88% OF THOSE WERE BLACK. 585 HOUSEHOLDS RECEIVED EVICTION DIVERSION SERVICES. Return to Impact Data 2020

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Give for Tomorrow – Starting Today

Dec. 1 is Giving Tuesday At the beginning of this year, none of us at United Way were fully prepared for what was to come. And none of us know what the next year will bring. We do know that faced with a once-in-a-generation challenge, Battle Creek and Kalamazoo stepped up. United Way staff, donors,…

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Impact Report 2020

2020 Impact Report Our Impact Today & Beyond Chris Sargent,President & CEO Transforming our community is like a journey to the moon: The goal is clear and bright, but getting there is a complex and ever-changing task. When we began our journey toward 10- and 15-year goals in Education, Income/ Financial Stability, Health, and Basic…

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New Funds Available to Nonprofits for COVID-19 Relief

Our community and nation continue to experience the growing impact and devastation of COVID-19 and racial injustice. In response, United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region is launching a second regional activation of its Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) in November 2020. In Kalamazoo, that means coming together in partnership for joint crisis relief…

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Bronson and United Way

Dear Bronson Partners, I don’t have to tell you how tough this year has been. You know it already. You see the effects of COVID-19. You take action to address the unimaginable burdens upon individuals and families throughout our communities. The only way we’ll solve our community’s most pressing issues is by tackling them together.…

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Partnership Helps with Rx Costs During Pandemic

The average American spends $1,200 per person each year on medications. For those living below the ALICE threshold, that’s a significant financial burden. Throw in a global pandemic and its economic effects, and that burden becomes unbearable. Fortunately, a long-time partnership between United Way and FamilyWize has eased that burden locally by more than $277,000…

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Are You Up for the Challenge?

Equity is a journey, not a destination. It’s a sentiment often voiced at United Way BCKR, where the journey toward becoming an anti-racist organization has lasted the better part of a decade and continues to be integral to our vision of a vibrant community where all people realize their full potential. The journey has involved…

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21-Day Equity Challenge

When: October 19, 2020 @ 8:00 am – November 16, 2020 @ 5:00 pm
Where: Virtual

The recent release of the ALICE and Black Households Data (learn more here) clearly illustrates the inequities that are deeply rooted in our national, state, and local systems and institutions. Over the 21-day Challenge, you…

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Black Households Face Greater Financial Risk

Family sitting on couch

Newly released data related to ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed) shows just how closely poverty and racism are connected at a local, statewide and national level – and how much work remains in addressing racial and economic disparities. In Michigan, 63 percent of Black households fall below the ALICE Threshold (the minimum income needed to afford…

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United We Will: Our Region is Rising

Group of volunteers

Nothing focuses your mind on the impact of a deadly disease than thinking a loved one—and possibly you—could have it. One of my adult daughters began showing symptoms of COVID-19. Like any concerned parent, I took her to the doctor to be tested. Results took 48 hours, putting our family on pins and needles. And…

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