Archive for November 2022
IMPACT! Creating Economic Success
People don’t always think of United Way and building our local economy together, but guess what? It happens a lot! And when a local citizen can realize a long-held dream as a result, that’s even better! Here’s how our partnership with Lily Missions Center on financial literacy and management made both things happen: One of…
Read MoreLet’s End The Violence – Together
The plea was simple: Can we all get along? Thirty years later, our society can’t seem to find a way to say “yes.” The tragic mass shooting at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs is another heartbreaking reminder of how little things have changed since Rodney King, a Black man beaten by police during his…
Read MoreIMPACT! Feeding a Family in Need
Food is essential to life, yet thousands of people right here in Jackson County don’t know where their next meal will come from. United Way partners with South Michigan Food Bank to make sure every person has access to food. South Michigan Food Bank serves eight counties in our region, supplying a network of local…
Read MoreUnited Way SCMI Takes on Kalamazoo County VITA Program
KALAMAZOO – This tax season, United Way of South Central Michigan’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Shared Services team has added Kalamazoo County to its coverage area, bringing the total number of counties covered to nine. VITA provides no-cost, high-quality tax services to households making $60,000 or less, and relies on dozens of trained volunteers…
Read MoreIMPACT! Making a Family’s Life Better
Over a third of households countywide are single-parent households, nearly all of them female-led and many struggling financially. Those realities motivate Partial To Girls (PTG) to support underserved women and children in the Jackson area. Today’s story describes the many challenges these families face and how our partnership with PTG can make a family’s life…
Read MoreVeterans Struggling: ALICE Analysis Outlines Financial Hardship
They’ve served and sacrificed for our country, yet more than one of every four veterans in Michigan struggle to afford the basics. That finding comes from a new report from the Michigan Association of United Ways (MAUW) and its research partner, United For ALICE. In 2019, 6% of the state’s veterans were deemed in poverty,…
Read MoreIMPACT! Touching a Single Life
The COVID-19 pandemic upended life for all of us. When the most vulnerable are affected, that’s where United Way partnerships make a powerful difference. Consider the story of an elderly woman, which came out of our investment in the Jackson Guardian Program through Family Service & Children’s Aid: “Norma” is an 80-plus-year-old that lives in…
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