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‘Completely Shocked!’ Stryker Employee Wins UW Sweepstakes
Before today, Jessica Parnaby would have told you she’d never won anything in her life. She can’t say that anymore; on Wednesday, Parnaby learned that she is this year’s United Way Sweepstakes automobile winner.
Read MoreImpact Week: Initiatives, Advocacy Move the Work Forward
Grantmaking, in one form or another, has been a part of United Way’s history for decades. For a lot of people, it’s what we’re known for, and supporting our partners with funding is still a big part of how we drive impact. However, grantmaking alone won’t propel us to our community level goals of increased…
Read MoreImpact Week: Volunteers are the Heart
Volunteers create lasting change and provide invaluable support for the nonprofit community. National statistics from the Independent Sector show that in 2019, a volunteer’s time was valued at an average of $25.43 per hour. United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region alone worked with 6,259 volunteers just last year. “Volunteers are transforming our…
Read MoreImpact Week: The Power of Story
We can learn a lot by looking at data. Yesterday, we shared how the data we collect can reveal the impact United Way has made in the community. Data alone, however, cannot tell the whole story. The rest is best left to the people whose lives have been touched by United Way in big and…
Read MoreImpact Week: Data’s Role in Driving Impact
Editor’s note: This is the first story in a week-long series exploring the meaning of impact in our organization. At United Way, we talk a lot about impact. The word appears in our mission statement, on the cover of our annual report, in our culture statement, and so many more places in the organization. But…
Read MoreWhat’s so amazing about #GivingTuesday?
When you make a gift to United Way on Giving Tuesday or any other Tuesday, the impact of your donation lasts much more than a day.
Read MoreVolunteers Unite to Tackle Hunger – 100,000 Times!
With bells, cheers and upbeat music, more than 300 volunteers put together 100,000 meals in two hours to feed hungry families. The volunteers at United Way BCKR’s third annual United Against Hunger event brought more energy than ever, according to Stephanie Slingerland, Director of Philanthropy/Social Impact at Kellogg Company. Kellogg was the presenting sponsor. “Our…
Read MoreWhy All This Talk About Trauma?
Editor’s note: Trauma shows up as a pervasive barrier to a person’s success in every one of United Way’s Impact areas – Health, Education, Financial Stability and Basic Needs. It’s an issue we have only begun to address over the past few years with events such as film screenings of “Resilience,” community conversations and most…
Read MoreVIDEO: ‘Living the United Way’
This month, United Way BCKR was proud to present a new video featuring Kinetic Affect that explores what United Way stands for and why we need the community to stand with us. “Living the United Way” is a spoken word piece written and performed by the local duo, composed of Kirk Latimer and Gabe Giron,…
Read MoreThat’s a Wrap for the Live United Tour
More than 20,000 Acts of Kindness Completed During Live United Summer Tour The 2019 Live United Summer Tour has come to an end, and we are thrilled to announce our road trip results. Together with more than 250 community volunteers, many corporate partners and individual donors, we have achieved our goal of 20,000 Acts of…
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