What if?
What if everyone owned a home? Families could put down roots and form strong connections with their neighbors. No one would have to worry about having a roof over their head at night or facing eviction.
What if everyone had food on their table tonight? Families would gather for meals without the stress of where their next meal would come from.
What if the graduation rate was 100%? Every student would have the opportunity to complete their education and unlock the doors to a brighter future.
What if everyone had access to the resources they needed to thrive? When you support United Way, you’re helping us build stronger, more resilient communities that can withstand the challenges of tomorrow. With United Way, the "what ifs" become "what's next," and together, we can make it happen.
Don’t miss out…
Calling all Cass County Kids!
School Supply Spectacular Registration is now open!
Receive a FREE Backpack filled with age-appropriate school supplies. Backpacks will be available, pre-registration required, to Cass County children (pre-K to 12th grade). Children must be present in order to receive a backpack and must be accompanied by an adult. This event is for students residing in or attending schools in Cass County only, and is intended to serve those families in Cass County who are experiencing financial hardship and are not able to afford school supplies and backpacks for their children.
Thanks for helping us make Rock the Boat 2024 a Huge Success!
Thanks to you, we will be bringing rock The Boat back in 2025
The weather was perfect for the return of the Rock The Boat Cardboard Boat Races, which took place Thursday, July 11, 2024 at the Inn at Harbor Shores in St. Joseph with 25 boats participating. The event had a fundraising total of over $31,000 including sponsorships & crowd-funded donations from participants and spectators, which exceeded the event goal of $25,000.
The event featured life-size boats made entirely of cardboard raced in heats in the river channel. Spectators lined the Inn at Harbor Shores’ channel shoreline to enjoy the event, and hundreds enjoyed the livestream on the United Way of Southwest Michigan YouTube channel.
The Championship award, as well as fastest boat award, went to Whirlpool Corporation’s “Cottura Vortice,” a crowd-favorite boat that looked like a long, sleek kayak engineered to move quickly through the water. Awards also went to Lake Michigan College for the Most Creative boat for their “Rocky Pearl - ‘Seas’ the Degree” entry, and Honor Credit Union for both the People’s Choice and Captain’s Bounty awards with a total of $2,304 raised by 57 different donors for their “A Thousand Pickle” team boat.
United We Win.
WHY ME? It’s natural for people to ask when their lives and livelihoods hang in the balance. There’s no single answer to that question. But United Way does everything humanly possible to provide responses and solutions that protect, improve, and empower lives around Southwest Michigan. Whether it's through volunteerism, our strong nonprofit sector, or community-wide initiatives, change is happening in a big way.
Without the support from our community, we couldn't do the work that we do. But, there is still so much work to be done. Please join the fight. Because change doesn’t happen alone. Hope isn’t a one-man band. And there’s no such thing as self-taught or self-made.
We have one life. To live better, we must LIVE UNITED.
