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Gingerbreadmen decorated with LIVE UNITED shirts - a perfect way to spread holiday cheer and show your support to United Way of Saginaw County. |
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Every donation makes a difference. | |
As our campaign season is wrapping up, it is important to remember that every donation, no matter how large or small makes a huge difference in the lives of others. Each year, United Way is amazed by all the generous support from companies and individuals in our community. As we reflect on the year and all of our successes, we cannot thank each and every one of our donors enough. Without their contributions we would not be able to fund the 32 programs at our 19 partner agencies or run the community impact programs that bring so much back to our community. It is true - every donation makes a difference.
The holiday season reminds us of all the things in our lives that we have to be thankful for. United Way is thankful for your support and willingness to make our community a stronger place to live and work.
We invite you to join us on Thursday, January 19th for our Campaign Celebration event. At this event we will announce the results from our 2011 giving campaign. We thank you for your past support and remind you that it is never too late to make a donation if you have not already. We need each dollar in order to keep funding our programs at the same levels that we currently are. If you have already made your donation - please help us by encouraging your family, friends and coworkers to do so as well. As our Campaign Chair, John Kunitzer, put it best, "our community is only as strong as our commitment to it!" Let's show everyone what a strong community we have! |
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Students Give Back |
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Students from the Great Lakes Bay Region Youth Leadership Institute not only adopted families through our Holiday Wish program again this year, they truly went above and beyond. Students worked with their college mentors and students from other schools and asked for community support so that they could help make the holiday season brighter for others in our community. On Friday, December 9, the students came together and had a gift wrapping party at SVSU. Pictures from the wrapping party can be viewed here.
Here's what a few of the students had to say about their experience with the program:
"The experience we received helping a family to make their Christmas better was FANTASTIC! This was the first time that any of us have done anything like this and we would all do it again in a heart beat. We even asked the local community for their help and they did not hesitate. That's why the experience was so great, everyone was willing to help us so we could help the family." ~Taygen West, Greg Spletzer and Lauren Peterson (Frankenmuth High School)
"The program helped us students realize how important and expensive the everyday things are that our parents provide for us. We are all so fortunate to be able to give back and we can't wait to see the smiles on their faces when we deliver their gifts." ~Dustin DeBeau (Merrill High School)
Thank you to Dr. Mamie Thorns and all of her mentors and students for their support of the Holiday Wish List program. |
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VITA Sites Opening on January 30th | |
Free tax assistance will be available to Saginaw County residents who cannot afford to have their taxes prepared for them, starting on Monday, January 30.
The following locations will host VITA sites:
- Butman Fish Library - 1716 Hancock, Saginaw
- Rauchholz Memorial Library - 1140 N. Hemlock Rd., Hemlock
- PNC - 1140 S. Outer Dr., Buena Vista
- Hoyt Library - 505 Janes St., Saginaw
- Delta College - 1961 Delta Rd., Saginaw
- Frankenmuth Credit Union - Town & Country Office - 2796 Erna Dr., Saginaw
- Frankenmuth Credit Union - 580 N. Main St., Frankenmuth
- Freeland High School - 8250 Webster Rd., Freeland
Visit our website for more information regarding the VITA program or to find out specific dates and times for each VITA site. |
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Volunteer START Program Deadline Extended | |
Any Saginaw County high school student or student group looking for funding a meaningful volunteer project can apply for a Volunteer START (Students Towards A Responsible Tomorrow) grant. The goal of this program is to help empower young people to create volunteer projects and enable them to carry out these projects by providing them with adequate resources. The deadline for accepting grant applications has been extended until January 31. Application forms and more information can be found on our website. |
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Mittens for Michigan Provides Warmth | |
Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Chemical Bank Mittens for Michigan drive. We received an overwhelming amount of hats, mittens and scarves thanks to your generosity! These warm weather items will be distributed to our holiday wish list families and after school programs. Thank you to our partners at Chemical Bank for organizing such a great drive |
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High School Students LIVE UNITED | |
Ashley Youngstrom, pictured above, is 15 years old and in the 10th grade at Freeland High School. She is the daughter of Dave and Michelle Youngstrom. Ashley is in the child development class at Freeland High School and brought home a baby from CAN Council's "Baby Think it Over" program. The program is funded through United Way donor dollars. Thank you, Ashley for proudly matching your "baby" in your LIVE UNITED shirts! |
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Happy Holidays from United Way of Saginaw County! | |
Thank you so much for supporting our organization. We have a great community and are so very thankful for each of you who LIVE UNITED every day.
Our wish is that you will be UNITED with your family and friends during this holiday season. We hope that the new year will bring us a peaceful and UNITED community. |
| Step Up for United Way - 1.14.12 | |
Our 4th Annual Step Up for United Way event will be a little different than in the years past.
On Saturday, January 14, we invite you, your friends and your family to come check out the Saginaw YMCA for FREE. Whether you are a member or nonmember, come see what the YMCA has to offer.
If you make a donation to United Way for $10 that day, you will receive a LIVE UNITED t-shirt and a chance to win a year's membership from the YMCA. The free membership drawing will take place at 4 p.m. Participants need not be present to win.
For more information, please contact Kelly at (989) 755-0505, ext. 211. |
| UWSC Campaign Celebration - 1.19.12 | |
Each year United Way celebrates its campaign successes from the past year at a Campaign Celebration event. This year we will host a breakfast event on Thursday, January 19, 2012. The celebration will take place at Horizons Conference Center. Please save the date. Formal invitations will be mailed early January. |
| Show Me the Money Day - 1.28.12 | |
UWSC is in the planning stages of hosting a new event which will be held on Saturday, January 28, 2012. The event will feature workshops and information on many different topics about building financial security. There will also be refreshments, door prizes and other activities. For more information please contact Marsha at 755-0505, ext. 203. |
| United Way & Project HOME Closed for the Holidays | |
United Way of Saginaw County will be closed Friday, December 23 through Monday, January 2. Our office will reopen on Tuesday, January 3. Project HOME will also be closed during this time. If you or someone you know is in need of information and referral services, please call the Information and Referral line at (888) 636-4211 and a trained call specialist will be available to connect you and others in Saginaw County with services in OUR community. |
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United Way Raffle | |
Seven lucky winners will be announced on Friday, December 23 at 5 p.m. The Raffle is sponsored by Spence Brothers and the drawing will be held at their warehouse. The winners will be notified after the drawing and we will try to post names of the winners to our facebook page.
Thank you to Spence Brothers for coordinating this special raffle for United Way and to the following companies for donating the prizes: Bierlein Companies; John E. Green; Spence Brothers; Valley Electric; Boice Bird & Sons; Sears - Fashion Square; HYMMCO; Meijer. The tickets were printed and donated by TBF Graphics.
We would also like to thank everyone who showed their support by purchasing or selling the raffle tickets. Totals from the raffle will be announced in our January newsletter. |
| New Community Resource Navigator | |
Tara Cobb has recently been hired to serve as the Community Resource Navigator in Saginaw County. Cobb will be working in conjunction with the VITA program.
The Community Resource Navigator position is funded through a grant from the Michigan Association of United Ways (MAUW). The MAUW AmeriCorps program is a state-wide program focused on the Economic Opportunity priority area through member service in community United Ways and with other partners. The program is also designed around our priority areas to serve low-income individuals in navigating community resources utilizing 211 and the MiBridges systems.
Having an AmeriCorps member serving with our office enables us to share important benefit access information and offer another level of service at many of our VITA sites.
You can reach Tara at (989) 755-0505, ext. 206. |
| Hot Links | |
United Way in the News - miss a press release or news story on United Way? Check our online news room to find the latest story.
Campaign Pictures - our online photo gallery has all the pictures we have taken during the 2011 annual giving campaign. If you have pictures you would like to include, we would love to see and share them. Please email the jpg images to Kelly and we will include them in our future publications. |
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