United Way of Southwest Minnesota reports a total of $542,009.50 was raised during the 2013-14 fund-raising campaign in this area.  Dollars raised will stay local to benefit people living in Lincoln, Lyon, Murray, Yellow Medicine and western Redwood counties.

Lisa Rademacher, President of the Board said, "We are Growing Together in Southwest MN!  Thank you to all who contributed time and money to this year's campaign.  We live in such generous communities where people are helping people on a daily basis.  Funds raised will be put to good use right here in southwest MN."

"United Way of Southwest Minnesota is committed to community impact. The dollars raised in the annual campaign make a significant difference across southwest Minnesota," said Marcy Heemeyer, Executive Director.  "Our sincere appreciation goes out to everyone who generously invested in the future of this area financially or through the gift of volunteer hours. Southwest Minnesota is a great place to call home."

Funds that have been raised will go to work in local programs that focus on the basic building blocks of education, income (financial stability), health, hunger and safety & well-being.  United Way of Southwest Minnesota will continue to work collaboratively with community partners to address important issues like increasing school readiness for young children.

Preparations are now underway for the community investment work that will occur during the next few months.  Community volunteers and United Way board members will work hard to carry out plans and to review community programs to make sure that all donated funds are used as wisely as possible.

Application forms for Community Impact Grants are currently available on the United Way of Southwest Minnesota website, www.UnitedWaySWMN.org  and are due by 5PM on Tuesday, April 1, 2014. People interested in volunteering to help with the citizen review process of these grant applications should call 507-929-2273 for more information or email unitedway@unitedwayswmn.org.  

United Way of Southwest Minnesota is an autonomous, local organization working to create long lasting community change through the building blocks of education, income (financial stability), health, safety & well-being, and hunger in the five counties we call home.