ISSUE: EARLY EDUCATION & LITERACY

INDIVIDUALS IMPACTED: 13,640

THE NEED:

• 59.7% of 3rd graders are not meeting reading proficiency  

CHANGE LIVES OUTPUTS & OUTCOMES:

• 212 children participated in home visiting programs

• 1,851 children participated in out-of-school/in-school programming and/or supports

• 61 children participated in quality childcare and/or preschool programs

• 11,082 children had access to books

• 480 parents and/or caregivers received parenting education

• 73.4% of children served increased their reading level

• 93.1% of children served showed progress toward or achieved developmental milestones

• 94.3% of parents and/or caregivers served increased their knowledge of their children’s development

ORGANIZATIONS:

This type of investment includes programs that will lead to change in individuals.

BERRIEN COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT – NURSE FAMILY PARTNERSHIP

BERRIEN COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT – TRIPLE P (POSITIVE PARENTING PROGRAM)

BERRIEN RESA – PARENTS AS TEACHERS

BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OF BENTON HARBOR – A TUTORING CORPS FOR GREAT FUTURES

CAMP FIRE RIVER BEND, INC. – CAMP FIRE AFTER SCHOOL

GREAT START COLLABORATIVE OF BERRIEN COUNTY - SUMMER LITERACY PROGRAM

HERITAGE SOUTHWEST INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL DISTRICT – PARENTS AS TEACHERS

LOGAN COMMUNITY RESOURCES, INC. – FAMILY SUPPORT FOR AUTISM THERAPY

REGION IV AREA AGENCY ON AGING – FOSTER GRANDPARENTS PROGRAM

THE SALVATION ARMY, NILES CORPS – FEEDING HIS SHEEP

UNITED WAY OF SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN – DOLLY PARTON’S IMAGINATION LIBRARY

UNITED WAY OF SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN - SCHOOL SUPPLY SPECTACULAR

YMCA OF GREATER MICHIANA – SUMMER MY WAY

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:

• Great Start Collaborative of Berrien County

• United Way of Southwest Michigan

ADVOCACY OPPORTUNITIES:

• Advocacy Success! – Great Start Readiness Program Expanded Funding

• Voter Engagement

• Become a UWSM Advocate

ISSUE: POST-SECONDARY SUCCESS

INDIVIDUALS IMPACTED: 1,217

THE NEED:

• The high school graduation rate is 80.6%

• 25.4% of the population has an associates degree or higher

CHANGE LIVES OUTPUTS & OUTCOMES:

• 139 students participated in career & technical education

• 204 students participated in mentoring/tutoring programs

• 530 students served overcame obstacles

• 75.3% of students served were working toward post-secondary education or credentials

• 93.7% of students served developed soft skills

• 18.9% of students served gained post-secondary education or credentials

• 100% of students served graduated high school on time

ORGANIZATIONS:

This type of investment includes programs that will lead to change in individuals.

BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS SOUTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN REGION – THE LOWER WEST MICHIGAN YOUTH MENTORING PROGRAM

KINEXUS GROUP – YOUTHBUILD

LAKE MICHIGAN COLLEGE – START TO FINISH

SOUTHWESTERN MICHIGAN COLLEGE – MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING FOR SUCCESS

UNITED WAY OF SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN - SCHOOL SUPPLY SPECTACULAR

YOUTH SOLUTIONS – JOBS FOR MICHIGAN’S GRADUATES & YOUTH SOLUTIONS DIGITAL

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:

• Big Brothers Big Sisters Southern Lake Michigan Region

• Kinexus Group

ADVOCACY OPPORTUNITIES:

• Career & Technical Education

• Michigan Reconnect

• College Access Advocacy Day (April)

• Voter Engagement

• Become a UWSM Advocate

Volunteers of School Supply Spectacular

THE STOKES FAMILY is as much of a fixture at Cass County’s annual School Supply Spectacular as the backpacks that are given away. Each August, you can count on Dowagiac resident Keaka Stokes, 40, and her four children—Jason, 21; Jacob, 19; Joshua, 17; and Kayden, 15—to put in days of hard work in the hot sun making sure as many as a thousand kids in need, from kindergarten through 12th grade, get a backpack filled with grade-appropriate school supplies to start the academic year.

The Stokes Family has been doing this for so long that they don’t remember how long—and neither does anyone at United Way of Southwest Michigan, which has been coordinating the event for more than a decade. 

All that staff, volunteers, and beneficiaries remember is watching the Stokes kids grow up over the years—taller in stature, of course, and also in character, thanks to a mom committed to instilling values of service in them.

What most people don’t know about the Stokes is that they’ve been on the receiving end of help too—and their journey of healing is what inspires them to tend to others.

To read the full success story, click HERE