There are currently 195 children enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in The Pokagon Fund service area, which includes Harbert, Lakeside, New Buffalo, Sawyer, Three Oaks, and Union Pier. There is a total of 354 eligible children in that area. This promotional push seeks to enroll the remaining children via a campaign that targets kids 0-5 years old in the next two years beginning in the third quarter of 2019.

United Way of Southwest Michigan invites the public to attend its FOURTH “Pop Up Giving” event on Thursday, August 8 from 5-7 p.m. at LakeHouse Restaurant & Bar in St. Joseph.

United Way of Southwest Michigan is proud to partner with area businesses and organizations in Cass County to present School Supply Spectacular. This annual event provides free backpacks with age-appropriate school supplies to students in kindergarten through 12th grade. 

This year’s Berrien County winner is Caleigh Dahn. Our Cass County winner is Bailey Anson.

“This event has continued to grow every year, and that means more money to the community,” said Dave Cichocki, Vice President of U.S. Sales for Whirlpool Corporation and Chair of Whirlpool’s United Way campaign. “We started with five boats in 2016, then 30 in 2017 and last year we had 64. This year, we capped it at 75 boats, and registration was full by early June.”

United Way of Southwest Michigan is seeking nominations of volunteers for recognition at the organization’s annual Volunteer Recognition Event, to be held this year on October 3. The deadline for nominations to be submitted to United Way is August 16, 2019.

Every year, food pantries across Southwest Michigan are fully stocked in the winter months thanks to generous holiday donations—but when summer comes, donations drop dramatically and pantry shelves become sparse. This can leave low-income, hard-working families with limited options during this time of year. So, for the third year in a row, United Way of Southwest Michigan asked local businesses and community members to participate in its Christmas in June event to stock local food pantries with items to get them through the warmer months. 

Indiana Michigan Power, an AEP Company; Gast Manufacturing; Spectrum Health Lakeland; and Whirlpool Corporation compete to out-collect each other in food drive for local pantries.

Three local HEALTH nonprofits—Children’s Advocacy Center of Southwest Michigan, Girls on the Run Southwest Michigan, and Be Healthy Berrien—have been chosen as the contestants in United Way of Southwest Michigan’s THIRD “Pop Up Giving” event on Thursday, May 9 from 5-7 p.m. at Lehman's Orchard Brewery & Farmhouse in Buchanan. This event gives the community the chance to decide where funds go.