It’s 7:00 a.m., and the door opens for 2-year-old Eden, who bounces in excitedly to
meet her teacher at an affordable quality rated early learning center. The early start
gives Eden’s mother flexibility to work more hours and the quality rating gives her
peace of mind that her daughter is getting the best start in learning.

It’s just after 9 a.m., and the nurse at the Community Health Center has just
logged on for her first virtual health visit of the day with Tonya. She is proud of her
progress with managing her diabetes and will avoid another ER visit.

It’s 2:30 p.m., the United Way team has convened Dana, the Executive Director of
a local early learning center, to meet with the reading specialist and Kindergarten
teachers at the nearby elementary school. Together, they will create a coordinated
transition plan for the 3 and 4-year-old children that will start school in the Fall.
They will continue their positive development and build reading skills that will last
a lifetime.

It’s almost 3:45 p.m., and Nick drops his bookbag on the gym floor of an
afterschool program. He’s grateful for the downtime and the chance to connect with
his friends. After a few hoops, he’ll sit down to get tutoring for his language arts
class and then work on a speech his mother is making him deliver for a leadership
competition.

It’s a little after 7 p.m., Eric and Magda are busy sending text reminders for the
community meeting. Tonight they’re doing a deep dive review of the community
housing assessment and resident recommendations. After six months of planning,
they have more than 80 neighbors who are working together to make sure
families can get the support they need to remain in stable housing and stay in the
neighborhood.

It’s just before 9:30 p.m., and Aneta cries with tears of relief after texting 2-1-1 for
help about where she can get housing. She’s been staying in a motel with her two
children and without a permanent job, she wouldn’t be able to afford another night.
She felt overwhelmed and helpless. Through 2-1-1 she was connected to a bilingual
resource specialist who could guide her on next steps.

Your generosity make days like this possible. Instead of focusing on one cause, we support more than 240 agencies, programs, and initiatives to help the community as a whole. In fact, more than 179,000 people are helped by united way each year. Your support does matter. You are changing lives. You are helping people. Let's unite for more together!