United Way of Greater McHenry County

Leprechauns weren’t the only ones gifting magical fortune this past week. ?? Our outstanding corporate partners at TC Industries and Avient Corporation raised $1,701 between them that was turned into over 17,000 pounds of food by our Ride United food pantry partners, FISH of McHenry Food Pantry, The Church of Holy Apostles, and Family Health Partnership Clinic ?? Who won this friendly corporate competition? The trophy is being prepared. Follow us to find out on April 9 when it is presented to the winning company. The big winner is all of us in the McHenry County Community! Food insecurity is a rising problem with several of our pantry partners reporting record demand. 640 households were served last week by Holy Apostles and FISH alone. McHenry County nonprofits are serving the community everyday - solving problems, preventing escalations, providing programs that improve the local quality of life, saving taxpayers dollars, and giving hope during the hardest of times. Every dollar donated makes a a powerful difference. Thank you Team Avient and Team TC!! With special thanks to Eric Shrum and Marilyn Rubio for leading and organizing their company teams ?? Stronger together. United is the Way ??

There are steps you can take to protect kids and teens from dating violence, sextortion, and trafficking, all of which are happening right here in McHenry County. Listen to this week’s episode of “An Even Greater McHenry County” on Spotify, iHeart, or Amazon to empower yourself with knowledge that could make all the difference for a child or a teen. We discuss warning signs, prevention, and also what to do if you suspect or know someone is being victimized. Our expert guests are from two of our grant recipient partner agencies: @Mary Margaret Maule, Executive Director of Turning Point - Domestic Violence Services and Misty Marinier, Executive Director of Child Advocacy Center of McHenry County (CAV) https://lnkd.in/gsp4xrTy #ProtectingKids #YouthOpportunity #sextortion #traffickingawareness

The first episode of The United Way of Greater McHenry County’s new podcast, “An Even Greater McHenry County” introduces our hosts and reflects upon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Dream for us all. The podcast overall will spotlight people, cultures, and resources in our community. By coming together and gaining a better understanding of one another, we can make our community and beyond, an even better place. Find full episodes on Spotify, Amazon, and iHeart. #HealingIllinois Jamie Maravich Karen Abbott-Trimuel

ANNOUNCING…..drum roll please….our community driven podcast “An Even Greater McHenry County!!” What’s it About - The experiences of interesting people, insights into cultures, and information about local resources. Why listen - to gain insights and information in an entertaining way Where - Spotify, iHeart, Amazon - and coming soon on YouTube > if there is another streaming service we should be featured on, please let us know! When - a new episode will launch on Wednesday of every week Our first episode starts out by introducing co-hosts Jamie Maravich and Karen Abbott-Trimuel and takes an insightful look at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Dream - Are We Making It a Reality? Upcoming episodes will feature compelling guests and spotlight Chinese culture, Comic-Con culture, Mental Health across races and generations, Black History in McHenry County, Irish culture/St. Patrick’s Day, Interracial love, Parenthood, Music and Culture, Sports and Culture, and much more It’s about ALL of US. Different doesn’t have to mean divided. We are at our best when we are united: Together we can create a brighter world and An Even Greater McHenry County! https://lnkd.in/gFNiCmec

We are overjoyed to announce the newest member of our Board of Directors is Eric Shrum, Warehouse and Logistics Manager at long-time corporate supporter, Avient Corporation. A dedicated family man and a long-time resident of McHenry County, Eric and his wife, Nicole, are deeply committed to maximizing their impact through their enthusiastic support of our mission. He has consistently been an inspiring and driven employee giving champion, volunteer, food donation coordinator, and generous donor. In his own words, “Being a champion of continuous improvement, I'm a firm believer that you can't fix anything, if you don't know what's wrong. The allocations panels that I have sat on, brought so much light to the needs of McHenry County, and the great non-profit partners that are making solutions happen. So we’re ready to help! In any way, shape, or form.” Welcome Eric! United is the way to community resilience. Eric Shrum

There is no greater investment than those you make in yourself, your loved ones, and in your community. In 2024 McHenry County was enriched by so many people in so many ways. We are grateful for all of you and we are proud to align donated funds and goods to where they are needed the most. Thanks to a generous donation from a husband and wife in our community, donations made before midnight tonight will be matched, helping you to make that much more of a difference as this year ends and a new one begins. www.uwmchenry.org/donate Happy New Year!

Follett Content Solutions held a friends and family of Folletteers book sale to benefit our Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program for McHenry County and the results were outstanding, $3,500 raised in 3 days! They then took it one step further and donated books and activity books for a first responder family in need and for the classrooms and families of one of our partner agencies, Community Action Agency Headstart. This is on top of the $10,000 that their educators book sale raised in September. They are outstanding partners advancing youth opportunity and childhood literacy for McHenry County and beyond.

We are ecstatic to share that Follett Content Solutions, through the leadership of Britten Follett, is supporting our efforts to increase childhood literacy in McHenry County. Following the major success of their public September book sale fundraiser, they are hosting a second private book sale for their employees next week to help us bring the gift of year-round reading to kids in McHenry County. United is the Way to youth opportunity https://lnkd.in/g9T535SS

Your donations doubled; your impact generational. Thanks to an anonymous donor, donations we receive today will be doubled up to $50,000! Please consider giving a gift to strengthen the resilience of our wonderful community. Every donation of any amount will help improve lives all around you and make the holiday season brighter for neighbors experiencing difficult times. Your amazing impact with a doubled donation using our Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Program as an example: $30 >>>>>>> becomes $60 $30 Provides a free book in mail every month for a year for 1 McHenry County child, doubled to $60 it provides for 2 children for a year or 2 for one child $90 >>>>>>> becomes $180 $90 Provides a free book in the mail every month for a year for 3 McHenry County children or 3 years of books for one child doubled to $180 it provides a free year of books for 6 children or for one child to receive all 60 books from birth to age 5 $300 >>>>>>>$600 $300 provides 10 children in McHenry County with a free book in the mail every month. Doubled to $600, it provides a free book in the mail every month for 20 children. It takes a village. United is the way to a healthier community! Www.uwmchenry.org/donate

à $30 donation to United Way of Greater McHenry County can supply one child in the age group of birth to five years old with a free book in the mail every month for a year. Over the weekend, Follett Content Solutions held a book sale that enabled educators to stock their classrooms for only 50 cents an item and in the process raised $10,000 that is entirely being put towards our Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library book program for McHenry County kids! ??????