Heart of Illinois United Way

Here's a little reminder for ... did you hear the sirens this morning at 10:00 am? It's a great time every month to ensure you, your home, and your workplace are ready for a disaster or public emergency. You can also be proactive and join more than 420 central Illinois residents who have joined our Activate for Disasters volunteer initiative. Signup or learn more at: https://volunteer.hoiunitedway.org/blog/display/?blog_id=24770

Check out the United Way crew and their families at the Labor Day Parade today!

Check out the crews a Heart of Illinois Big Brothers Big Sisters and Neighborhood House Association Peoria having some fun teambuilding and supporting United Way! Thank you for all that both of you do to server your students and seniors!

Happy Labor Day to the thousands of local union members who have lent a hand to support our mission since our founding in 1921 ... to increase the organized capacity of the people of central Illinois to care for one another.

Now that's a United Way board member, Leanne Skuse, who knows how to volunteer and take one for the team, literally! Thank you River City Construction, LLC!

So thankful for all of our corporate volunteers who have stepped up this year to support Children's Home Association of Illinois and so many more agencies with our school supply kit project that's perfect for assembling in your workplace! Visit volunteer.hoiunitedway.org for more great ideas from United Way and our partners!

Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude for everyone who has contributed to our school supply drive! A special shoutout to Heart of Illinois United Way for their incredible support in providing back-to-school kits! 🎒📚

We serve around 1,800 children and families, many young minds who deserve to have access to the tools they need to succeed. 🌟

Can you help us make sure every child starts the school year with confidence? Check out our wishlist at the link below. Your donation, big or small, helps bring smiles and confidence! 😊

👉 https://loom.ly/lOS1nu8

Thank you River City Construction, LLC! What a fun way to raise awareness and have some fun with your coworkers!

Another fun Week of Giving event highlight. Who doesn't love tacos on Taco Tuesday? Here at RCC, we enjoy having fun food days. We want to express a big thank you to everyone who participated in yesterday's lunch fundraiser to support our annual Heart of Illinois United Way campaign.

Don’t miss out! We’ll be sharing photos from our exciting ‘Pie the Leader’ event this Thursday afternoon. Stay tuned!

Love all of your hard work Center for Prevention of Abuse!!

Way to go Crittenton Centers! We are so appreciative of your support and for all that you do to support families in need!

Yay for George Washington Carver Association and their fellow United Way partner agencies enjoying an agency fair at Caterpillar and helping people learn more about all of our collaborative work to support the people of central Illinois!

Thank you Heart of Illinois Big Brothers Big Sisters! What a great way to support community partnerships and make a difference!

We love seeing our partner agency teams having a great time at Caterpillar supporting United Way!

Scout Executive Ben Blumenberg is helping to serve up some sweet treats today with partners from The Salvation Army, Dream Center Peoria, Peoria Friendship House of Christian Service, and Midwest Food Bank! The Caterpillar team is hosting an “Ice Cream Social” for the Heart of Illinois United Way campaign kick-off! 🍦🍨

Thank you CWTC for supporting United Way and most importantly what you do to support individuals and families with developmental disabilities!

We're so excited to host our next speaker, Gretchen S. Jordan, CVA with the Association for Leaders in Volunteer Engagement (AL!VE) on August 21. Join us for a one-hour session (via Zoom) as we discuss how we are "Advocates, Collaborators, and Influencers".

Read more and sign up at https://volunteer.hoiunitedway.org/2024summerspeakerseries/

Our thanks to PNC for underwriting this series of speakers!

Thank you TCRC, Inc. for being a part of our 2024 Pacesetter Campaign!

Thank you Greater Peoria Family YMCA for being a part of our 2024 Pacesetter Campaign!

“My son was struggling and falling behind by midterms. The staff and tutors worked with him and he raised his grade by a full letter and had a terrific final report card. Thank you!” - Mother of a 4th grade student enrolled in a United Way funded after-school program. More than 90% of students enrolled in Heart of Illinois United Way funded after school programs achieved grade-level academic success in reading and math.

Looking for an opportunity to share a bit of your time these last few weeks of summer? Visit volunteer.hoiunitedway.org to see how our area nonprofits could use your help!

https://youtu.be/b7j9T2P0WcE?si=jAZfO2eEm6GoYKpe

Heart of Illinois Volunteers A quick look at our online volunteer center!

It's always a great day at Crittenton Centers, but yesterday we were excited to be visited by our friends at Illinois Mutual Life Insurance Company for a tour and program updates in the leadup to their United Way Pacesetter Campaign.

We're grateful for the support of Illinois Mutual and their employees. Community Partnerships like this matter!

We're only one week away from this great webinar on Unlocking the Potential of LinkedIn for volunteer and donor engagement with Shari Pash of Strategic Solutions for Growth! If you haven't signed up yet, spots are filling up fast! Great opportunity for anyone who recruits members, donors, skills-based volunteers, or board/committee recruitment. Visit our volunteer site for more information and to register: https://volunteer.hoiunitedway.org/2024summerspeakerseries/

Please join us in welcoming our newest board members and executive committee for 2024-2025: Sid Ruckriegel, Chair (SERVUS) pic right; Bob Gates, Past Chair (Heyl Royster) pic left; Matt Mamer, Vice Chair Resource Development (CEFCU); Kylene Anthony, Vice Chair Community Investment (Caterpillar); Jenna Wiesner, Vice Chair Marketing & Community Engagement (PNC); Dr. Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat, Secretary (Peoria Public Schools); and Seth Davis, Treasurer (RLI). Our newly elected board members include: Christell Frausto, River City Grill; Kyle Gorden, Federal Companies, Micki McCarthy, CGPA; Patrick Roesler, Vermeer Midwest; Bob Senneff, Graham Hospital; Tim Sprout, IBEW Local 34: Danette Swank, Philippi-Hagenbuch; and Jenna Wiesner, PNC.

Outgoing board member Brian Ray has volunteered for the Heart of Illinois United Way since relocating to our area as the Central Illinois Regional President of PNC Bank. He and his wife, Erica, have chaired our Tocqueville Society and our historic 100th Anniversary Campaign in 2021. Through his leadership, PNC continues their support of local preschool programs through the PNC Grow Up Great program and their support of our volunteer engagement efforts which enables us to expand the program to better serve our area nonprofits. Thank you, Brian!

A big thank you to outgoing board member, Paul Flynn (center right), who has volunteered for the United Way for many years starting as a grant reviewer which he continued until last year. He has also served on our campaign cabinet taking a lead role in the labor division to encourage support from area union members. Paul has also chaired our building committee ensuring our United Way headquarters are maintained as befitting historical property. In 2020, he shared his time helping us convert a copy room and storage area into a beautiful media room we can use for video tapings and online meetings.

Thank you to our outgoing board member, Erik Christian (pictured right with Past Board Chair, Bob Gates). Erik, who is the Principal Consultant at HR Fit, has supported the United Way in many ways over the last twenty years including sharing his expertise for updating personnel policies. He’s been a member of our self-reliance, health, and family issue areas and served as Vice Chair of Community Investment in his role as Solution Council chair.

Thank you to our outgoing board member, Robert Brandfass. Robert is Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for OSF HealthCare is a past board chair for the Heart of Illinois United Way. Robert is a champion of the annual United Way campaign at OSF and has served on our campaign cabinet’s Legal Division. While he served as chair of our Home for All Continuum of Care in 2018, he was instrumental in garnering OSF’s support for establishing a comprehensive interim housing system for individuals and families experiencing homelessness in the Peoria area through the Salvation Army and Dream Center.

A shout out to outgoing board member and retired CEO and President of Federal Companies, Jeff Bogdan! Jeff has volunteered for the Heart of Illinois United Way for more than a decade. While at Federal he organized their company-wide Day of Caring teams and supported our annual food drive. In addition to his board service, he has also served on our Health Impact grant committee and our Business Services Division for the campaign cabinet.

Thank you to Shelli Dankoff is our outgoing Vice Chair of Marketing and Community Engagement. Always ready with an insight on dealing with local media and planning special events, she has championed our Community Impact Fund marketing efforts, volunteered for Power of the Purse, and has been our go-to emcee for special events including our 100th Anniversary Celebration. Under her leadership, the marketing committee has continued to expand our social media presence to focus on our initiatives such as 211 and community-based volunteering.