On Monday, September 12, United Way of Midland County will kick off its 2022 campaign with a goal of raising $4,700,000.
“We are off to a strong start, already reporting early pledges of $422,678” shared Holly Miller, President and CEO of United Way of Midland County. “This represents an impressive 9% of our $4.7 million goal.”
To officially kick off their 2022 Campaign, United Way is hosting Gear for the Year – an event to fill the gap for over 700 Midland County Public School teachers to help them feel equipped, empowered and prepared for the school year. Thanks to generous sponsors, each teacher will receive a kit with Expo markers, tissues, disinfecting wipes, highlighters, pens, Sharpies, post-it notes, notecards and more!
Volunteers from local businesses helped sort over 30,000 items on Wednesday, September 7th to help prepare for the big kit building day on September 12th. All the kits will be delivered to ACEA, Bullock Creek Public Schools, Coleman Public Schools, Meridian Public Schools, Midland County ESA, Midland Public Schools and Windover on Tuesday, September 13th.
“We committed to kicking off our campaign this year with our Gear for the Year event as a way to show appreciation and support for our local educators,” shared Holly Miller, President and CEO of United Way of Midland County. “We know the important role that teachers play in the lives of their students, especially as they’ve navigated the past two years of change and uncertainty. To help – we invited our local businesses and corporations to join us in supplying our teachers with the items they often purchase to support their classrooms.”
United Way is grateful for its event sponsors: DuPont, Members First Credit Union, Corteva, Aptar, IFF, Meijer, Dow Credit Union, Gavin and Associates, Case Systems, SYM Financial, Feeny, TriStar Trust, Great Lakes Loons, Arbury Insurance and Two Men and a Truck.
United Way is also excited to announce that the 2022 campaign is being led by Michael and Claudia Goad.
“Michael and Claudia have such passion for our community,” shared Miller. “We are honored to work alongside of them as this year’s campaign co-chairs, and believe their positive energy, giving spirit and genuine care for our neighbors will help us achieve success in raising dollars for the vital nonprofit programs that United Way supports.”
Michael and Claudia joined the Midland Community several years ago, and have expressed their love for our community. In a recent interview with United Way, they shared how welcoming Midland is and how incredibly caring our community members are. Michael serves as President and CEO of Dow Credit Union (formerly Dow Chemical Employees’ Credit Union) and Claudia is a retired interpreter for hospitals and court systems and a Spanish emersion preschool teacher. She currently serves as an active community volunteer for many area non-profits.
“When we were given the opportunity to serve as the United Way of Midland County campaign co-chairs, we knew we could not possibly say no,” shared Claudia. “We believe in lending a hand up to our neighbors who need our support and we hope that we can inspire our community to come together to raise the dollars needed to support the vital programs offered by our partners.”
Some organizations have already kicked off their United Way workplace campaigns, while many others will be celebrating their campaigns beginning next week. To help inspire and educate, United Way staffers have been out in the community hosting Impact Bus Tours as well as giving presentations at team meetings and special events to talk about the work being done to change lives.
United Way does not do this work alone. The dollars raised during annual campaign will be invested in 57 community programs in the areas of Youth Success, Health and Household Stability. United Way is positioned to drive impact forward through collaboration, accountability and a focus on placing people at the center. Leveraging their strength around outcomes and non-profit capacity building, they have the system to ensure dollars being invested to have the biggest impact.
“We are so honored to have the opportunity to lead this year’s United Way Campaign,” shared Michael Goad, President and CEO of Dow Credit Union. “We’re surrounded by so many caring people who don’t hesitate to lend a hand when our neighbors need help. It’s inspiring to be a part of something much bigger than us as individuals, and our hope as campaign chairs is that we can help inspire others to join in.”
Miller added that Claudia and Michael Goad’s co-chair partnership is the very symbol of collaboration and compassion.
“Our theme this year leverages that spirit, posing a simple question: “Have you ever?” Miller said. “This powerful and inspirational message presents thought-provoking questions based on the stories of actual neighbors in need and demonstrates the amazing way our community has created a safety net of services to meet them.”
United Way brings everyone together to improve lives by amplifying individual passion to take on our toughest challenges together. The campaign will continue through the end of October.
