Heartland United Way The Aurora Chamber of Commerce would like to recognize long time Chamber Member Heartland United Way.
The company was first established in 1947 and is a local community impact and fundraising organization that aims to improve lives and create possibilities for people in Hall, Hamilton, Howard and Merrick Counties. "Heartland United Way achieves its mission through advocacy, leadership and support for non-profit organizations that help individuals and families gain access to educational, economic and health opportunities," Tiffany Schrunk, Heartland United Way's Director of Campaign, said. Schrunk says Heartland United Way works toward goals in education, income and health, which we believe are the building blocks for a good quality of life.
Heartland United Way has three main goals they take steps to accomplish in their communities; education, income and health. - Education: Improve early grade reading levels and cut the high school drop-out rate in half ·
- Income: Cut the number of low-income families that are financially unstable in half ·
- Health: Increase the number of people who are healthy and avoid risky behavior by one-third
The Heartland United Way began as a combined campaign that supported just four partner agencies. In 1956, a permanent office was established and the organization became known as the Grand Island Community Chest. After the organization became a division of the national United Way organization in 1975, the name Grand Island United Way, Inc. was adopted. Though the organization was originally created to serve the Grand Island community, the name was changed to Heartland United Way in 1993 and the organization expanded to serve the four-county area it still serves today including Hall, Hamilton, Howard and Merrick counties.
Today, Heartland United Way works with 19 partner agencies and serve nearly 30,000 people in our four-county area annually Heartland United Way has a very lengthy list of accomplishments including: Provided 2,153 individuals with basic needs, food and toys during the holidays. Enrolled 3,200 children to receive books each month in the mail through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Collected 15,905 pounds of food for use in local shelters and food programs at our Husker Harvest Day’s food drive. Raised $1.365 million to fund community services and programs. Mobilized 938 volunteers to make an impact in our community. The Heartland United Way awarded $30,000 in Community Impact Grants to Hamilton, Howard and Merrick Counties.
Specifically to Hamilton County, Community Impact Grants were given to these local programs: Aurora Child Care, Giltner Little Stingers, Edgerton Explorit After School Program, Hamilton Recreation Youth Center, Hamilton County 4-H Council, TeamMates of Aurora, Youth Engaged in Technology & Innovation Heartland United Way was also a sponsor of Go Big Give held on May 2nd, 2019, which raised over $1,065,000.00 for 130 local non-profit organizations. If you are interested in participating in the many events they hold throughout the year, you can find more information at https://www.heartlandunitedway.org/event-main. Some of the upcoming events include:- 32nd Annual Golf Tournament – 06/03/2019
- Tour of Agencies – August 2019
- Scoops Ice Cream Parlor (at the State Fair) – 08/23/2019 – 09/02/2019
- Food 4 Families Food Drive – 09/02/2019 – 09/13/2019
- Imagination Bacon Event – 10/12/2019
- 12 Keys of Christmas – December 2019
For more information about Heartland United Way, check them out on auroranebraska.com under the business directory.
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