A Year in Review

by Dalton Black, executive director

What an incredible year it has been! I can’t believe we are nearing the ending of 2022. My staff, board of directors and I have been busy this year as we’ve navigated uncertainty around COVID-19, growth in our organization, and the increase of hardships facing our community. Despite all that, I’ve been incredibly pleased with what all we’ve been able to accomplish. I wanted to take a moment to recall all of these milestones because it’s easy, even for me, to forget to celebrate our wins.

Operations:

We wrapped up our 2021 annual campaign in January by raising $333,000 here in Harvey County. This has been the most fruitful campaign we’ve had since I arrived in September 2020. All of the other accomplishments from this year have been made possible by the dedication of our community members and donors, and the success of our 2021 annual campaign. 

After our successful campaign, we hired our fabulous development coordinator, Sheila Kelley, as a permanent member of staff. It didn’t take long to realize our office at 103 E. Broadway was just too small to accommodate two staff members. In February, Sheila and I packed up and moved Harvey County United Way to 500 N. Main, Ste. 206. We love it here!

With Sheila came some new, great ideas to engage in our community. We launched The United Way blog in February and have been providing long-form content for our community to learn more about issues facing our neighbors, the programs intended to provide aid, and even some behind the scenes information about United Way. We also started a new outreach and fundraising effort called Dining for Donations which allows area restaurants to donate a certain portion of their sales from a day to Harvey County United Way. We’ve enjoyed our days sitting at the restaurants welcoming guests and meeting more of our community members.

Lastly, this fall we were able to hire a part-time Digital Marketing Intern through the CTE program at Newton High School. Zack Dauer has been a great asset to our team and has kept our social media pages running smoothly. We are thankful for his help this semester, and wish him all the best on his next adventure!

Community Investment:

One of the essential parts of business for us is our Community Investment grants. Funds for these grants come from the money raised during our annual campaign and are part of our promise to ensure that money raised in Harvey County stays in Harvey County. This year, we were able to grant over $170,000 to 20 local non-profits, the highest amount since pre-pandemic. These organizations are working tirelessly to meet the needs of our community in the areas of health, education, and financial stability. We thank them for their partnership!

Community Impact:

This is one of the areas we’ve been growing in the past few years, and I’m excited at all the things we were able to do for Harvey County in our community impact efforts. First, we made a huge effort to address early literacy in our community. We hosted our annual KidFEST event in April and passed out free books to more than 360 children across the county. Additionally, we spent all summer pushing out messages about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and saw an incredible increase in children signing up for the program. 

Next, we focused on our teachers and how we could support them as they geared up for a new school year. We were able to distribute mini-grants to more than 300 educators across all five school districts in Harvey County. Each grant allowed educators to purchase supplies they needed for their classrooms. This was our second year of the Tools for Schools program and I’m excited to see how we can continue to grow support for our teachers who are so essential to our children’s success. 

This year, we decided to rethink how we invest a pool of funds back into our community. Our Community Impact Giving program allows us to look at projects or programs as they arise, determine how best for us to be involved, and work alongside our partners to bring these projects to life. Some of our notable contributions from community impact have:

• helped start a food and clothing closet for students,
• helped provide WiFi hotspots so all individuals have access to the internet,
• provided transportation services for individuals so they could participate in financial literacy courses,
• brought a financial literacy program to high school students,
• and provided basic necessities to victims of a Newton apartment fire.

Lastly, we have received more and more calls and emails this year of families in our community needing assistance with rent and/or utilities. It became apparent that, although there are places for them to get help, there weren’t enough options or money to keep people safe in their homes. We have worked hard this year to help in this area, and we are excited to have received a grant that will make it possible. Beginning in 2023, we will launch the Helping Hands Fund which will provide support to individuals struggling with rent and utility payments. Since we know the need is great, we will ask each requestor a series of questions to determine the amount of support we are able to provide. This will ensure we are assisting the largest number of families in our community,  and those who have exhausted all other options. I’m really looking forward to being able to provide this extra help in Harvey County.

What’s next?

You’ve read this far so you’re probably wondering what we have planned for the next year. We are nearing the end of our 2022 Annual Campaign, and what we do in 2023 is dependent on the funds we are able to raise. There have been major changes to some of our largest employers this year, and unfortunately, that has changed some of the philanthropic support we’ve been receiving. My team and I are working hard to fundraise so that we can continue all the things we’ve done in 2022, and bring new projects to the county this year. 

We’ve sat in a number of meetings where we’ve discussed the challenges in Harvey County. From transportation to child care, we are examining these issues and brainstorming ways to make life better for our community. The truth is, we won’t be able to do that without support from people like you. Community members who are willing to step up and donate are the ones who are making possible these initiatives that will address the issues facing our county. We need you more than ever so we can be more than an organization with “big dreams.” We want to make those dreams a reality. We want to create a healthy, happy and thriving community for all of us to live in.

We hope you’ll join us today, and thank you for all you’ve done to support us so far. You are what makes Harvey County great.