Mission Statement
Mission: Uniting people and resources to improve lives and strengthen communities in southwest Minnesota.
United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. In southwest Minnesota, we focus on health, education, financial stability, hunger and safety & well-being.
Impact and Programs
Accomplishments
Here are a few examples of community impact made this past year by United Way of Southwest Minnesota:
We invested $45,455 in Health, $93,920 in Education, $45,000 in Financial Stability, $90,825 in Hunger, $82,500 in Safety & Well-Being and $19,081 in Small Grants impacting 51,000 people.
Our Imagination Library Program currently provides books to 2,731 local children on a monthly basis. Since we began sponsoring the program in 2005, 5,578 local children have graduated from the program, and 347,368 books have been delivered to homes throughout our service area.
Our Stuff the Bus Initiative engaged dozens of volunteers to collect, sort, pack and distribute supplies and backpacks to K-12 students. In 2017, we provided 62,181 school supplies to more than 4,000 students attending 26 area schools.
We conducted our first poverty simulation to help individuals better understand poverty by stepping into the real-life situations of others struggling with, and living in, poverty. 100% of participants have developed an increased sense of compassion, empathy and understanding for those living in poverty and almost 30% of participants have used information learned at the poverty simulation when making decisions or developing responsive and inclusive policies at their organizations.
Current Goals
United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. In southwest Minnesota, we focus on health, education, financial stability, hunger and safety & well-being.
Strengthen, evaluate and review United Way of Southwest Minnesota Community Partner programs, capabilities, impact and needs.
Strengthen, evaluate and review Internal United Way Programs for effectiveness and impact.
Deliver a Regional Initiative that engages volunteers and contributes tangible community impact to benefit the people of southwest Minnesota.
Strategically serve the vast Geography of our service area effectively and efficiently to maximize local impact and return on investment.
Engage diverse Volunteers in meaningful opportunities to maximize benefits across southwest Minnesota.
Community or Constituency Served
Our service area includes people living in the following school districts: Canby; Clarkfield, Dawson/Boyd; Echo, Fulda; Hendricks; Ivanhoe; Lake Benton; Lakeview; Lynd; Marshall; Milroy; Minneota; Murray County Central; Russell-Tyler-Ruthton; Tracy Area; Westbrook-Walnut Grove; and Yellow Medicine East, including all private and charter schools.
People living in the following towns are included in our service area: Arco; Avoca; Balaton; Chandler; Currie; Fulda; Garvin; Hendricks; Iona; Ivanhoe; Lake Benton; Lake Wilson; Lynd; Russell; Ruthton; Slayton; Tracy; Tyler; Walnut Grove; Westbrook; Boyd; Canby; Clarkfield; Cottonwood; Dawson; Echo; Ghent; Granite Falls; Hanley Falls; Marshall; Milroy; Minneota; Porter; Taunton; Wood Lake.
Geographic Area Served
We serve people living in the following counties in Minnesota: Lincoln, Lyon, Murray, Yellow Medicine and portions of Cottonwood, Lac qui Parle, Nobles and Redwood.
