Campaign Brochure

A young working mother called Love INC. for help.  Pregnant and diagnosed with a heart condition, she was hospitalized.  Being off work for an extended period of time, she received a shut-off notice from the utility company.  Love INC. stepped in to help cover her utilities.  Today she’s back to work and looking to “Pay it Forward” to help someone else. 

Foster Grandparents serve as volunteers in the classroom.  A teacher recently said, “My Foster Grandparent has really made an impact in the life of one of my fourth grade student’s.  At the beginning of the year he couldn’t get any work completed.  Now he’s doing so much better. The foster Grandparent sits and encourages him.  She is genuinely concerned.  Now he’s working hard, caring more, and even attends after school support programs.  It’s wonderful to see the children return to class with their work completed, a smile on their face, and a spring in their step.”

A young couple came to Cooperative Ministry in need of assistance.  Everything they owned fit in their old car.  Though homeless, they were seeking help to get jobs.  What they received was temporary shelter in the form of a tent, a phone card, and some food.  Within a week, jobs were found for both of them.  Cooperative Ministry continued to provide support.  The couple has moved on to better jobs that provide higher wages, and are now self-sufficient.  They have returned the tent and are living in a small home.  They still drive their old beater, but are hoping soon to afford a newer car.

At Friends Ministry, our Self-sufficiency training works to give low-income individuals and families a way to get assistance they need, while maintaining their dignity.  For every bill we pay for someone, the recipient is required to work at Friends Farm.  Steve is one of these people.  He says, “I was very excited to have an opportunity to work at Friends Farm.  The Farm was a place to learn about gardening and I was able to pay towards my electric bill.  For the first time, I felt like a man of my household and have more confidence to work toward my goals.”

Randy had been staying at the New Hope Center in Cadillac while his foot healed.  He’s now able to get around, but needed help with his driver’s license renewal and some car repairs.  He said, ”Friends Ministry helped me and I was able to apply for a truck driving job.  Now I’m working to move out of the homeless shelter.  I now have hope for a better future.  Thank you.”

The Manton Senior Center has become “my home away from home.”  As a widow with no family nearby, I look forward to the friendly smiles and fellowship, and especially the delicious, home-cooked meals.  This is often our major meal for my day.  There are always many seniors gathered and sharing good times.  We were recently reminded the center is supported by United Way donors. I would like to thank all the United Way donors for their support.

Recently a mother and her 3-year-old daughter who had been staying at our women’s shelter moved into permanent housing.  They had been living in a very toxic, stressful environment with extended family.  The mom has a disability and came to the shelter with a number of challenges that needed to be addressed before she could obtain housing.  During her time here, with our assistance and guidance, she resolved each of those barriers and accomplished all that was required of her to obtain an apartment.  She finally achieved her goal of permanent, stable housing for her and her daughter.

We recently helped a father who was a victim of domestic violence.   The OASIS Shelter staff guided and supported this father of two, while the OASIS Home Visitor acted as his advocated.  We continue to provide guidance as he works through the many complex personal, legal and single parenting issues.  With United Way donor funding, OASIS is able to provide services to families like this when they don’t meet the exacting requirements of state funders.  It is our commit to fill in the gaps that other programming cannot fill.  United Way donors support our programs and help the families we serve.

The Imagination Library program is currently mailing over 2,000 books each month to area children.  Over 100,000 books have been distributed since the program began over seven years ago.  By investing in Imagination Library our community invests in our next generation and distinguishes itself as a place which values education. This makes our communities a better place to live and raise a family.