September 2019 Newsletter
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Dear Friends of Batavia United Way........................
It is that time of year already…..kids are back to school, temperatures are changing, it is getting dark earlier and pumpkin spice is everywhere!
It is also the time of year the Batavia United Way Board and our excellent team of volunteers move into full gear for our busy season. Our allocations team, led by Kristen Davis, is finalizing grant awards for the next fiscal year beginning 10/1/2019. Each of the 17 area non profits we support will tell you they are very grateful that we can help cover the costs of programs and services for their Batavia clients.
To put this in perspective, note that this year alone....
- 66 Batavians received emergency housing at Lazarus House
- 3,499 Meals on Wheels were delivered to Batavians
- 1,866 Batavians received counseling and support at TCFS
That is just a sampling. We fund medical and dental care, early childhood assessments, summer camp for low-income kids, suicide prevention and social emotional wellness programs for at-risk students, emergency utility, rent assistance and the list goes on.
Thank you to those who generously donate directly, sponsor or attend our events, or give through corporate Employee Giving Programs. We can assure you that your support is invaluable, especially to those in need and/or crisis.
We also understand time is priceless. Thank you to our volunteers who invest time and talent to our programs and events as well.
Please read on to see what is happening in our community. Stay tuned for holiday plans for Adopt A Family.
We appreciate you and thank you!
Melinda Kintz
Executive Director
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Welcome New Board members!
Batavia United Way is growing! As we continue to expand our programs and services for Batavians, we feel the need to grow our Board of Directors. We are pleased to announce the addition of the following members to the Batavia United Way Board effective August 21, 2019.
Kari Edwards is a Realtor with Keller Williams, and she and her family have lived in Batavia for 18 years. She has been active in the Batavia Mothers' Club for 9 years, including Auxillary and several leadership positions. Kari was also a volunteer at our first Riverain Day of Service.
Kathy Evangelista and her family have been Batavia residents for 14 years. Her background includes work as a Speech Language Pathologist specializing in autism and 15 years as an adjunct professor at Elmhurst College. She has been active in Batavia Mothers' Club, volunteering at Batavia Clothes Closet and at her children's schools.
Pam Kent and her family have lived in Batavia for 16 years, and she is employed by Insurance and Dealer Services in Batavia. She also has been very active in local schools, Treasurer for Batavia Academy of Dance Competition team for 6 years and a leader in Batavia Mothers' Club and Auxillary.
All three women have a passion for our community and a heart for service, two key qualifications for a Batavia United Way Board position. Each has reviewed our current programming and our goals for the future, and they are excited to get started!
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Service Projects at Riverain
Batavian Debbie Rymut is an employee of
UBS Financial
in Oakbrook Terrace. When this business was looking for an opportunity to give back to the community, Debbie suggested doing a service project for Batavia United Way. Residents of Riverain, low income senior housing were the lucky reicpients. UBS employees collected, organized and filled 84 grocery bags of basic supplies, food items and treats for Riverain residents. Special thanks to Batavia McDonald's for generously donating gift cards for each goody bag and to Hollywood Casino for donating new decks of playing cards. For those residents who were unable to pick up their bags personally, UBS employees knocked on doors and delivered them. Everyone was overwhelmed at the generosity.
Timing was perfect as BUW’s Riverain liaison Cindy Allen was able to talk with residents about a fall work day that she is coordinating based on the success of our Spring event. Once again, Riverain residents will be able to sign up to receive help with odd jobs and chores that they are unable to manage themselves. Forty-six apartments received help during the spring project. If you are interested in this project or future Riverain projects, email us at info@bataviaunitedway.org. Batavia Chamber Ambassadors and several KW Realty employees have already committed!
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Batavia United Way spearheaded the mission of bringing 211 phone service to Batavia and in the process, secured this service for all of Kane County. Simply call 211 from any phone 24/7/365, and you will be connected to a LIVE specialist who can refer you to over 14,000 services in our county.
Watch this 2.35 minute video to hear more about this service and the donors who funded it.
https://vimeo.com/295802345. It also features our own Rick Pumo.
Call center data tell us that hundreds of calls are coming in each month with numbers expected to escalate this winter. The top reasons for calls are utility assistance, rent assistance and emotional support. Known as the number to call when you don't know who to call, 211 has received calls requesting help with infant car seats, finding senior centers, home maintenance, ramps for handicapped, medical care, sign language interpretation and much more.
If you have a business or club in Kane County that would like a 211 presentation for your employees, please contact us at
info@bataviaunitedway.org
.
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United way Fall Campaign
YES! You are seeing double!
This fall, FOUR generous businesses will be partners in a "Double your Donation" campaign to support Batavia United Way programs and grants for the upcoming year. Each business partner is offering to match YOU, dollar for dollar, until we reach total donations of $20,000. This campaign will run October through November, including Giving Tuesday! Donations can be made by mail, on our website or on the Batavia United Way Facebook page.
Names of our partners will be released soon, so watch your mail or our website to see who these challengers are! Thank you for trusting us to be good stewards of your generosity. Together, we are making great things happen!
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Back to School !
We are pleased to announce that Batavia United Way will fund 13 Success By 6 Kindergarten Enrichment Scholarships for the 2019-20 school year. We have several more children on a wait list as classrooms are full.
Grants from Batavia Mothers' Club, Batavia Township, individual donations and proceeds from a very fun BINGO event enabled us to fund all qualified requests. The extra time scholarship recipients spend learning and practicing skills and building confidence will set the stage for closing gaps by first grade.
Success By 6 is a restricted fund. As such, 100% of donations marked for this program go right to the scholarships
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Oktoberfest- Volunteers Needed!
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Batavia United Way is pleased to once again partner with Batavia Main Street by staffing the ticket sales tent and beer stations at Oktoberfest on Friday, September 27.
Our teams of energetic volunteers will be working for United Way tip donations while assisting with this fun event. We are in need of additional volunteers for the ticket tent. Contact us if you can help! Main Street will reward you with an event shirt and beverage tickets.
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BATAVIA UNITED WAY
5K walk/run 10K run
October 26, 2019
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Lace up your shoes, and get ready for some fun!
Join us for our annual morning of exercise and donuts, exercise and burritos or exercise and bloody mary bar! We will be providing fresh fall air, a scenic route along the Fox River, goody bags and event shirts for those register by deadline. Also, we have a costume contest for those who dare to run/walk with Halloween spirit! This is a chip-timed event, and we are pleased to welcome back those business who send teams of employees to promote friendship and wellness. Also, thanks to their dedicated coaches, we welcome running clubs from several Batavia schools.
For more information and to register, go to
www.5kbatavia.com
. We look forward to seeing you on River Street. All proceeds go back to the community!
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DAY OF CARING - LEAF RAKING
November 3rd is targeted to be our annual leaf raking event for senior citizens and those who are disabled. Teams of high school volunteers, Batavia Youth Baseball families and others, fan out across Batavia to rake leaves to the curb before the last City of Batavia leaf pick up. If you know of anyone who could use this help, please contact us! This link will take you to the Sign Up Genius if you would like to rake:
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FREE HEALTH SCREENINGS!
On SEPTEMBER 21, Walmart is hosting a Wellness Day event that you don’t want to miss! They’re offering free cholesterol and glucose tests, blood pressure screenings, giveaways and more! Before you visit, download the FamilyWize Prescription Discount Card. Show it at the pharmacy to save on your prescriptions.
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Batavia United Way], [P.O. Box 372], [630-877-2780], [www.batavia unitedway.org]
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