New Year, New Goals!
As we look back on a year beset with many challenges, we are grateful for your support. We simply cannot thank you enough. Your support for United Way of Lakeshore allowed us to respond to the huge needs in our community during the past year and set the stage for an even stronger 2023. We know there is a lot of work ahead, but we must also recognize your generosity and community commitment, which made it possible to: 

  • Build a skilled and educated workforce - We see continuous improvement in graduation dropout rates in our region and growth in the numbers for skilled certificates achieved.
  • Increase child care solutions - More child care spots opened, increased subsidies were secured for our working families, and we increased supports to retain child care providers.
  • Remove barriers to employment - We served hundreds of individuals and families with emergency needs, food, transportation, and housing.

Thanks to you, we’ve been able to help our community navigate ongoing uncertainty. But the need is far from over. In 2023, your United Way plans to expand efforts to:

  • Prevent and end homelessness - We are launching our Safe & Stable Homes initiative to end homelessness and create housing solutions in our community.
  • Ensure every child’s success - We will take a deeper dive into changing the odds for all of our kids with a focus on building our Success by Six initiative.
MySmartMoney Gives Expert Advice in Getting Your Budget Ready for the New Year!
It’s a new year, which means new financial goals. According to CNBC, nearly half (49%) of Americans want to save more money, and another third (33%) want to either improve their credit score or create a personal budget. MySmartMoney is a product of United Way and the SunTrust Foundation. This tool is designed to help guide, advise, and lead people along their road to financial security and wellness. The program is divided into two sections “Immediate Financial Needs” and “Planning Secure Futures."

MySmartMoney has workshops on several topics! Check out the workshops below:
  • Emergency Expenses
  • Identity Theft
  • Natural Disasters & Finance
  • Passing of a family member
  • Affordable Housing
  • Affordable Healthcare
  • Struggling To Pay Bills
  • Managing Income Workshops
  • Affordable Financial Products
  • Savings for Beginners
  • Debt Maintenance
  • Improving Credit Scores
  • Living On Your Own
  • Starting A Family
Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. With A Day Of Service
Join us in honoring Martin Luther King Jr. with a day of service through United Way of the Lakeshore. On Monday, January 16, volunteers will be prepping trail mix for sack suppers for our AmeriCorps Seniors station partner Kids’ Food Basket. These sack suppers are distributed to 1,700 children facing food insecurity through our local school systems.

You can get involved in two different ways! We are looking for donations of products to help make the trail mix. These items include mini pretzels, oat cereal (Cheerios type), raisins, cheese crackers, or sandwhich size zip lock bags. The other way to get involved is to join us in the preparation of the trail mix. Volunteers will serve from 10:30 AM - 1:00 PM at the United Way of the Lakeshore office, on January 16. If you would like to donate for this service project or volunteer, sign up below!
Homelessness Survey to be Conducted in Muskegon County on January 25!
On Wednesday, January 25, the Muskegon County Homeless Continuum of Care Network (CoC) is conducting the winter Point in Time (PIT) survey. The PIT survey is conducted nationwide by communities to help analyze the number of people who are homeless and to help support requests to private and public entities for funding for other housing and services, all with the goal of ending homelessness.

We need your help! Volunteers are needed to help our community take to the streets and help identify these individuals who may be homeless and in need of services. These volunteers work with the CoC Outreach Committee to learn how to conduct the survey and be assigned an area. This survey will begin at 8:00 PM starting at 1128 Roberts Street, Muskegon MI, 49442. To find out more information click the button below or email the CoC Homeless & Housing Network Coordinator, Miranda Paggeot, at miranda@unitedwaylakeshore.org.
Mark Your Calendar For Muskegon County's Black History Month Kickoff with the Black Man Documentary!
United Way of the Lakeshore, Hackley Public Library, Muskegon Area District Libraries, Muskegon Art Museum, and the Jon Covington Group are pleased to announce the premiere of BLACK MAN at the Frauenthal Center on Sunday, February 5 at 3:00 PM. Following the premiere will be a Q&A session and reception. This premiere is a kickoff of a county-wide effort to celebrate and honor Black History Month.

This premiere is a FREE community event. The documentary has placed in several film festivals across the country including the Capital City Black Film Festival. It is described as a raw, real, riveting kaleidoscopic view of several Black Men in a small town ages 21 to 91 sharing their thoughts on life, love, longings, losses, and America. The men highlighted throughout the film are all Muskegon natives! A rough cut of the documentary first premiered in 2020 with the Muskegon Art Museum.

"If you saw the film in 2020, you haven't seen the film. It is elevated and refined to its full form" says Jon Covington, Producer.
BLACK MAN Trailer
Last Issue Correction:

It has come to our attention that there was a small error in the last issue of Friday Five in our Beards for Books Highlight. Please note that $90,000 was raised for our littlest learners thanks to the Beards for Books participants ($30,000), Cannon Muskegon ($25,000), and the generous match of Mike & Kay Olthoff ($35,000). Thank you all who were involved for your generous support!
Our 2022 Community Campaign is off to a great start and our companies are boosting employee morale by having fun! A huge shout out to our partners who completed their Workplace Campaigns this past week: Access Health, Nichols, Raymond James, Rehmann, RENK, Trace Analytical Labs, Tyler Sales Co., and UA Local # 174. A big thanks to our partners who are currently running their Workplace Campaign! 

Interested in boosting employee morale while supporting your community? Consider hosting a Workplace Campaign! Contact J.J. Lewis at (231) 332-4007 or james@unitedwaylakeshore.org to learn more!
Ride United Planning Committee: Ride United returns to the Lakeshore this summer/fall! We are currently looking for volunteers to serve on the planning committee, to help with logistics, marketing, planning, sponsorships, and more. If you’d like to learn more about this exciting volunteer opportunity, please reach out to J.J. Lewis, Chief Development Officer, at james@unitedwaylakeshore.org.
In 2022, VITA West Michigan helped prepare 1,638 tax returns for families across the lakeshore!
Stay Up To Date On Social Media!
Get the updates that you WANT & not the ones you don't. Use the "Update Profile" link at the bottom of this email to subscribe or unsubscribe from our various mailing lists! This allows you to keep in the know about topics that are important to you.

United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. We have one life. To live better, we must LIVE UNITED®.