Become a United Way Volunteer!
Give an hour. Give a Saturday. Give your best.
There are many volunteer options available every day. When you volunteer, you’re providing valuable resources to DeKalb County organizations. At United Way, we make volunteering fun, easy and accessible to everyone.
June 22, 2017
Day of Caring is an annual, organized day of volunteer service. Approximately 200 community volunteers complete projects at our 30 nonprofit work sites in our community.
Local agencies submit requests for volunteer help on a broad variety of projects ranging from reading to children, delivering meals to the elderly, repairing and painting houses, planting gardens, and working in agency offices. For more information, contact us at 815.756.7522 today!
THANKS to our 2017 Day of Caring Sponsors (to date):
Call 815.756.7522 today! Only (6) $500 sponsorship slots remain.
There are many ways you can get involved in making a difference in our community:
Corporate/Group Volunteer Opportunities
Kishwaukee United Way can help your company align its philanthropic goals with strategic volunteerism. Strengthen your company or group, develop employees and members and support your community through volunteering. Let us help you organize your team! Contact us at 815.756.7522 today!
Individual Volunteer Opportunities
Kishwaukee United Way can connect you to a volunteer opportunity that best matches your goals & passions. To learn more about local volunteer opportunities, contact us at 815.756.7522 today!
Money Smart Week DeKalb, LaSalle & Lee
In 2011, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)- Chicago approached Kishwaukee United Way and other community organizations about coming together to increase the number of families eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in DeKalb County. Each year, hundreds of residents miss out on funds due to them as a part of their annual tax return. The result was the formation of the DeKalb County CA$H (Creating Assets, Savings & Hope) Coalition, which has since evolved in to Money Smart Week DeKalb, Lee & LaSalle Counties. The group’s mission is to provide educational tools & community resources for family asset development through the claiming of tax credits, quality volunteer tax return preparation, and other asset building options like Money Smart Week. Coalition members include Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois, Kishwaukee United Way, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), Northern Illinois University’s Office of Student Academic Success and College of Business, and DeKalb County Community Action Department and many others.KUW Agency Project App_2016 rev4212016 FINAL
Last Full Week in April
Full event listing at www.moneysmartweek.niu.edu
Money Smart Week is a public awareness campaign designed to help consumers better manage their personal finances. This is achieved through the collaboration and coordination effort of organizations across the country including businesses, financial institutions, schools, libraries, not-for-profits, government agencies and the media. These groups come together once a year to stress the importance of financial literacy, inform consumers about where they can get help and provide free educational seminars and activities throughout the week.
First launched in DeKalb County in 2013, 18 financial education sessions were offered with just about 50 community members attending. 2014 we worked hard to expand our sessions to more than 60 and over 1,200 community members attended or more sessions!
We invite you to JOIN US as a Partner–offer to present a workshop, provide a program venue, serve on the steering committee, or be a financial supporter. Contact us at 815.756.7522 today!
January 2017 – April 2017
Another initiative of Money Smart Week DeKalb is the recruitment of volunteers to help with tax preparation at tax time. These volunteers provide free help to hundreds of individuals & families across DeKalb County.
You don’t need to be an accountant to volunteer. Training programs are offered to interested individuals before you start preparing taxes. To become a volunteer & help prepare taxes, contact us at 815.756.7522 today! For a link to DeKalb County 2016 Free Tax Preparation Sites click here.
Thank you for your willingness to LIVE UNITED by giving, advocating, and volunteering!
Volunteer Recognition
Each year at Kishwaukee United Way’s Annual Meeting a portion of our program is dedicated to recognizing outstanding volunteers who have given back to our community and Kishwaukee United Way via two volunteer awards:
Leo Olson Award
The Leo Olson Award was established in 1989 to honor Leo Olson for his many contributions to, what was then, the DeKalb United Way. Leo’s commitment to the organization started in the early 70’s when he was recruited to co-chair our annual campaign. Following that, he served as Campaign Chair and President, and remained actively involved in local United Way efforts until his death in 1989. The award named for Leo recognizes each new nominee’s commitment to United Way and an unflagging spirit of volunteerism and service.
Listing of previous Leo Olson Awardees (PDF)
Spirit of Caring Award
The Spirit of Caring Award is designed to help honor those who spend countless hours in support of our mission: to improve lives by sharing community resources. Kishwaukee United Way recognizes the efforts of volunteers and staff of organizations and we are taking this opportunity to honor them and their efforts.
Kishwaukee United Way solicits annual nominations in two categories: 1) outstanding staff or volunteers from nonprofit agencies in our community and 2) outstanding community volunteers.
