October 2021 Newsletter
In this issue:
  • A Message from United Way President/CEO
  • Jake Dodds Benefit Concert
  • United Way Selects Winners of National Service Day Recognition
  • Volunteer Dubuque (formally GetConnected) is now live!
  • John Deere Burger Night - Rescheduled
  • United Way Receives Donation of Books
  • Campaign Updates
  • Upcoming Events
  • United Way Internship Openings
A Message from our President/CEO:
Dear Friends of United Way,

This month has been full of outreach to our business partners to make plans for successful United Way workplace campaigns, helping us reach our goal of raising $1.2M to support the health, education, and financial stability of those in need in our community. United Way workplace campaigns are an opportunity for businesses to offer employees the chance to learn about the wonderful programs United Way has vetted and invests in, and for them to have the opportunity to donate to support our mission, often through payroll deduct. Whether your workplace has a United Way campaign or not, you can still get involved in giving, advocating, and volunteering! Here are a few questions we hear during workplace campaigns:

  • Does it matter if I can only donate a little?
Every dollar matters! This is the power of giving through United Way! Your dollars are matched with others, helping to impact over 55,000 lives last year alone. Plus, when you are giving through payroll deduct, giving $1, $5, or $20 a paycheck makes a huge impact to our community!

  • Does the money I give stay local?
Yes! 98% of all funds raised stay in our 10-county, tri-state coverage area.

  • Why wouldn’t I just donate directly to the organizations?
You can certainly donate directly to any organization you are passionate about and many of our donors do that in addition to supporting United Way. However, one benefit of donating through United Way is our nonprofit partners can operate successful programs due to United Way’s commitment to a larger, consistent, two-year investment. United Way invests in local programs developed to address a critical community need. As a nonprofit, getting donations from anywhere is wonderful, but often those donations are used for organizational expenses since they are typically smaller gifts that come intermittently. The average United Way annual allocation to our funded partners is nearly $28,000, with our lowest annual investment of approximately $5,000 and the highest annual allocation of nearly $85,000. That kind of consistent investment helps create a foundation for quality programs to address local needs.

If you are employed at a business that holds an annual UW workplace campaign, you should be proud to work at a place that invests back into the community. We know getting a paycheck is great, but doesn’t it feel good to also work at an organization that gives back? Thank you to our businesses who are running or planning their United Way workplace campaigns this month! 

Sincerely,
Danielle Peterson
President/CEO
Jake Dodds Benefit Concert
On Friday, October 1, United Way rocked out with Jake Dodds and the Adam Bartels Band for a concert benefitting United Way!

Thank you to everyone who attended the concert and the VIP after-party at the Holiday Inn Dubuque/Galena. All ticket sales benefit United Way and the 55,000 lives we impact across the tri-states.

Thank you to Dubuque Bank & Trust for sponsoring this event and Cancion Tequila for your support. Also, the event would not have been possible without our in-kind sponsors: Five Flags Center, Holiday Inn Dubuque/Galena, Radio Dubuque, Telegraph Herald, and Zazou's Bridal Boutique & Tuxedos.
Photos contributed by Christine Rapp
United Way Selects Winners of National Service Day Recognition
United Way of Dubuque Area Tri-States is proud to be part of the National Service Partnership supporting volunteerism in our community. Our Executive Board had the honor of selecting the award winners for this year's National Service Day Recognition ceremony to honor members of our community who go above and beyond to make an impact. The 2021 award recipients were:
  • The Volunteer Service Impact Award recognizes an individual who serves as a volunteer whose service has made a significant impact on the organization(s) for which they serve/served
  • Award recipient: Laura Feipel, Dubuque Regional Humane Society
  • The National Service Impact Award recognizes an individual who is an alumni or current National Service member whose service made a significant impact on the site for which they have served
  • Award recipient: Tessie Strohm, City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program: Creating Opportunities
  • The Champion of Service Award recognizes individuals or agencies that have demonstrated ongoing and sustained involvement and/or advocacy with National Service Programs
  • Award recipients: Mayor Roy D. Buol, City of Dubuque (2021), and Kim Stickney, City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program Assistant (2020)

Congratulations to this year's winners and thank you for your service!
You can view the full program below, and visit here for more information.
Volunteer Dubuque (formally GetConnected) is Now Live!
Our online volunteer portal has rebranded! We have switched from "GetConnected" to "Volunteer Dubuque" in partnership with the City of Dubuque and their AmeriCorps Volunteer program.
Sign up and check out hundreds of volunteer opportunities across the tri-state area: https://www.volunteerdbq.com/
John Deere Burger Night - Rescheduled
Our upcoming John Deere Dubuque Works Burger Night has been postponed. The new date for the event is Thursday, February 3 at the Asbury Eagles Club. Keep an eye out on our social media pages and this newsletter for more information!
United Way Receives Donation of Books
Clare Gill, District Representative for Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, brought in a donation of books to United Way to be shared through the Little Free Libraries, operated by Women United. Who knew these kinds of books would be at the Library of Congress but we are sure grateful for the donation!
Clare is pictured with United Way’s President/CEO, Danielle Peterson
United Way Supports Local UAW Workers
United Way of Dubuque Area Tri-States supports the 1,388 local UAW 94 members who are on strike.

If you or your family need assistance, you can call the 24/7, multilingual 211 Resource & Referral Hotline.

Call: 2-1-1 (landline), 1-800-244-7431 (cell).

Text: Zip code to 898211

Download 211 Iowa app
Campaign Updates
As we start our 2021-2022 campaign year, we are excited to share about our collaboration and work with great businesses and our Funded Partners. During the month of October, the following businesses ran campaigns showing their support of United Way:

Alliant Credit Union, Alliant Energy, Andersen Corp./Eagle Window & Door, Area Substance Abuse Council, Black Hills Energy, Colony Brands/Swiss Colony, Dupaco Community Credit Union, GreenState Credit Union, Hawkeye Area Community Action Program, Klauer Manufacturing, MidwestOne Bank, Myers-Cox Co., Nationwide Foundation, O'Connor & English Insurance Agency, Plumbers & Steamfitters Local #125, Progressive Processing/Hormel, and UnityPoint Finley Hospital

Looking for creative ideas for your campaign? Look here on our campaign toolkit or email [email protected]

Thank you all for showing what it means to LIVE UNITED!
Dimensional Brewing Tip Night
Dimensional Brewing Company Donating Tips to United Way!

Support United Way by grabbing a drink at Dimensional Brewing on Thursday, December 2! The bartending team will be donating 100% of tips from the evening to United Way of Dubuque Area Tri-States, which supports over 55,000 local lives in our community.

Our theme this year is UNITED WE CAN and we are asking people to bring a canned food item when they stop by! United We can combat food scarcity in our community.
Join the United Way Team!
Interns Wanted!
We accept interns year-round for two different positions within our office.

Community Building & Impact/Volunteer Engagement Intern

Development & Marketing Intern

Why Intern at United Way?
"Interning at the United Way of Dubuque Area Tri-States was a great experience! They were flexible with my schedule and worked with me to ensure that my internship met the requirements set forth by my college for a Public Relations major. They allowed me the opportunity to work on a variety of different projects to build my portfolio and I was able to learn a lot about the world of nonprofit marketing! It was a great way to earn college credit while making an impact on my community!"- Jenna Meehan, Summer 2020 Development & Marketing Intern
Volunteer Opportunities
Second Autumn Cleanup

Rake leaves. Wood chip areas. Cut back plants and shrubs. Bring your own gloves. Bring a leaf rake if you have one. Free lunch at noon. 
Saturday, October 30
9:00 AM - Noon
Food Prep

Located at 398 Main St (Dubuque Rescue Mission)- Proceed to the door to the right of the thrift store entrance and take elevator to 2nd floor. 
 
Volunteers needed each week to help prepare 150+ meals which include burritos, sandwiches, fruit, snacks, and more!  We will pre-bag all items except the sandwiches and burritos. We will also have some boxes to fill with supplies for shelters and private locations.
 
We will require all volunteers to wear a mask. If you do not have a mask, please let us know, and one will be provided. Gloves will also be provided, and we will follow food handling safety guidelines.
AmeriCorps Members - PT/FT

The City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Program leverages Dubuque Community members to build capacity with local non-profits, government departments and school districts to solve some of Dubuque’s most pressing needs. The Program’s current priorities are our Partners in Learning Project, focusing on Every Child | Reads (previously known as the Dubuque Campaign for Grade-Level Reading) and our Creating Opportunities Project, focusing on building capacity around teen programming.

Find out more here
Whether you make a one-time gift or set up recurring monthly payments, every donation matters.
We are stronger together!