United Is The Way | Opening Doors | June 2026

June 2026 · Community Update

Healthy | Youth | Financial

Save the Date

DAY OF CARING & CAMPAIGN KICKOFF

Mark your calendar! Our annual Day of Caring and Live United Celebration is coming up. Join us for a morning of hands-on service, celebration, and community. Details coming soon!

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Organization News

YOU'RE INVITED: OPEN HOUSE & RIBBON CUTTING

We've been so excited to share our new home with you! Please join us for an Open House and Ribbon Cutting at 101 N. Parker Drive, Janesville, WI.

Come see our new space, meet the team, and celebrate this exciting new chapter together. Light refreshments will be served. We can't wait to welcome you!

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A Message from Leadership

SEEING IT FIRSTHAND CHANGES EVERYTHING.

This month, our team had the privilege of visiting several of our funded partners across the Blackhawk Region. What we saw reinforced something we already believed, but seeing it in person makes it real in a way that data alone never can.

We met staff who show up every single day with extraordinary dedication. We saw programs that are changing lives; one family, one student, one neighbor at a time. And we were reminded of why this work matters so deeply.

"When you see the food pantry shelves, the literacy classrooms, and the faces of the young people being served: you understand. This is what community looks like."

- Dr. Dennis Pauli, Interim President & CEO

Thank you to our funded partners, to our volunteers, our board members and donors, and to this community for making it all possible. United Is The Way.

Welcome to the UWBR Team

GROWING OUR TEAM. DEEPENING OUR IMPACT.

MICHELLE ADKINS

RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

We are thrilled to welcome Michelle Adkins to the United Way Blackhawk Region team as our new Resource Development Director. Michelle brings more than two decades of award-winning experience in hospitality sales and relationship management, including six and a half years as Sales Manager at Lake Lawn Resort in Delavan, where she built corporate partnerships and connected people to meaningful experiences. Her expertise in building lasting relationships with corporate partners, foundations, and community stakeholders makes her a natural fit for leading UWBR's fundraising and resource development efforts. We are so glad she has brought her talent and energy to our mission and to this community.

Out in the Community: Partner Highlights

MEETING THE PEOPLE DOING THE WORK

This month our team visited three incredible funded partners. What we found was a reminder that behind every dollar invested is a real person finding hope, stability, and a path forward.

Partner Spotlight

STATELINE LITERACY COUNCIL

Literacy is not just a classroom issue. It is an economic one. Our team recently visited Stateline Literacy Council Beloit and were honored to receive a Certificate of Recognition from Executive Director Ann Ward on behalf of UWBR.

For more than 50 years, Stateline has been helping immigrants and families in our community build the English skills they need for work, for school, and for life. Today their work is expanding into worksite literacy, meeting employers and employees where they are.

U.S. businesses lose an estimated $2.2 trillion a year due to low workplace literacy. Stateline is doing something about that, one student at a time.

Partner Spotlight

STATELINE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB

We got a front-row seat to something special when our team visited Stateline Boys & Girls Club to see firsthand the incredible work happening for young people in our community.

A teaching kitchen serving up to 215 hot meals a day. Mindfulness rooms where kids can step away and recenter. A sound booth where teens are already dreaming up podcasts. A graduation specialist walking alongside students who need it most.

"If you don't stand up on the table for the kids you serve, who will?" - CEO Mark Rand

Partner Spotlight

EDGERTON COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Community Impact Director Sue Murray visited Edgerton Community Outreach (ECO) to see firsthand how this UWBR program partner is breaking down barriers and building pathways to self-sufficiency.

What she saw: 79,639 pounds of food reaching ~90 households monthly. 727 nights of emergency shelter. 18,523 snack packs. New affordable veteran housing. And ECO Opportunities, now in its 9th year, providing meaningful employment in a supportive environment.

ECO mobilized 14,824 volunteer hours in 2025 alone. Behind every number is a neighbor finding hope, stability, and a path forward.

Out in the Community

CONNECTED, CELEBRATED & INSPIRED

This month our team showed up across the Blackhawk Region, at graduations, award ceremonies, and community gatherings, because connection is at the heart of everything we do.

May 15 · Leadership Development Academy

LDA Class of 2026 Graduation

Rock County's next generation of leaders graduated, and we were there to cheer them on. We were especially inspired by the Empower Minds project, whose Mindful Moments initiative brings calm, supportive spaces into classrooms at Stateline Boys & Girls Club. As LDA Executive Director Jamie Karns reminded the room: "Connections create opportunity." We could not agree more.

May 7 · National Tourism Day

Visit Beloit Hospitality Breakfast & Award Ceremony

Dennis & Michelle joined community and hospitality leaders at The 1914 at Visit Beloit for the Hospitality Breakfast & Award Ceremony. A special moment with Anne Katz of Create Wisconsin on how the arts strengthen communities, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony for The 1914. Thank you to Geronimo Hospitality Group and Visit Beloit for making the Stateline Area a welcoming place to live, work, and visit.

May 6 · YWCA Rock County

Women of Distinction

We were honored to join the Wells Fargo team at YWCA Rock County's Women of Distinction event, a celebration of the incredible women who make Rock County shine. Thank you to Wells Fargo for your continued partnership, and congratulations to YWCA Rock County for hosting such an impactful evening. When we come together, we open doors for everyone.

Community Impact Update · June 2026

THE DATA IS IN & IT TELLS US WHY THIS WORK MATTERS.

United Way of Wisconsin just released the 2026 State of ALICE Report - and the numbers paint a clear picture of what our community is up against, and why the work of United Way Blackhawk Region has never been more critical.

35%

of WI Households in Financial Hardship

873K

Wisconsin Neighbors Struggling

$84K

Needed Annually for a Family of Four

ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed: households earning above the poverty line, but still not enough to afford basic necessities like housing, child care, food, transportation, and health care.

In Wisconsin, 24% of households fall into this ALICE category, more than twice the number living in poverty. These are our neighbors, our coworkers, the people who keep our community running every single day. They are working hard, and still struggling to make ends meet.

"Literacy is not just a classroom issue. It is an economic one. Housing instability is not just a personal crisis. It is a community one. This data tells us that the need is real, and that together, we can meet it."

- United Way Blackhawk Region

This report affirms the mission that drives everything we do, and it reflects exactly what we saw on the ground this month as we visited funded partners across the region. Keep reading to meet the people doing this work every day.

Community Resources

NEED HELP?
CALL 2-1-1.

A real person. Not a recording. A trained 211 Community Resource Specialist who listens and connects your neighbors with the right resources. Free, confidential, 24/7 in 180+ languages.

DIAL 2-1-1

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211 Rock County | Top Referrals by Category | 2025

3,771

Housing

1,159

Behavioral Health

1,078

Food & Meals

686

Utilities

384

Clothing & Household

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TOGETHER, WE CAN CREATE CHANGE FOR ALL.

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Every dollar managed with transparency and accountability. Recognized with a 4-Star Charity Navigator rating and Candid Platinum Transparency 2026.