Supporting Safety Nets While Building Bridges

Spring is around the corner, temperatures are rising, and many of us are anxiously holding our breath at the hope that winter is at last behind us. But we live in Minnesota, so you just never know when the next storm will hit. Its like that for many individuals and families in our community, even when things appear to be going well, you just never know when the other shoe will drop, and you’ll be back in crisis mode. This is where United Way does its best work; supporting current programming that provides a safety net for when crisis occurs AND developing new programming to prevent situations that put individuals and families into crisis mode to begin with. We do this by focusing our efforts on the Health, Education, and Financial Stability of every person in Steele County.

We have numerous services and programs available in our community, but sometimes you just don’t know where to start. A great resource that is available to our community is United Way 211. You can simply dial 211, text your zip code to 898-211, or visit www.211unitedway.org. From Hello to Help, 211 serves 24/7, is completely confidential, and is available in all languages.

Everyday we meet with amazing people who have been there, felt the struggles, and found a way to keep going. We partner with organizations that, like us, put people first when developing solutions to our communities most critical challenges. We facilitate discussions between the individuals and organizations that have the power to create transformational change. We change lives by mobilizing and optimizing the caring power of our community. That is what we do at United Way, every day of the year. It is a privilege to stand beside every person that makes up this amazing community knowing that together there isn’t anything we can’t accomplish!

Filling the Gaps, Addressing the Needs, We’re Your United Way. LIVE UNITED.

Annette Duncan is President of United Way of Steele County. She can be reached at 507-455-1180