Dear Friends,
I hope your week is off to a great start and that you had a meaningful Memorial Day remembering and honoring those who served and sacrificed to defend our country.
This month I'm sharing a combined update highlighting two important and recent convenings for the United Way network in North Carolina, both of which occurred on May 13th in Raleigh. It was great to see so many of you and get to catch up with my previous colleague, Karon McKinney, from United Way of Forsyth County.
First, we held our annual Jones Street Advocacy Day, bringing together local United Way leaders from across the state to meet directly with their respective districts’ lawmakers.
The focus was championing the passage of the state budget and emphasizing how critical investments in areas like raises for teachers, raises for state employees, increases in childcare subsidies, and increasing the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit can have long-term benefits for North Carolinians and their families. United Ways also shared on-the-ground stories, reinforced the importance of strong community partnerships, and advocated for continued support of programs that strengthen the state’s social safety net, like NC 211. This is our 24/7 go-to resource in times of disaster, personal crisis, or daily challenge.
Later that evening, we held an intimate ceremony to celebrate the 2025 Spirit of NC Award winners. Legislators were invited to hear about the amazing work companies are doing in their communities through partnerships with their local United Ways. These awards recognize organizations and individuals across the state who demonstrate exceptional commitment to community impact, volunteerism, and philanthropic leadership. Honorees represent a wide range of sectors from corporate partners to local nonprofits and volunteers. Each has made measurable contributions to improving the health and wellness and financial standings of people in their communities. The awards celebration also highlighted innovative collaborations and the power of collective action through creating fundraising efforts, as presented by the three Best Practice winners: The Timken Company, Fort Bragg Credit Union, and Kimberly-Clark.
As we share the incredible work of our local partners and NC 211, I am always surprised at the number of folks that have not heard about our NC 211 Community Resource Directory. The Directory is fueled by agencies like yours that offer support to North Carolinians in all 100 counties. If you are not yet in the Directory and would like to extend your support efforts, please consider adding your contact information. If you are already in our Directory but need to provide an update on your services, contact information, and more, you may submit the update for your listing by clicking here. Both capabilities can be found by visiting the Agencies page in the main menu at NC211.org, as shown below:
The work United Ways and our partners are doing across the state is lifting communities through collaborative fundraising efforts, volunteering, advocacy, and disaster relief. Getting to showcase these efforts to our states’ lawmakers and celebrate them afterwards was a day worth spending.
Consider exploring how your local United Way and their partners are making great changes happen for your community by using our NC United Way Directory and see how you can get involved and make a difference too.
Best Regards,
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