211 Helpline Now Live in Lake County

211 has officially launched in Lake County!

Anyone in Lake County can now call 211 or text their zip code to 898211 for free, confidential, 24/7 information and referrals to essential services. 211 is Lake County’s one-stop shop for help!

Thank you to everyone who attended the 211 launch event. Nearly 250 community members came out to support and learn more about this critical service, including people from across the county representing business, government and nonprofit sectors. We are grateful to our panelists and speakers who shared from their perspective how 211 will benefit our community including real-life stories and the impact 211 is already making. View photos from the event by clicking here.

Visit the official 211 Lake County website: 211LakeCounty.org.

View our 211 funding partners here and task force members here whose support made 211 possible.

Watch our 211 video (available in English and Spanish) by clicking below.

Women United’s Successful No Small Matter Screening

Women United of Lake County‘s screening of the documentary film No Small Matter was a huge success! More than 200 community leaders, educators and volunteers gathered at the Gorton Community Center in Lake Forest to rally around the importance of early childhood development.

No Small Matter is the first feature documentary to explore the most overlooked, underestimated, and powerful force for good in America today: early childhood education. Through poignant stories, the film lays out the overwhelming evidence for the importance of education in the first five years, and reveals how our failure to act on that evidence has resulted in an everyday crisis for American families, and a slow-motion catastrophe for the country.

Thank you to everyone who came out to see the film, to the amazing panel of experts who spoke about the importance of quality early care and education, and to the wonderful team of Women United members who were instrumental in bringing this film to Lake County!

Check Out Our Holiday Opportunities

Looking for giving and volunteer opportunities this holiday season? View our Holiday Opportunities Guide! It’s an easy-to-use guide filled with holiday volunteering and giving opportunities throughout the Lake County community.

Donate as an individual or unite your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to spread the holiday cheer with children and families in need and deserving of our help. Click the button below to view this year’s guide.

Save the Date: Giving Tuesday

Giving Tuesday is a global holiday dedicated to giving back to your local community and takes place annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Join this global movement by supporting United Way.

This year, your Giving Tuesday gift to United Way of Lake County will help sustain our new 211 program! 211 is a powerful information and referral service that helps people in need connect to a wide range of community resources to improve and save lives. Thanks to the support of many local partners and individuals, United Way of Lake County is proud to have launched 211 for everyone in Lake County on September 24, 2019!

But our work is not over! We need your help to provide this vital service for many years to come so that all 703,000 Lake County residents have access to critical information and resources. Together, we can ensure that Lake County’s 211 system transforms the way our residents find help.

Why Give on Giving Tuesday?

Our matching gift sponsor, Healthcare Foundation of Northern Lake County, will be matching 100% of Giving Tuesday donations up to $5,000. A matching gift means that our impact will double when it comes to improving and saving lives in Lake County.

Please consider making a gift between November 26 and December 10, 2019. Click below to learn how to get involved with Giving Tuesday this year.

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Leaders United Join Facebook

Recently, we introduced a new affinity group for young professionals within UWLC called Leaders United. Their mission is to encourage philanthropy and volunteerism among their peers and their goal is to impact issues that affect students and families across Lake County. This is an outstanding opportunity for those who are seeking to build leadership experiences.

Leaders United has launched their Facebook page. Check it out by clicking here. Learn more about the group and membership by clicking here.