HEALTHY COMMUNITY
Everyone deserves to feel safe, supported and connected.
Your donations help build a healthier Northwest Illinois. Together, we can help neighbors find support, young people build healthy relationships and communities create more opportunities to connect.
Across Stephenson, Jo Daviess and Carroll counties, United Way of Northwest Illinois brings people and local organizations together around a shared goal: better health and well-being for our neighbors. Donations from people like you help make this work possible.
Make support easier to reach.
When someone reaches out for help, the next step should feel possible. For survivors with disabilities and Deaf survivors, that means connecting with services that understand their needs and remove barriers to support.
UWNI’s 2024–2025 Impact Report describes the Safety & Access Change Initiative, involving VOICES, RAMP and Tyler’s Justice Center. These partners worked to improve survivor access across all three counties.
The report documents stronger communication, shared resources and improved cooperation on survivor-centered referrals. Your support helps UWNI strengthen local partnerships so organizations can work together more effectively.
Help young people build healthy relationships.
A trusted mentor can give a young person space to ask questions, build confidence and learn what a healthy relationship looks like. Those connections matter as children grow and find their place in the community.
UWNI’s reported health work included the Girl Scout Leadership Experience for underserved girls in Freeport and surrounding communities. The program provided guidance and mentorship with an emphasis on healthy relationships.
When you donate to UWNI, you help sustain its work with local partners toward a community where young people have support as they grow.
Bring neighbors together.
Health is also about having opportunities to take part. A community race gives families a reason to get outside, encourage one another and share an experience close to home.
The Lincoln-Douglas 5K, One-Mile Fun Run and Kids Races, organized in partnership with the Family YMCA of Northwest Illinois, brings different ages together around physical activity. The children’s races include a competition to name the “Fastest Kid in Town.”
UWNI has also documented collaboration through the Healthy Community Coalition of Stephenson County. Its 2022–2024 priorities included youth health prevention, positive self-image and healthier behaviors.
A healthier community includes you.
Your generosity joins the work of local organizations, volunteers and neighbors. Together, we can help more people connect with support and opportunities close to home.
Explore volunteer opportunities
Looking for assistance? Find local resources through 211 .
See the work behind the story.
Program examples and collaboration outcomes are drawn from UWNI’s 2024–2025 Impact Report (PDF) . The coalition priorities above describe its historical 2022–2024 focus.