United Way
of Whatcom County

LIVE UNITED Blog

Agency Spotlight: Communities In Schools

December 21, 2023

United Way of Whatcom County has always helped fund solutions to our community’s toughest challenges. Currently, we fund 25 local nonprofit agencies, including Communities In Schools. By funding…

Workplace Giving Campaigns: It feels good to give back!

November 22, 2023

This time of year, you may hear us talking a lot about fundraising campaign season. But what exactly is a United Way campaign, and what does it mean for your workplace and our community? Today, we&rsq…

Agency Spotlight: Whatcom Center for Early Learning

August 30, 2023

United Way of Whatcom County supports a variety of nonprofits throughout our community, all working to meet basic needs, increase economic mobility, and break the cycle of poverty. Our work supports c…

United In Purpose: A Conference and a Credo

June 7, 2023

Ever have one of those days when everything just feels like too much? Like you’ll never get where you want to go, accomplish the things you want to do, or even feel like you’re making a di…

Agency Spotlight: Northwest Youth Services

March 21, 2023

United Way of Whatcom County partners with local nonprofit organizations to help our struggling friends and neighbors find stability. This month we highlight one of our fabulous partner agencies, Nort…

Agency Spotlight: Brigid Collins Family Support Center

January 11, 2023

For some of us, memories of childhood are blissful and happy. For others, the things we experienced in childhood can be extremely traumatic and can take a lifetime to overcome. According to the CDC, a…

United We Grow: Discrimination in Finance Educational Series

December 22, 2022

Register here. At United Way of Whatcom County, our main goal as an organization is to lift everyone in our community to a place of financial stability. Our network encompasses a wide range of program…

3 Alternative Giving Channels with FreeWill

November 3, 2022

At United Way of Whatcom County, we love keeping our fantastic donors (that means you!) up to date with the latest available giving channels to support the life-changing work we do. While workplace ca…

United Way 2022-23 Community Impact Grants

October 24, 2022

United Way of Whatcom County supports a network of local agencies providing life changing services to over 50,000 people every year. From access to basic needs like food and housing to vocational trai…

What Does "Live United" Mean?

September 15, 2022

You see it on our t-shirts, our social media pages, flyers, and all over our campaign materials; but what does Live United actually mean? It’s a fair question; it’s much easier to quote a …

United Way Partner Agency Spotlight: Compass Health

August 10, 2022

While children and teens remain less susceptible to the long-term physical effects of COVID-19, there’s no doubt that the impact of COVID on children's mental health has been sustained and s…

Making Generosity Count: Why Give to United Way

August 2, 2022

People have big hearts. In fact, we believe that if it were up to people's hearts, no child would go hungry, no family would live in poverty, everyone would have a roof over their heads and the ne…

United Way Partner Agency Spotlight: GRADS

July 15, 2022

We often think of teenage years as being a time of youthful exploration, lower responsibility, and the true start of lifelong emotional, social and intellectual growth. Under ideal circumstances, that…

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

June 13, 2022

We all know Dolly Parton for her big hair and her sweet voice, but there's a lot more to the award-winning country music singer and actress than just tumbling outta bed and stumbling to the kitche…

Free Books for Kids! United Way Brings Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to Whatcom County

March 2, 2022

Yes, you read that right! United Way of Whatcom County has recently signed on as the local affiliate for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a world-wide program that sends free books each month…

Meet our New CEO! (If you haven't already)

February 28, 2022

If you think our new CEO looks familiar, you’re not alone. A longtime donor and volunteer as well as a current staff member, Kristi Birkeland has been advocating for United Way of Whatcom County…

United Way Partner Agency Spotlight: Bellingham Food Bank

February 15, 2022

One United Way donation helps fund more than 20 local nonprofit agencies providing critical services throughout Whatcom County. Want to learn more about how your dollars are hard at work helping our f…

United For ALICE Report Tells a Tale of Two Pandemics

January 18, 2022

United For ALICE report data confirm stark disparities by income levels and race for job losses, health challenges, and child care struggles during the pandemic. With the rise of the Omicron variant a…

United Way Agency Spotlight: Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington

September 21, 2021

You know Goodwill is a great place to donate used items and shop for bargains. But do you know what’s happening behind the retail business? It’s full of classrooms and trainers providing a…

United Way Agency Spotlight: Mercy Housing Northwest

July 29, 2021

When you give to United Way, you support over 20 local nonprofits doing amazing work in Whatcom County. You may not be familiar with every program that benefits from United Way funding, so we thought …

United Way 2021-22 Grant Awards are here!

July 27, 2021

United Way works with local businesses, individuals, and volunteers to raise funds in our community, for our community. Why? Because we know that together, we can make a greater impact, support more p…

Volunteer Spotlight: Kara Irvin

July 22, 2021

If you know Kara, you know she’s a whirl of positive energy. It’s quite possible that the phrase go-getter was invented specifically to describe her. Kara doesn’t just make things ha…

United Way Agency Spotlight: Work Opportunities

June 22, 2021

A job does so much more than just provide a paycheck. Many people find that working brings purpose and meaning to their lives. Jobs teach us new skills, build confidence and self-esteem, provide socia…

Living and Learning United: Let's Talk About Financial Stability

June 18, 2021

Every day, our friends and neighbors in Whatcom County struggle with issues that may seem impossible to solve.   Individuals who are working but still can’t afford the cost of food, housing, and…

United Way Agency Spotlight: Lydia Place

June 8, 2021

Imagine living without a place to call home. Now imagine doing it while also taking care of a child. Women and children can sometimes be the forgotten faces of homelessness. Unfortunately, they are of…

United Way Donor Spotlight: Natalie Boatman

April 19, 2021

United Way raises money for local nonprofits doing amazing work in Whatcom County, but we don’t to it alone. We’ve got an entire community of supporters who tirelessly give, advocate and v…

United Way Teams Up with WWU on Child Care Survey

March 16, 2021

With over 1,700 locations across the globe, United Way is one of the largest and most recognizable charitable organizations in the world. But the real beauty of our model is that each individual Unite…

United Way Agency Spotlight: FuturesNW

March 2, 2021

United Way is proud to fund 22 local nonprofit agencies doing amazing work in our community. We thought you might like to hear more about how your dollars are hard at work helping individuals and fami…

How to Become an Advocate

January 6, 2021

An advocate is someone who champions the unheard, the unseen, and the underrepresented. To advocate is to shine a light on specific struggles, such as poverty, mental health problems, domestic abuse, …

Finding Trustworthy Charities to Donate To

December 4, 2020

By supporting nonprofit organizations, we get to support the causes we care about while making the world a better place. It feels good-- and it does good. With COVID-19 affecting our lives and communi…

United Way Works to Improve Child Care in Whatcom County

November 24, 2020

Big news! United Way of Whatcom County recently received a grant from the WA State Commerce Department to formalize a collaborative partnership to address the child care shortage in our community. Thi…

United Way Agency Spotlight: Whatcom Family YMCA

October 1, 2020

Your United Way donation supports a collaborative network of local nonprofits doing critical work in our community. We thought you might like to hear more about how your dollars are hard at work. Toda…

United Way Agency Spotlight: Interfaith Coalition

July 31, 2020

United Way is proud to fund 22 local nonprofit agencies doing amazing work in our community. We thought you might like to hear more about how your dollars are hard at work helping individuals and fami…

United Against Racism

June 5, 2020

To LIVE UNITED is to bring people together. To recognize that we are more alike than different. To acknowledge that we all share the same hopes, desires, and dreams. And to make a difference. We all w…

Living United During Challenging Times

April 24, 2020

We recently met with our partner agencies to talk about how they are adapting and adjusting to make their critical services available in our community during this extremely challenging time. And we we…

Not Your Average Spring

April 22, 2020

Spring is nature's way of reminding us that new life is everywhere. Flowers begin to bloom, birds break into song, and the sun shows up to warm our days. Unfortunately, this is no ordinary spring.…

How United Way is Helping During COVID-19

April 7, 2020

You know us as the fundraisers. The corporate philanthropy partners. The group that comes to your workplace, tells you about critical issues in our community and lets you know how you can help. We kno…

Sparking Joy: Can the KonMari Method change the world?

February 20, 2019

If you aren’t yet familiar with best-selling author and Netflix sensation Marie Kondo, you owe it to yourself to make “Tidying Up” your next Netflix binge. KonMari is more than a met…

Five Powerful Ways to Pay it Forward

November 15, 2018

We’ve all heard the age-old adage that we should “pay it forward." You know, the thing where you do something nice for someone because someone else was kind to you. If enough people m…

The Business Case for Volunteering

October 9, 2018

The most successful companies out there are made up of employees who are highly productive and generally happy people. How do they do that? How can you do that? It’s not hard to find research th…