Description

“Change Starts Here” is the theme for the 2022-23 United Way of Johnson & Washington Counties annual Campaign for Our Community. Our official 2022 Campaign Kickoff will be the morning of Tuesday, September 20th. Our event will include comments from our 2022 Campaign Co-Chairs Tom Rocklin & Barbara McFadden and our featured speaker Matt Gatens, UI Men’s Assistant Basketball Coach. With each $10 admission you will receive a “United We Win” t-shirt, which then can be autographed by one, or all four, University of Iowa Men’s Basketball team members who will be at our event. 

Thanks to our partnership with The Iowa Swarm, our UI Men’s Basketball athletes in attendance will be: 

•Connor McCaffery, Graduate Student 

•Dasonte Bowen, Freshman

 •Payton Sandfort, Sophomore

 •Riley Mulvey, Sophomore 

Doors will open at 7am with a light breakfast followed by our presentation beginning at 7:30am. Special thanks to The Celebration Farm and The Bread Garden for sponsoring the event. To register to join us, visit https://www.unitedwayjwc.org/form/2022-uwjwc-campaign-kickoff .

That same morning, we will be hosting a “Build Me A Learning Space” with volunteer teams building bookshelves for 40 local children to have and fill with books. Studies show literacy levels surge when a child has an average of 80 books in the home. A dedicated bookcase is a great way of showing children how to value their favorite books. We will be seeding their bookshelf with a brain health-focused book. Like physical health, positive mental health promotes success in life. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. A child’s understanding of the emotional and learning challenges they may be experiencing can promote overall well-being. 

Contact Patti Fields at Patti.Fields@UnitedWayJWC.org to volunteer. Special thanks to Hills Bank for sponsoring our build.