BENTON HARBOR — On Thursday, at a volunteer appreciation event at the Southwest Michigan Regional Airport in Benton Harbor, United Way of Southwest Michigan launched a new menu of services to Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren county volunteers and companies through their new brand Volunteer United.  The event was in conjunction with National Volunteer Week.

Volunteer United provides opportunities for corporate teams, area volunteers, and service groups to create sustainable change through service and corporate social responsibility.

“Connecting the gift of you,” said Anna Murphy, president of UWSM.  “That’s what Volunteer United is all about.  It’s about connecting people to volunteer opportunities to advance the common good in southwest Michigan.  And advancing the common good could not be achieved without volunteers.”

Volunteer United opportunities range from on-site kit packing work, opportunities from nearly 100 local nonprofit, and corporate team building events. Ultimately, this work will week to drive more resources and impact into tackling the region’s issue areas of education, income, health, and basic needs. 

Other opportunities include UWSM’s annual experiences, such as the Christmas in June food drive, Cass County’s School Supply Spectacular, Rake A Difference, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, Van Buren Stuff A Bus for Hunger, and the most recent, Spring Into Reading; a Southwest Michigan book drive that saw more than 15,000 new and gently used books collected for area children and young adults.

“We’ve been doing the work for a while and doing it at a very high level,” Murphy said.  “We targeted this spring as our opportunity to give this work the identity it deserves.  We’re excited to see Volunteer United take flight.”

The volunteer work coming out of UWSM is growing year by year, according to United Way representatives. In 2018, UWSM mobilized 2,242 volunteers. This was an increase from 1,997 in 2017. Last year, they saw 17,445 hours of volunteer work tallied versus 15,519 in 2017, and the value of the volunteer service continues to soar.  In 2018, the total of service dollars was estimated at $438,119, a $60,000 jump from the year before. 

To get involved, or to find a list of all of the volunteer opportunities through UWSM, visit volunteer.uwsm.org.