• Kawthar Ali, 22, Dearborn Heights
  
• Mary Bonner, 77, of Detroit
• Tiffany Dunlap, 19, of Lake Orion
• Bob Hann, 59, of Romeo
  
• Ola Jones, 49, of Detroit
  
• Maybury Elementary School, southwest Detroit
  
• Michael & Shedricka McCrary, 33, of Detroit
  
• Nancy Turcotte, 47, of Pontiac
  
• Linda Whaley, 38, of Warren
  
• Andy Zimmer, 28, of Birmingham
  

Kawthar Ali, 22, Dearborn Heights

We rebuild lives and communities
Kawthar Ali, 22, saw the difference a small group of individuals can make when she participated in United Way’s Alternative Spring Break this year.

“I’ve been volunteering for so long, but I still see a lot that needs to be done,” said Kawthar. “I was beginning to feel like no one can make a difference.”

Kawthar is a senior at University of Michigan-Dearborn. When the opportunity came through her college to head to Louisiana for United Way’s Alternative Spring Break, she took it, hoping to reinvigorate her own beliefs in volunteering. Once in Lake Charles, La., she and her team were assigned to rebuild a home that had been severely damaged by Hurricane Rita.

“Seeing 160 college students and other volunteers work together to rebuild homes and clean up parks and schools, I realized what a difference we can make. It just takes patience, time, and more people.”

United Way believes that through collective action, we can make greater progress on improving our community. With your support we are that much closer.

Click here to learn more about how you can get involved through volunteering.

Mary Bonner, 77, of Detroit

Connecting metro Detroiters in need
Until the furnace in her Detroit home broke down in October, Mary Bonner had never asked anyone for help.

“You never know what life has in store for you,” says Mary, 77. “I had never been in a cold house before. The only thing I had was a small space heater that I would move around.”

Thanks to financial resources provided by United Way and its partners, Mary was able to take receipt of a new furnace just in time for Thanksgiving.

United Way assists individuals like Mary through its 2-1-1 call center. Since its launch in December 2005, 2-1-1 has connected more than 1,330 callers to much-needed home and appliance maintenance resources.

Your United Way support provides men and women across southeast Michigan warmth and comfort in times of need.

Click here to learn more about United Way 2-1-1.

Tiffany Dunlap, 19, of Lake Orion

We help children develop crucial skills
Tiffany Dunlap, 19, enrolled in the early literacy program supported by the Women’s Initiative nearly two years ago after the birth of her daughter, Tijenae.

“The program helps with Tijenae’s development and my own,” said Tiffany. “It helps me set goals and make sure I have the resources I need to be a good parent.”

Tiffany said her daughter’s language skills developed slowly. However, in the months since she began receiving in-home reading instruction and exposure to various educational toys, Tijenae has made incredible progress. She frequently asks her mom and other adults to read to her, is able to identify shapes and colors, and has expanded her vocabulary noticeably.

Tiffany has also benefited from the program’s influence. She graduated high school last year and is currently studying to become a medical assistant.

According to research, quality early education is crucial to a child’s success in school, work and life and minimizes the risk of future behaviors including criminal activity. United Way’s Women’s Initiative works with local partners to provide in-home early literacy programming designed to develop language skills from birth. The Initiative has already helped 100 families throughout the tri-county. With your United Way support, that number can grow.

Click here to learn more about the Women's Initiative and their early childhood literacy program.

Bob Hann, 59, of Romeo

We help people become financially stable
Bob Hann, a retired Ameritech employee, is committed to helping people get more out of tax season as a volunteer tax preparer in Macomb County.

In past years, the City of Detroit has lost an estimated $38 million in unclaimed tax credits, like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) available to low-income families. Depending on eligibility, the EITC entitles families up to $4,500 in tax refunds.

“So many people are still unaware of the EITC,” says Bob, who has volunteered for two tax seasons. “Many are surprised at the refunds they receive; one family I helped received a $3,500 refund they weren’t expecting.”

To help people learn about and claim the EITC, United Way recruited 100 volunteers like Bob to serve at tax assistance sites throughout metro Detroit this year. These volunteers helped approximately 1,300 individuals and families with tax refunds worth approximately $1.2 million, putting hard-earned cash in back into the hands of metro Detroiters.

Click here to learn more about the EITC, or click here to learn more about how you can become a volunteer like Bob.

Ola Jones, 49, of Detroit

We help people help themselves
Ola Jones, of Detroit, has been paying a tax preparer for the past decade, but couldn’t justify the cost when her income changed last year.

A single mom with three teenagers at home, she learned about a free tax preparation site near her home. A volunteer assisted Ola with her taxes and found she qualified for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Home Heating Credit. These tax credits help low-income individuals with the cost of heating their home and provide an opportunity to increase financial stability and security.

“I received over $3,900 between the two credits,” said Ola. “I was able to use that money to buy summer clothes for my kids and replace my living room furniture, which was becoming unusable. I even had enough left to save for expenses when the kids return to school in the fall.”

Working together, United Way and its community partners recruited and mobilized 100 volunteers to help eligible metro Detroiters claim the EITC this year. As a result, nearly $1 million was returned to southeast Michigan residents like Ola.

Click here to learn more about the EITC, or click here to learn more about how you can become a volunteer tax preparer.

Maybury Elementary School, southwest Detroit

We help youth stay on track
Attendance officers are already seeing an improvement at Maybury Elementary School in southwest Detroit. The school is one of 12 pilots in United Way’s School Attendance Initiative to educate parents and children about the importance of school attendance.

“We help the children see school as their job,” says Christina Guzman, assistant attendance officer. “Their parents may not have been raised to see the value of school, and don’t pass down its importance. We closely monitor the children and do home visits if truancy is a problem, which shows we’re serious and we care.”

Research shows that students who are truant are more likely to have a lower income, or engage in criminal activity or substance abuse later in life. With your support, United Way and its partners can help children and parents make attendance a priority and stem the long-term effects of truancy.

Click here to learn more about United Way's Virgil H. Carr school attendance initiative.

Michael & Shedricka McCrary, 33, of Detroit

We help people help themselves
For most Americans, owning a home is the first step toward establishing stable financial footing. Michael and Shedricka McCrary were able to pick up the keys to their first home last fall, thanks to United Way’s Individual Development Account initiative.

“United Way exposed me to resources that I wouldn’t have found on my own,” says Michael McCrary, of Detroit.

Through the IDA program, the McCrarys received financial literacy and home ownership counseling, along with $4,000 in matching funds, after reaching their $1,000 saving goal. The couple and their four children now have a valuable asset on which to build a future. This work is possible because of your United Way support.

Click here to learn more about IDA's.

Nancy Turcotte, 47, of Pontiac

We help children succeed in school
Nancy Turcotte, 47, comes from a long line of devoted Ford workers, including her brother who retired in June 2006.

She’s also a busy grandmother since becoming the guardian of her three grandchildren in 2000. Nancy immediately sought help from United Way’s Success by 6® collaborative, including Headstart and the “Grandparents As Parents” group, which provides support for grandparents and educational field trips and activities for the children.

“Children need an extra step up in order to succeed once they get to school,” says Nancy, of Pontiac. “If they don’t have that extra edge, they’re going to be left behind.”

Brain research indicates that 90 percent of the brain's growth occurs from 0-5 years old and approximately 46 percent of kindergarteners are coming to school at risk of school failure. Because of your United Way support, Nancy is able to provide her grandchildren with the educational tools they need to live up to their potential.

Click here to learn more about Success by 6®.

Linda Whaley, 38, of Warren

We help people become independent
Linda Whaley, a journeyman toolmaker at DaimlerChrysler’s Mt. Elliott plant, isn’t a stranger to giving back. She’s been helping southeastern Michigan residents gain self-sufficiency for more than two years by building wheelchair ramps.

“We take for granted being able to leave our homes,” says Linda, of Warren. “Some of these individuals haven’t been out of the house in so long.”

Over the past three years, more than 115 people have been able to gain independence with the addition of a wheelchair ramp. The project is only possible with the help of volunteers from organized labor and the community as well as your United Way support.

Click here to learn more about the Ray West Memorial Ramp project or click here to learn about other ways you can help you community through volunteering.

We help people live independently
DaimlerChrysler Senior Management Team member Steve Zimmer’s son, Andy, had his life changed in 2005 after being involved in a bicycle accident. Initially diagnosed with a C6 Complete Spinal Cord Injury, meaning the entire spinal cord was severed; Andy could have taken a pessimistic outlook on life.

“Through the strength and agility training I’ve received, I’ve gained confidence to live independently,” said Andy. “When I got hurt, I never thought I would be dependent on others, but thanks to my rehabilitation I’m able to put physical ability behind my mental fortitude.”

About a year ago, Andy sought rehabilitation assistance from a United Way partner. He attends physical therapy three times a week and has worked to be able to walk using leg braces, ride a stationary bike, and harness other muscles that would normally be difficult to use due to his injury. He is also heavily involved in a wheelchair rugby team, which he learned about through the staff he met during rehabilitation.

Your continued United Way support helps Andy and others develop and maintain their independence, which is crucial to an individual’s mental and physical well-being.

Click here to make an online donation and help others like Andy live independently.