United Way of Rock River Valley has been a pillar of the Winnebago County area for over 100 years - and has adapted to address the everchanging needs of our beautiful community.
Follow the buttons below to discover how each of our Impact Areas is addressing critical needs locally.
Learn more about our United for Literacy initiative and how we're helping the children of our community thrive.
Learn more about 211 and our Strong Neighborhoods initiative, and how we are providing resources for the community to lean on.
Learn more about our involvement in the Emergency Food and Shelter Program for Winnebago County, and how we are helping meet people's most basic needs.
Our Mission
United Way of Rock River Valley unites the collective power of our community to improve lives.
Securing a Better Future for All
We mobilize communities to action so all can thrive.
With more than a century of community collaboration and experience, we see how our communities’ most significant challenges are connected — and how to bring people and resources together to address them.
We are always listening and ready to respond. Working together with our neighbors, we’re strengthening local resilience, youth opportunity, and financial security for all.
Every day, our communities show that change is possible when people unite to take action. Together, we’re creating a future where everyone, everywhere, can reach their full potential.
Your investment stays local, allowing United Way to make a profound and lasting impact on our community.
How United Way Works
United Way of Rock River Valley is able to create lasting change in our community because we respond directly to the needs of Winnebago County. By doing our research and consulting with experts, we are able to determine the gaps that need to be addressed and gather the resources necessary to address them.
Our service model allows us to constantly adjust our approach year over year to ensure our work is effective. The model is as follows:
Our Service Model
- We evaluate community need
- We raise money to address need
- Local non-profits propose programs
- We evaluate and fund the most effective proposals
- Needs are addressed
- Non-profits report their impact...
...And the cycle continues. Armed with new data and feedback from our agencies and the community, we re-evaluate the community need and our actions to address it.
Areas of Impact
Youth Opportunity: Helping young people realize their full potential.
United for Literacy
The problem:
Literacy lays the foundation for lifelong learning, critical thinking, and academic success. Reading well early on is linked to better grades, higher graduation chances, career advancement, and long-term financial security. However, significant gaps exist in access to becoming literate, especially for our children in Winnebago County communities.
2/3 third grade students are reading below grade level in Winnebago County. Only about 32% of third grade students are reading at or above grade level.
Our primary focus is increasing childhood literacy rates in Winnebago County and ensuring every child enters kindergarten ready to read. Research indicates that reading below the expected level in third grade is highly linked to future academic challenges and dropout, incarceration, and poverty rates.
How we're addressing it:
United for Literacy partners with organizations and agencies and invests in programs for children, parents/guardians, and the community. This allows us to systematically increase access to resources to help families learn and grow together.
For Children: read-alouds, independent reading, in school and after school programming, community story times, programmatical book distribution like Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, Tiny Turner, and Page Turner books, and bringing Reach Out and Read to local health systems.
For Parents/Guardians: family literacy nights, engagement materials, and training/outreach efforts.
For the Community: training and professional development, advocacy, public awareness campaigns, and additional book distribution.
We work closely with literacy experts to craft a well-rounded approach that will help set children up for success. By reaching them at the earliest stages of learning (ages 0-5), we can help them prepare for the classroom and life.
Learn more about United for Literacy
Community Resiliency: Addressing urgent needs today for a better tomorrow.
211 Helpline - 24 hour free call/text line
When facing a crisis, individuals and families need immediate access to reliable services and resources to meet their most urgent needs. Winnebago County’s 211 helpline, supported by UWRRV, is a critical resource that connects thousands of people to trained specialists offering help with crisis and emergency counseling, disaster assistance, food, health care and insurance, stable housing and utility assistance, employment services, veteran services, and childcare and family services.
The network supports multilingual services such as Spanish, Manadarin Chinese, and more. United Way 211 is also available by calling (888) 865-9903 and visiting findhelp211.org.
To text with a 211 operator, text your zip code to 898-211 to get started. Texting services are available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. CST. If you need immediate assistance, please call 211, which is available 24/7.
Resources
Connection issues
Most landline and wireless carriers within Winnebago County provide access to 211. You may also dial (888) 865-9903 and visit findhelp211.org to reach United Way 211.
Strong Neighborhoods
Through collaborative partnerships with other local impact organizations, we provide a pathway for community residents to gain support through the programs and services offered in our Strong Neighborhood Houses.
House locations
- 8th Avenue Strong Neighborhood House — 908 8th Avenue, Rockford
- Irving Avenue Strong Neighborhood House — 312 Irving Avenue, Rockford
- Marie Avenue Strong Neighborhood House — 825 Marie Avenue, Machesney Park
House partners
8th Avenue House
- Carpenter's Place Family Services
- Zion Development Corporation
Irving Avenue House
- Brightpoint
- Children Exposed to Violence
- Get Connected 815
- Rockford Police Department
Marie Avenue House
Secondary Success
Tommy Corral Memorial Foundation
Winnebago County Chaplains
Learn more about the specific programs and events going on at each house by visiting their Facebook pages:
For more information, call 815-968-5400 or email info@unitedwayrrv.org.
Financial Security: Together, we can meet people’s most basic needs and create a stronger financial future for every generation.
Emergency Food & Shelter Grant Program
The Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP) is a federal program that helps meet the needs of America’s hungry and homeless and allocates funds to provide shelter, food, and homeless prevention services, including rent/mortgage and utility assistance. United Way is proud to be the administrator of the EFSP board for Winnebago County, which is made up of social service agencies, government, and community members, and determines how funds are locally allocated