Serving our Local Community

Eaton County United Way (ECUW) is hosting the 3rd Annual Trivia Night fundraiser on Thursday May 23. Trivia night will be taking place at the Eaton Resource Service Agency in Charlotte at 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The proceeds go to the community impact fund. The community impact fund helps provide different financial support for local agencies in Eaton County.

Trivia Night fundraiser is a fun and entertaining event will feature teams of eight players competing for “Best of Best” in trivia hosted by emcee and Trivia Moderator Jason Vanderstelt of Tunes Are Us. ECUW will also be holding a silent auction, a 50/50 Raffle, and bonus rounds will be part of the program. Top three winning teams will receive a grand prize. This year’s team theme is television shows. Each team dress and portray their favorite popular television program and decorate their team table.

“I’m excited to participate in the fundraiser; I’m excited to represent my organization from Olivet College. Trivia Night is a fun way to raise money and come together with other local organizations,” said Branden Dyer ECUW board member for ECUW, participating in this year’s trivia night.

Entry fee for each team of eight players is $240 (or $30 per player). The event will have a maximum of 16 teams. To register your team, contact the Eaton County United Way office at (517) 543-5402.

Make a Change By Giving Change Fundraiser:
The Make a Change by Giving Change fundraiser kicks off this weekend. The fundraiser exclusively involves Eaton County’s dining establishments. The participating restaurants ask patrons to donate a tip or extra change for donations to the Eaton County United Way’s (ECUW) community impact fund.

The establishment that raises the most money will be recognized by the ECUW and given an award acknowledging their participation and efforts. Promotional flyers will be posted a week prior to the campaign the event will also be featured through the local newspapers and will be posted and broadcast to different social media outlets, Facebook, Twitter and our ECUW website. This campaign will also spotlight participating restaurants and give them a media attention. For more information about the Make a Change by Giving Change fundraiser contact the ECUW office at 517-543-5402.

Sarah K. Smith is the Communications Associate for ECUW and a senior Journalism and Mass Communications major at Olivet College.

Project Resource Connect (PRC) is a one day event for homeless or at risk of being homeless in EatonCounty to find information about the different housing services, healthcare, employment and other beneficial services available in the area. During this time PRC also works to expel stereotypes while working together to put an end to homelessness. The PRC event will have on the spot items for people to take with them and the first 40 attendees receive a gift. This year’s PRC is taking place Tuesday May 7 at 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The PRC will be held at First Lutheran Church, 550 Shepherd St.Charlotte.

Last year, Jesse and Rachel both in their mid-twenties, attended a PRC fair. The couple was new to the Eaton County area, moved from the Metro Detroit area to start a new family.  Not only did they receive a warm reception from the local agencies, but a wealth of information and tools to help them live independently. In 2000, the National Alliance to End Homelessness created a national strategy to ending homelessness: A Plan, Not a Dream: How to End Homelessness in Ten Years. During 2006 Eaton County had three communities where 51% or more of the population was considered low income. That year a group of individuals including landlords, government officials, service providers and past and present homeless individuals established a plan to fight homelessness in Eaton County: 10 Year Plan, 10 Years is too long…The Eaton County Plan to End Homelessness Today. The Eaton County Plan is a multi-step strategy to ending homelessness. The first step is how to inform the community that homelessness is an issue. This step is important to remove the stereotypes and show people even if they’re not homeless that this may impact them, and bring about a realization that this is a problem in EatonCounty.

The next step is forming community involvement to end homelessness. This will lead to developing the necessary resources. Next, will be gathering the tools needed to actually put an end to the problem. While organizations are dedicated to ending homelessness, this step is compiling the information and delivering it to the right sources. The last step is explaining the philosophy of showing the factors contributing to the problem of homelessness, identifying these causes can help prevent future homelessness in EatonCounty.

Sarah K. Smith is the Communications Associate for ECUW and a senior Journalism and Mass Communications major at Olivet College.