united way

If you've ever wanted to find out what it'd be like to volunteer at a certain organization, next week is a good time to find out. It's the United Way's annual "Week of Action."

The United Way of Central Minnesota is aiming to raise $3,675,000 this next year. It's a 5% increase over last year's goal.

When it comes to commitment to volunteerism, Minnesota is definitely at the top of the national pile. However, the St. Cloud area could stand to improve its numbers a little.

Local providers of emergency shelter, rent and mortgage funding are about to face a major challenge. FEMA has slashed the amount of emergency housing support funding from 2.9 million dollars to 1.1 million dollars for the state of Minnesota.

It's day 12 of the state government shutdown, and many area nonprofits are feeling the crunch. Noreen Dunnells with the United Way of Central Minnesota spoke with WJON this morning.

55 children in the St. Cloud area were homeless last night. This is just one statistic released by the United Way of Central Minnesota recently. On Monday, they launched a month-long campaign called "Taking Care Of Our Kids." The goal is to meet their annual fundraising goal of 3.66 million dollars.

Families with young children can take part in a fun free event supporting early literacy. The United Way's "Llama Llama Read-A-Rama" Pajama party includes stories, crafts and live llamas. They'll be making stops at a number of area libraries, including tomorrow morning (Friday) at the St. Cloud Public Library from 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., and the Waite Park Public Library from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. They'll also be at the Sartell District office gym on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The event is free and open to children ages 3 to 6.

The United Way of Central Minnesota only needs $166,000 more in order to reach their campaign goal by June 30th. So far, the organization has raised 3.5 million dollars.