What it Looks Like When a Community Invests in Youth
Every child should be able to imagine a future and have the tools to reach it.
But in West Michigan, too many young people are navigating barriers they didn’t create: underfunded schools, limited access to enrichment, systemic inequities, and a lack of spaces where they feel safe, seen, and supported.
Opportunity shouldn’t depend on your zip code, your income, or your background. That’s why we focus on building a stronger foundation for the next generation because a thriving community for all means our youth are ready to lead in it.
We know that when we invest in our students, our future shines even brighter. Fueling transformative community programs, bridging gaps with internal initiatives, and mobilizing our future leaders is what it looks like when a community invests in youth.
Dreams start at school, so ensuring students have the tools they need to be successful is critical.
From classroom supplies to hygiene items, from creating spaces of belonging or maintaining stability in the school district, United Way leads the way.
We know that 1 in 3 neighbors across West Michigan are struggling to make ends meet. While living paycheck to paycheck, one change to their delicate budgets can jeopardize their stability. Though back to school shopping brings excitement and joy to children ready for the classroom, the burden of new supplies each year creates fear and guilt while forcing sacrifices for families across our region.
Stuff the Bus changes that.
Last year, over 60,000 items were collected across West Michigan to serve 43 schools. Notebooks, backpacks, and pencils galore went from filling the seats of three school buses to being in the hands of students and teachers ready to start the year strong, and our schools could not be more grateful.
“Thank you so much for this year’s donation — it truly went a long way in meeting the needs of our students and teachers! We are incredibly grateful for this program. Because of your generosity, every family is able to start the school year knowing their student has the supplies they need to feel confident and prepared on the very first day."
— Ridgeview and Appleview Elementary
Behind those school supplies are students who are ready to take on new school subjects and learn new things. It’s kindergarteners getting their first backpack and their parents maintaining stability through the support of our community. It’s investing in the next generation’s education and overcoming barriers to their success.
Stuff the Bus prepares the classroom, and United Way’s efforts continue beyond its doors.
With the supplies in hand, another measure of success is participation. But with 1 in 4 students struggling to afford period products, attendance suffers. Without access to the right supplies, students not only miss out on school, essential learning, and extracurricular activities, students’ self-esteem, health, and dignity are diminished in the process.
Period poverty is the inadequate access to menstrual hygiene items, and Women United is committed to closing the gap.
Through our signature hygiene drive, we collect thousands of items and distribute them to local schools and nonprofits to provide dignity, ensure comfort, and supply women and young girls with the hygiene items they need.
The impact is real: hundreds of students receive kits filled with pads, tampons, liners, wipes, and more – each accompanied by a note card with positive affirmations to offer care and encouragement. These kits do more than provide access; they demonstrate the power of collective action. Together, we are creating a community where women and girls have the support to live confidently and without barriers.
When young people feel confident, supported, and seen, they don’t just imagine success. They create it.
Helping young people realize their full potential takes a coordinated, interconnected system of partners and advocates.
Through our Community Investment Process, we fuel transformative programs through multi-year and single-year funding, nonprofit capacity building, and a long-term collaborative partnership that addresses the needs of our youth.
“The grant funds from the United Way Heart of West Michigan helped support the 622 Girl Scouts we have in Allegan and Ottawa Counties, providing them opportunities to grow in leadership, confidence, and friendship. Each girl was a part of troop of supportive peers with an engaged mentor (troop leader/adult volunteer) and earned patches in subjects across our four pillars of STEAM, Outdoors, Life Skills, and Entrepreneurship.”
Across 13 Youth Opportunity programs, we are tackling access gaps in education, barriers to mentorship, lack of culturally affirming spaces, and generational inequities because thriving kids do not just strengthen families, they strengthen entire communities.
Programs like these showcase the importance of community connection and positive youth engagement, and by working alongside schools, nonprofits, mentors, and families, we help young people grow, lead, and succeed together.
To take the first step, students must see themselves apart of the solution, but too often, students do not see themselves as leaders. As United Way does best, we convened.
We built a table and asked our students to take their seats to showcase that no matter their age, they have a place to lead today. Student United Way (SUW) is that solution.
Throughout the year, members across two high schools joined to learn the needs of the community, create engagement opportunities, and drive the change they want to see. From telling the story of ALICE to coordinating fundraisers, from preparing kits for our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program to presenting their community campaigns, our members proved they are not only the leaders of tomorrow but changemakers today.
Will G, President of SUW at Wellspring Prep, shared, “I loved learning about our community and being a part of the change we need to help the community thrive.”
With 677 volunteer hours, students lead the change the wanted to see all while they created a community dedicated to power of collective action. That community is strong even when school breaks for the summer, and members continued their journeys of philanthropy looking to expand that sense of community.
Research consistently shows that school stability is strongly connected to academic success, attendance, graduation rates, and overall well-being.
“Student mobility—and particularly multiple moves—associated with a lower school engagement, poorer grades in reading (particularly in math), and a higher risk of dropping out of high school.”
–Education Week (source)
When students are forced to change schools due to housing instability, eviction, or frequent moves, they often experience disruptions that can have lasting educational impacts.
No one plans to fall behind on rent. But one lost job, one medical bill, one unexpected crisis and suddenly a family is facing eviction. That’s where the Family Stability Program comes in.
We work with families to stop eviction before it happens, offering more than financial help. We offer time. Breathing room. A way forward. Because when a family stays housed, everything else stays possible.
This early intervention has ensured that 94% of served students have stayed stable in their school of origin. This solution fuels long-term academic achievement, attendance, and graduation outcomes. Because when students remain connected to trusted adults and peer networks, they can continue to grow and learn without disruption.
When a middle schooler finds their voice in a leadership program, when a high schooler gets a glimpse of a career they never knew was possible, when a child feels safe, empowered, and inspired: That’s what it looks like when a community invests in youth. And that’s how we change tomorrow — starting today.