Morris Herald Angels Campaign boosts United Way of Grundy County

Generosity boosted the second annual Morris Herald Angels Campaign, a holiday drive to support the work of United Way of Grundy County, whose director talks about the invaluable benefits of charitable giving, 2025 plans by the nonprofit and the availability of a pharmaceutical discount program open to everyone.

United Way of Grundy County is doing great things in the community, Morris Herald-News Publisher Steve Vanisko said as the Morris Herald Angels Campaign concluded.

“We were pleased to see the number of donors and the donation amount increase from 2023, and we hope to see it grow again when we do the next campaign,” Vanisko said.

All the donors, besides those who chose to remain anonymous, made their gifts in the name of loved ones, said Karen Nall, executive director of the local United Way, adding that more people are realizing they can do something special for their loved ones and for those the funding will help.

“I am so grateful to Shaw Media and Morris Herald-News for doing this campaign with us again and partnering with us,” Nall said, noting the Herald Angels platform highlighted gifts in honor or in memory of family and friends. “[It is] such a meaningful way to give to our organization – planting those seeds in honor of someone – which then supports so many vital human service programs in our community.”

United Way of Grundy County steers donations to nearly 50 programs provided by about 30 nonprofit organizations. It intends to expand outreach and revenue to keep those programs growing, Nall said.

The goal of growth encompasses both of United Way of Grundy County’s in-house programs, 2-1-1 and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Its 2-1-1 service features a live person ready to answer the three-digit phone number 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for people seeking anything from food or mental health care to shelter referrals, disaster relief and help in the face of domestic violence.

“Our Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library [program] is going crazy with … registration,” Nall said, elated that more children age 5 and younger are being exposed to reading through the monthly book delivery program that’s open to all. “We have far exceeded our estimation of the registration we’d have.”

Another goal for 2025 is to identify unmet needs within the county, Nall said, noting United Way analyzes calls to 2-1-1 to extract data on what services have to be referred outside of Grundy County. It meets with other entities to assess unmet needs, also studying what the hospital and health department are targeting.

The next step would be examining what organizations could partner together to provide the missing service within the county. The analysis also helps determine where the United Way board of directors should focus, Nall said, noting the agency will review 2026 applications for funding in April. Local nonprofits annually request program grants from the United Way of Grundy County in Morris, which began in 1946.

“A lot of our local nonprofits are so smart in partnering together,” Nall said. “They’re not working in silos. The partnership enhances a program as a whole. … Together they make this huge impactful program.

“The agencies really have gotten creative with their partnerships (with help from state and federal funding),” Nall said. “If a program needs to be strengthened by a partnership [with] another agency, we encourage that. Not one agency can do all for all. Shared financial commitment … makes the program stronger.”

SingleCare savings

When making presentations to churches and other groups, Nall highlights SingleCare, a prescription discount program that can save up to 80 percent on costs. The free program is available to people whether they have insurance or not. United Way of Grundy County partners with SingleCare and offers the prescription savings card in English and Spanish. One also can download the app.

“There is no cost,” Nall said of the service. “We don’t pay to partner with them. You can take your … card to any large pharmacy or mom-and-pop pharmacy – [it’s] widely accepted.”

The discounts are tied to specific medications. Nall suggests showing the pharmacist one’s insurance card and the SingleCare card and asking which provides the greater discount for the prescription.

“What’s great about the app is it’s kind of like a GasBuddy app,” Nall said. “Put in the prescription you are needing to get. It will do a search of local pharmacies in your area and it will tell you how much you would pay … out of pocket.”

There’s no cost to use the card, no cost to United Way of Grundy County and no cost to the pharmacy, which is reimbursed by the pharmaceutical company the same as with a coupon, Nall explained, calling it an ongoing virtual coupon that can be used over and over.

United Way offers to bring businesses a stack of the cards for their lobby or waiting room. Anyone who needs help downloading the app is welcome to call United Way, which tracked SingleCare use in Grundy County for 2024. It found the 529 processed claims translated to more than $62,890 in savings, Nall said. She encourages people to pay it forward and spread the word about the discount program.

How to help

A sampling of the partner agencies helped by United Way includes Community Nutrition Network, Habitat for Humanity, Scouting, Salvation Army, Easterseals and Illinois Valley Industries, providing independent living support for people with disabilities.

“Our general funding for our partners assists people from birth to death and everything in between: from new babies to hospice care and everything in the middle,” Nall said earlier.

Given the many organizations partnering with United Way, Nall said people will find programs that speak to their heart. To donate to support them or learn more, visit uwgrundy.org.