United Way hires former Crystal Lake Chamber president as new program manager

United Way of Greater McHenry County hired former Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce President Mary Margaret Maule as program manager for its new Ride United Last Mile Delivery initiative.

Maule is a longtime resident of McHenry County and has had an active role in the community, United Way said in a news releese. She most recently was the senior vice president at Exemplar Accounting and Tax Advisors.

“I believe that strong communities are built, not born,” Maule said in a statement. “I’m excited to join United Way and to be a part of such an innovative vision to address the needs of our community members who face food and transportation instability.”

Some of Maule’s community involvement includes volunteering for organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of McHenry County, CASA McHenry County and Veterans Path to Hope.

United Way of Greater McHenry County CEO and President Jamie Maravich said the nonprofit is “overjoyed” Maule has joined its team.

“Her passion for giving back to McHenry County, her background in all aspects of business from administration to senior leadership and her proactive approach will be such a great asset to our United Way and to our community,” Maravich said in a statement. “I am confident she will excel at taking our programs to the next level!”

United Way’s Ride United Last Mile Delivery program – which Maule will tasked with administering and growing – will be bring food and essential items to children in need – and eventually to seniors, people with health issues, people in food deserts and people affected economically by COVID-19, the nonprofit said.

This program will partner with DoorDash and use the company’s couriers to make these deliveries, according to a news release last week. United Way also partnered with Kids in Need of McHenry County, which is helping by identifying the kids who will receive the items.

That partnership currently is on its fifth week and has served 60 middle-school families over the past five weeks, Maravich said.

United Way of Greater McHenry County has approval for 29,000 deliveries across McHenry County and up to 100,000 deliveries if more are needed, Maravich said. No specific starting point has been set for the expanded program.

“Everyone who needs food and essential items should be able to obtain them with as few barriers as possible. Providing free deliveries to anyone in need has the potential to transform the way our neighbors get help,” Maravich said in the release last week.

The deliveries will be done wherever there is sufficient Dasher coverage, she said. The program will cover most of McHenry County and specific towns, including McHenry, Johnsburg, Wonder Lake, Island Lake, Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Woodstock, Huntley, Crystal Lake, Cary and Fox River Grove.

The areas that cannot be reached or this program are more remote and rural, such as Harvard, Marengo, Hebron and Ringwood, Maravich said.

One of the primary issues that Maule will be in charge of trying to solve is how to create accessibility to this program for more rural areas.

“As we evolve, we’re going to be looking to see how we can expand it out that way, but right now, there’s no solution that jumps out at us,” Maravich said. “Right now, DoorDash doesn’t even do basic food deliveries out there.”