Herald Angels campaign raises another record amount for United Way of Will County

The Herald-News in Joliet‘s annual holiday Herald Angels campaign broke previous donation records – again.

Since 1997, the Herald Angels campaign has made local residents’ lives a little better during the holiday season. Every dollar donated to Herald Angels supports the initiatives of United Way of Will County community partners.

The total donations for the 2024 holiday season were $20,017, the first time donations have exceeded $20,000, according to Steve Vanisko, publisher of The Herald-News.

“The Herald-News is proud to assist the United Way of Will County with this annual campaign, and we are tremendously pleased to see the donations grow on an annual basis,” Vanisko said. “Our subscribers continue to be very supportive of this initiative, and for that, we are most appreciative.”

The 2024 Herald Angels campaign inspired 153 total donations, ranging from $10 to $5,000, Vanisko said.

Over the past few years, Herald Angels received one $5,000 donation. This year, Herald Angels received two $5,000 donations, Vanisko said.

“We added an additional $5,000 donor this year,” he said.

Sarah Oprzedek, president and CEO of United Way of Will County, was thrilled that United Way received such a record amount from the Herald Angels campaign.

“We are so thankful,” Oprzedek said. “This will set up our year in order to make sure we are supporting the needs of those who live and work in Will County.”

The needs of people who live and work in Will County are steadily increasing. Although the poverty rate in Will County is still 7%, the number of “ALICE” families is still rising, Oprzedek said.

ALICE is the acronym for asset limited, income constrained, employed. ALICE families are employed but “consistently struggling” to afford their basic living expenses because their income is “just simply not enough to sustain them,” Oprzedek previously said.

Basic living expenses include child care, food, health care, housing, transportation and technology, according to ALICE.

Last year, 23% of the Will County population was ALICE households, and this year, that percentage is 27%, Oprzedek previously said. This means, 34% of Will County residents – or 1 in 3 – can’t afford their basic needs, she previously said.

At the same time, ALICE families don’t qualify for the same support that’s available to people at the poverty level, Oprzedek previously said.

To compensate, ALICE families often work multiple jobs to reach “that breakeven point,” Oprzedek previously said.

Not only are these families just one emergency away from a crisis, but working multiple jobs to make ends meet only perpetuates and traps families in the cycle, where they are unable “to break free,” Oprzedek previously said.

“And it’s not just the individuals and families needing help,” Oprzedek said. “More organizations are also seeking additional resources to help those whom they serve.”

Oprzedek said United Way of Will County is preparing for its community grant cycle. And this will be the first cycle with the highest number of organizations requesting to attend the training to apply for United Way funding for the first time.

“It’s the most we’ve ever had,” Oprzedek said.

In 2020, Oprzedek said the need in Will County was unprecedented, with some organizations experiencing a 300% increase in requests from the community for assistance.

Herald Angels then received an “unprecedented response” from the community, with donations totaling $14,655, more than double the total from 2019, Vanisko previously said.

Since then, both the need and Herald Angel donations have continued to rise.

For more information or to donate to United Way of Will County, visit uwwill.org.