News

Speaking to a sold-out crowd of approximately 900 in the John S. Knight Center, United Way of Summit & Medina board chair Michele Cerminaro today announced the organization’s updated Bold Goals. United Way’s Bold Goal 1 remains unchanged: to raise the percentage...

United Way of Summit & Medina runs one of the largest Imagination Library programs in the state of Ohio. Each month, a brand new, age-appropriate book is mailed to the more than 18,000 Summit and Medina County children enrolled in the program.  And in 2022,...

Through United Way of Summit & Medina's Imagination Library, enrolled children up to age 5 receive free books, and in March the local program celebrated its success, announcing it has mailed more than 1 million books. All children 5 and under in Summit and...

Last week, United Way of Summit & Medina invited volunteers from the local community to read to children at schools in Summit and Medina counties. On March 2, 60 volunteers read to more than 600 students in Robinson CLC, Helen Arnold CLC and McEbright CLC. Then on...

In 2020, one in five people calling for help from United Way’s 211 had children in their home. In 2021, that number grew to one in three. Currently, one in four people calling 211 is a senior citizen. Requests for housing assistance grew from 23 percent of calls in...

United Way of Summit & Medina today announced the release of its new engagement calendar for 2022. Available online at uwsummit.org/volunteer, the calendar lists more than a dozen volunteer and fundraising events taking place throughout Summit and Medina counties....

Northeast Ohio is no stranger to the harsh cold of mid-winter. But for the many Summit and Medina County residents struggling with homelessness and housing insecurity, January and February are some of the toughest and most dangerous times of the year. United Way of...

College Now Greater Cleveland and United Way of Summit & Medina (UWSM) will open a new Educational Opportunity HUB to house College Now services in Summit County this week. Located in United Way’s Financial Empowerment Center at 1060 Kenmore Boulevard in...

Grant provides support for the Family Resource Center and wraparound services at Robinson CLC The KeyBank Foundation is providing a $150,000 grant to United Way of Summit & Medina. The grant will provide support and the delivery of wraparound services within...

Agreement extends commitment at Akron Early College, Ellet CLC, and NIHF STEM Akron Public Schools (APS) announced yesterday a three-year renewal of the sister university agreement between The University of Akron (UA) and Akron Public Schools. UA will continue to...

United Way of Summit & Medina held its annual meeting today at the John S. Knight Center. Speaking to an audience of corporate leaders, public officials and other members of the community, members of the nonprofit organization’s leadership honored the many...

United Way of Summit & Medina announced that it had awarded grants to 56 programs representing 46 organizations throughout Summit and Medina Counties for its one-year funding cycle beginning in April 2021. To receive funding, organizations had to demonstrate how...

The J.M. Smucker Co. and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation today announced grants to United Way of Summit & Medina. The $125,000 from each organization – a total of $250,000 – will support United Way’s 211 information and referral...

Students at Kenmore-Garfield High School to benefit from experiential learning in and out of the classroom Akron Public Schools (APS) announced today its partnership between Kenmore-Garfield High School and Acme Fresh Market. The partnership is part of the large...

United Way of Summit & Medina today announced that it would collaborate with Ernst & Young LLP (EY) to open its third Family Resource Center (FRC) at McEbright Community Learning Center (CLC). Located within the school, the new FRC will provide a safe,...

In preparation for next year’s tax season, United Way of Summit County is recruiting volunteers for its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. United Way’s VITA program provides free tax preparation services for Summit County residents. Volunteer...

United Way of Summit & Medina today announced that they will act as fiscal agent for a $1.5 million grant from the Hewlett Foundation that will be used to support Akron Public Schools. APS will use these funds in continued effort to build and sustain the College...

The partner agencies involved in the Akron Summit County COVID-19 Emergency Support Fund today announced a new round of pandemic relief funding totaling $370,000. Supported by the John S. and James L Knight Foundation, the fund was created through a partnership of...

United Way report highlights crisis in the making over 10 years, fueled by high-priced basics and stagnant wages To read a copy of the report and find county-by-county and town-level data on the size and demographics of ALICE as well as the community conditions and...

Portage Community Bank and United Way of Summit & Medina today announced that Portage Community Bank has become an approved partner of its Bank On Rubber City initiative. Bank On Rubber City is a coalition led by United Way of Summit & Medina and the City of...

United Way of Summit & Medina today announced the reopening of its grant application process to address the basic needs of local residents and achieve its Bold Goals by 2025 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Agencies operating programs that serve Summit County...

Our United Way of Summit & Medina is dealing with a challenging situation, which now has gotten news coverage. Our entire community deserves to hear directly from us about this. On July 24, we became aware of an email detailing allegations of a hostile work...

MEMORANDUM To: Mark Krohn, Board Chair of United Way Summit Medina From: Sindy Warren, Warren & Associates LLC Date: August 22, 2020 Re: Executive Summary of Investigation Report I. Introduction On or around July 23, 2020 United Way of Summit & Medina...