“Thanks to you, it works for all of us. The United Way.”

It was the NFL’s campaign with United Way almost 50 years ago, and it resonates more today.

The United Way of Kankakee and Iroquois Counties has been hard at work addressing the area’s housing needs.

United Way Executive Director Mariah Vail said United Way’s Stable Housing Fund has invested more than $143,000 into local housing and shelter programs during the past six years.

However, financial need continues to grow. With shelter services becoming all the more limited this winter, these funds will be even more essential.

“This holiday season, United Way of Kankakee and Iroquois Counties’ ‘Home for the Holidays’ campaign seeks to elevate the needs of our neighbors struggling to secure stable housing and the basic necessities,” Vail said. “Our goal is to see families move from surviving to thriving. Support for this effort empowers our Stable Housing Fund, which funds nonprofit programs that are on the front lines of addressing our community’s housing crisis.”

This year, The Daily Journal is teaming with United Way to help those in need.

“We are super excited to be working with United Way this holiday season in their Home for the Holidays campaign,” said Emily Greene, community relations manager for The Daily Journal and Shaw Media. “United Way continues to make a huge impact on our local community in so many different ways, and it is an honor to be able to launch this campaign in an attempt to assist them in their efforts.”

Starting Nov. 22, the Journal and United Way are inviting people to donate to this worthy cause.

According to the local United Way’s 211 line, 698 Kankakee County or Iroquois County residents have contacted 211 for housing support since January.

That number represents more than 40% of all local referrals made in 2024.

Housing and shelter have been the No. 1 need in both counties for the past four years, as shown by 211 data. Kankakee County’s housing requests currently rank fifth highest per-county in the state of Illinois.

“The Home for the Holidays campaign is working to target the local housing insecurity within Kankakee and Iroquois counties,” Greene said. “Unfortunately, our community is in a housing crisis, with housing and shelter being the No. 1 need in both counties for the last four years [as shown by United Way’s 211 data].

“It is our hope that, together, through this campaign, we can help our neighbors find not only shelter, but [also] security and support this holiday season.”

Those wanting to donate online can go to myunitedway.org/housing.

For more general donations, go to myunitedway.org/givenow.