Last year, most donors to United Way of Grundy County through the Herald Angels campaign donated in the name of loved ones.

This year, donors may still choose that path.

“What an awesome way to honor someone who maybe is no longer with us,” said Karen Nall, executive director of United Way of Grundy County. “Giving to United Way is really planting a seed for others in our community who may need help.”

Since 1997, the Herald Angels campaign has made Will County residents’ lives a little better during the holiday season – and that campaign now extends to Grundy County.

This is the third year United Way of Grundy County is participating in the Herald Angels campaign, Nall said.

“And we are so appreciative,” Nall added.

Every dollar donated to Herald Angels supports the initiatives of United Way of Grundy County’s 30 community partners. These partners provide 48 programs to the community, Nall said.

That’s in addition to United Way of Grundy County’s two in-house programs: the 211 Helpline and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Nall said.

The 211 Helpline, which is free, confidential and anonymous, connects Grundy County residents in need with a live person 24/7, who connects the caller with resources to meet their needs.

Those resources can include food, mental health care, shelter referrals, disaster relief and help for victims of domestic violence.

The Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library “is a book giving program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth to age five, no matter their family’s income,” according to the United Way of Grundy County website.

Rising needs in Grundy County

Currently, Grundy County is currently seeing greater food insecurity and a higher need for affordable housing – and partner organizations “are seeing a tremendous amount of more people,” Nall said

“It might not be unprecedented,” Nall said. “But I see it going to a point where we need to stop and say, ‘We’ve got to tackle this; we’ve got to address this. Because if it does continue, its going to be tough to recover from.”

Grundy County also seeing more ALICE individuals and families, Nall said.

ALICE is the acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. In short, ALICE individuals and families are families that are employed – often working more than one job – but unable to meet their basic needs.

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

The percent of ALICE individuals and families in Grundy County is 27%, according to ALICE.

And that is “unprecedented” Nall said.

Nall attributes the rise in ALICE families to the current cost of living.

“And that really speaks volumes as to what is needed in the community versus what is available,” Nall said. “And we can only do so much with the funding we have.”

The Grundy County poverty rate is 7%, according to ALICE.

The value of Herald Angels donations

Nall said United Way of Grundy County is always looking at increasing their partnership to meet those rising needs. And that’s why Herald Angels donations are so valuable, she feels.

“Donations help us to continue to fund these organizations, which are seeing their numbers increase in the services they provide,” Nall said. “We definitely want to be able to provide more funding for them – or, at least, help them get through this.”

Although Nall can’t predict “what things are going to look like in 2026,” she did recall the “drastic decreasing in funding” for approximately two years after the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.

“So if we continue to see a decrease income but an increase in need, then I think it’s going to be a couple of years before our agencies can recover fully,” Nall said.

In the meantime, Herald Angels can help agencies reach more people whose needs the agencies can’t meet on their own, especially when agencies have “exhausted” their resources, Nall said.

“The ALICE number is not decreasing anytime soon,” Nall said.

Nall said she really appreciates how the Herald Angels campaign will make more people aware of United Way of Grundy County.

Donating to United Way of Grundy County is an efficient way to help many people, since United Way helps more than one agency, one person and one program, Nall feels.

“If people are looking and they’re not sure where,” Nall said, “they can go to our website and see all the agencies we do support. We cover a whole wide variety of organizations through our funding, from birth to death and everything in between.”

And if they can’t donate money, they can donate their time, she said.

“Because a lot of our organizations really could use some volunteers,” Nall said.

How to donate to Herald Angels

Make your check payable to the United Way of Grundy County and write “Herald Angels” in the memo line.

Mail to The Herald-News, 1100 Essington Road, Ste. 4, Joliet, IL 60435.

Or watch for Herald-Angels ads in the paper through December. Just clip out the form and mail it with your donation or donate online at https://uwgrundy.org/.

Every dollar will be donated directly to the United Way of Grundy.