OUR BLOG

Stay up to date on on resources, programs and nonprofit news in the metro.

211 in Nebraska – Celebrating 20 Years

Every hour of every day, someone in Nebraska is faced with a challenge and needs assistance. The 211 Helpline, housed at United Way of the Midlands (UWM), connects people looking for assistance to local programs that can help. And this year, in addition to celebrating...

Health Hero Giving Day

by Emily McKenna | Feb 16, 2021 | COVID-19, Health

YOU can be a health hero on Health Hero Giving Day, February 24, 2021! People impacted by life-altering health diagnoses need your help. By making a gift on Health Hero Giving Day, hosted by United Way of the Midlands and the Combined Health Agencies Drive on...

Why We Love the 211 Helpline

by Emily McKenna | Feb 10, 2021 | 211 Helpline

The pandemic has brought about many challenges to our community. Many of our neighbors are having trouble meeting basic needs. But the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro helps one another, and one of the key organizations in providing that help has been the 211 Helpline. The...

A Guide to Rental and Mortgage Assistance through 211

by Emily McKenna | Feb 9, 2021 | 211 Helpline

Housing assistance has been a prominent need among our community during the pandemic. In 2020, United Way of the Midlands received over 1,100 applications for rent and mortgage assistance. With support from donors and grant funding, we were able to provide $800,000 in...

A Guide to Contacting the 211 Helpline

by Emily McKenna | Feb 8, 2021 | 211 Helpline

On average the 211 Helpline can receive over 273 phone calls a day. With this many phone calls, the 211 Team wants to make sure they are serving as many community members as possible and efficiently as they can. This 211 day we wanted to share some helpful tips users...

Goodbye 2020, Hello 2021: 5 New Things about the 211 Helpline

by Emily McKenna | Jan 28, 2021 | 211 Helpline

These lesser-known frontline community heroes are connecting people impacted by COVID-19 to assistance, 24/7. Our 211 Helpline specialists were community heroes in 2020—a resource for nearly 180,000 who found themselves in need of support during these unprecedented...

Bringing an Amazon Smile to Our Neighbors’ Faces:

by Emily McKenna | Dec 15, 2020 | Charitable Giving

Learn how your purchases through Amazon Smile can help benefit your neighbors in need Amazon Smile was founded in 2013. The site has the same functions as the Amazon site but gives 0.5% of your purchase back to charity through the Amazon Smile Foundation. To date,...