The Heart of Shiawassee – United Way (HSUW) has made the decision to end its operation in Shiawassee County “after many months of serious and heartfelt deliberation,” effective Dec. 31, 2017. A press release from the HSUW listed donor fatigue, high operational costs, and redundancy of services provided by other nonprofit organizations in the region as reasons for the decision.
“We are proud of our 40 years of service to Shiawassee County providing much needed food, shelter, referral services, and funding to other local nonprofit organizations,” stated the press release. “A program that we are especially concerned about is The Hunger Network. The Hunger Network is a consortium of nine local food pantries located in communities throughout the county, which provided 180,000 meals in 2016. Without these meals, many families would have to decide between a warm house and a hot meal.”
The HSUW has transferred financial oversight of the program to the Shiawassee Community Foundation to ensure that The Hunger Network is funded into the future. Existing funds will be allocated to Shiawassee County nonprofit organizations according to the HSUW’s normal operating procedures for 2017 on or before Sunday, Dec. 31.
“We want to thank our many faithful donors for their trust and commitment over our 40 years of helping our friends and neighbors in Shiawassee County. Without their generous gifts we would not have been able to provide the 180,000 meals in 2016 or any of the support that we’ve provided to other nonprofits in our community. We hope that they will continue to support The Hunger Network and other local nonprofit agencies through their kind donations,” stated the press release.
