Through community engagement, we can unite to make a difference in the St. Louis Region. This year, we’re proud to offer volunteer opportunities to give back to the community by partnering with The United Way of Greater St. Louis.
As part of the United Way campaign this year, we are excited to bring service events to Danforth and Medical School campuses in late October! This year we are hoping to double our efforts by assembling 500 kits!
If you have five minutes to spare, you can drop by to prepare a “Smile Kit” or “Pocket Buddy.”
Danforth Campus Service2Go Event
Tuesday, Oct. 24
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Umrath Lounge
Medical School Campus Service2Go Event
Thursday, Oct. 26
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Eric P. Newman Education Center — Great Rooms
United Way’s Volunteer Center
Do-It-Yourself Projects
Visit United Way’s Volunteer Center website to find step-by-step guides to complete meaningful volunteer projects on your schedule. You or your team will purchase the supplies, complete the project, and drop off the completed project to an agency of your choosing.
If you volunteer individually or as a group between Oct. 2–Nov. 17, please submit a record of hours by completing this form. We want to capture the most accurate representation of volunteer hours served during the campaign.
Washington University Community Stories
As part of our Caring for the Community initiative, we continue to build and strengthen community partnerships with non-profit organizations in St. Louis. Read stories of how members of the WashU community embrace and encourage civic engagement with their family, friends and colleagues.
United Way Volunteer Spotlight: Kelly Bogda
United Way Volunteer Spotlight: Wilmetta Toliver-Diallo
I love being a member of such a generous community as St. Louis. It’s a collective win when those in our community in the most need can find the support to thrive. We each can do a little bit to raise up our region.”
Josh Walehwa, PhD
Washington University Testimonials
Cynthia Williams
Assistant Dean for Community Partnerships at the Brown School
As a member of the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, I have experienced firsthand the profound impact that a collective force for good can have on a community. Collaborations made possible through the United Way, bring together individual volunteers, local non-profits, academia, and corporations to build bridges and create solutions with timely actions that otherwise could not have been possible. These outcomes reflect the spirit of our resilient St. Louis communities.
Kevin Watkins
Electrical/Energy Engineer with Facilities Planning & Management
As a Utility Engineer within Facilities, Planning, and Management team, we seek to be good stewards of university resources that will benefit future generations for years to come in the form of beautiful, welcoming campuses. United Way also crosses over generations when it comes to resources, both through volunteerism and financial gifts. As a youth, I was involved in scouting, a beneficiary of the United Way. My cool moment as a 10-year-old, was involvement in a United Way campaign commercial with a former NFL running back, Stump Mitchell, who played for the “Big Red” St. Louis Cardinals. It’s a memory I’m fond of, and has encouraged me to continue providing monetary support throughout my adult life.
I’m also an active member of Maplewood United Methodist Church, participating in outreach programs over the past several years with LifewiseStL. Our amazing congregation, small but faithful, opened up its doors to a Freedom School summer literacy camp. The camp focuses on summer reading enrichment for children who might not otherwise have access to books. The program plays a much needed role in helping to curb summer learning loss and close achievement gaps. As a lifelong St. Louis resident, I am proud of our community in the countless number of ways we continue to rise up in support of great programs. We are not finished!
Kerri Morgan
PhD, Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy and Neurology
I have worked with Paraquad, a large disability organization in St. Louis, for close to 20 years in different capacities. I have volunteered for Paraquad by serving on the board and several committees. Additionally, in my professional role as a rehabilitation researcher, I closely collaborate with Paraquad to develop and test community-based exercise programs for persons with a disability.
Paraquad is an important organization in St. Louis as it offers services and programs that promote equity and independence for persons with a disability. As a person with a disability and a healthcare professional, I have seen and lived the inequities of not being able to meet physical activity goals. One of the programs I have worked closely with at Paraquad is the health and wellness services offered through the Stephen A. Orthwein Center. The Orthwein Center at Parquad is focused on advancing independence for persons with a disability through exercise. They offer a state-of-the-art facility, equipment, and trained staff to support persons with a disability to meet their physical activity and health goals. My work with Paraquad has given me an opportunity to support needed services in our area. But more importantly it has helped me to continue to learn and grow from others with disabilities about their life experiences and the work we need to do in our community to better support persons with a disability.