KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The United Way of Greater Knoxville has worked to make the community a better place for everyone for around 100 years. The nonprofit celebrated its centennial anniversary on Wednesday by announcing its new vision for the future, "Unite for Change."
Matt Ryerson, the president of UWGK, said the new vision focuses on bringing together the area's people, businesses, nonprofits and leaders to make Knoxville more equitable. He said United Way will work to make sure people have stable housing, financial security, high-quality early care and education, stable access to food and more.
"It's a powerful day. It is a day to look back and celebrate what's been accomplished, and to look forward to the next chapter at what we hope to accomplish," he said.
To help facilitate the vision, UWGK will host the "UpWard Summit" in March — a conference to think of new ways to improve the city. Officials said they will also host "social hackathons" and show off their new mobile service, the "United Way Changemobile."
The United Way Changemobile is meant to provide an education and counseling facility for communities that need it, helping empower them to make a difference in issues affecting them. Officials said it will be one of the main components of their work going forward.
The UpWard Summit is expected to be the largest-ever gathering of nonprofits in the region, giving them a place to share some of the best practices they found in their work and inform the vision of what Knoxville can become in the future.
The "Social Hackathons" program is also meant to be a series of fun opportunities when organizations, nonprofits, businesses and average people can join together to create solutions that will make the city more equitable.
Officials also said that UWGK will help build educational and communications programs throughout 2022. They said the programs will focus on building awareness, facilitating collaboration and promoting deeper community relationships.
They also announced four 2022 campaign chairpersons: Jaime Bagwell, Randy Boyd, Clarence Vaughn and WBIR's own Robin Wilhoit. The group will lead the United Way as it raises funds to support local groups and nonprofits trying to improve the community.
"This is the dream team that's going to lead the charge and lead the way this year, as we go into this next chapter of our United Way," said Ryerson. "As you see this team, they represent a number of sectors all across our community. They represent a number of organizations. They represent a historical perspective and a new, fresh perspective."