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Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

Resources Unite

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Dubuque, IA
Resources Unite

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Strengthening our community by connecting individuals to volunteer opportunities and resources.

Resources Unite's mission is to help strengthen communities by connecting people to volunteer opportunities and resources that lead to a happier and more engaged way of life.

11/03/2026

It's November and that means it's Thanksgiving Blessing Bags time!

Each year we provide 600-700 Thanksgiving Blessing Bags to individuals/families in need throughout the tri-state area. Each bag includes a cooked ham, instant potatoes, cornbread, stuffing, cake mix, a packet of gravy, canned veggies, canned fruit and other goodies.

As of right now, we are in need of the following 4 categories:

-instant potatoes
-corn bread
-gravy packet/jar
-cake mix

The team at NuEra East Dubuque just dropped off some amazing donations for us. Thank you all again!

If you are interested in helping with Thanksgiving Blessing Bags, you are welcome to drop off those categories here in our office anytime Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (1900 JFK Road).

Thank you in advance!

11/02/2026

What's This Life For?

I'm sitting in the office this morning getting things ready for the week while Alexa plays Creed. Sometimes I just need to hear certain songs or bands, depending on what's rattling around in my brain and heart.

Their song, "What's This Life For" came on, and I'm reminded of going to the Creed concert in Dyersville this past summer with my son, nephew and brother. It was such a cool experience; something I'll remember forever. Thousands of us huddled around the stage, singing all the songs together. It felt like we were a powerful force for good while singing at the top of our lungs. Nothing else mattered in that moment. We were just all together; united.

Like many, I was checking Facebook last night while the President of the United States was in town. I saw the people lining up to support and to protest. I saw the garbage trucks and even caught a glimpse of the motorcade cruising through town. It reminded me of being in the Marine Corps when President Clinton visited our base in Maryland. It was a big deal, to say the least.

I also saw how the Solidarity mural was temporarily covered and was immediately reminded of when that painting was created and how friends near and far participated in making it happen. I like looking at that image from time to time, seeing the different colors and groups of people represented. I like how it seems to capture nearly everyone in our community. I think the mural also reminds me of what was intended in the very beginning for Resources Unite. We used to stay up late sitting in each other's back yards, dreaming aloud about a place where resources worked together, collaborated, and did great work.

However, the mural being temporarily covered reminded me that we're not as united as we could be. As a community and a country, we seem focused more on division, discord and isolation than on unity and solidarity. I remember first seeing the F Joe Biden flags and posters years ago and saw similar ones directed to President Trump yesterday. I remember actually seeing the first F Joe Biden flag near where I live like it was yesterday. It filled me with disappointment and sadness and it had nothing to do with who it was directed to; rather, it was a stark reminder of what we have become. I can't hear one more commercial or see one more print ad of one party vilifying another. I don't want to be constantly reminded of what we've become.

No one benefits from the place we are now. Everyone is impacted and as a community and country, we have only become more separated and vulnerable. The threads that once held us a little tighter together feel like they have completely come undone. Sadly, we know this reality has far reaching consequences. And to be clear, this is not some passive note about how all this discord started under one person's watch and not another. If only it were that simple. The seeds for this type of division were planted long ago.

What's This Life For? I don't think our life is for screaming at our brother, sister and neighbor. No, our lives were meant to be for so much more.

"I see your soul, it's kind of gray, you see my heart, you look away. You see my wrist, I know your pain. I know your purpose on your plane. Don't say a last prayer..."

We are all hurting. This is not the way. We are better than this. I know we are. What's This Life For? Our lives are for peace, for love and for coming together no matter who you are, no matter your race, color, religion or creed.

10/28/2026

Please join us in partnership with the University of Dubuque tomorrow morning at 9:15am in front of the Carnegie Stout Library. (Thursday)
We will be giving out free hygiene products to anyone in need.

10/20/2026

He's been living under a bridge in town for the past few months and needed some food and a blanket. Most of our conversation this morning focused on his brain health. Nearly 20 years ago he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The medications he has tried over the years left him feeling disconnected and confused; consequently, he has been without medical support for the past year.

He hears voices, but as he shared, "They haven't been too bad lately."

I'm reminded of the countless people (3 already today) who stop by our office needing help and share their struggles with addiction. They too are experiencing changes in their brain chemistry resulting in a disease that at times appears to be overwhelming.

When you hear enough stories from people struggling with addiction, you begin to see a pattern: lives wrought with pain and trauma, where the addictive behavior is the outcome of a much larger concern. Some people find the treatment needed to curb the addiction, but unfortunately all too often, the underlying root of everything is never addressed.

It feels like you're fighting fires on the sun.

There are certainly times when my brain feels like it's not firing on all cylinders, but for the most part, I feel incredibly fortunate that everything is running as it should. My brain is not my worst enemy; it does not actively work against me like so many others experience.

I'm mindful when I write posts like this about being clear about my point or objective. Maybe today is about awareness, or maybe it's more about empathy. In any case, my hope is that we continue to better understand the existing struggles while creating meaningful, effective strategies to create actual change.

10/15/2026

Last week was homecoming at Western Dubuque High School. When dropping my daughter off to school one morning, I noticed that quite a few students must have been up late the night before armed with hundreds of rolls of toilet paper as the trees leading up to the school were filled with it. I remember those days. We thought we were hilarious as we gave a knowing smile to the checkout person at K-Mart that night. She knew what was up.

One of the teachers at the high school shared that she heard the students pooled over a thousand dollars to fund their recent shenanigans.
People take the city bus, a 30- to 45-minute ride to reach our office hoping to receive a "household supply" bag for their home. This bag contains two rolls of toilet paper, a roll of paper towels, a bottle of dish soap from the dollar store and a bottle of multipurpose spray. Toilet paper is the most needed item in this bag.

I bet I have 20-30 rolls of toilet paper in my bathroom closet at home.

Thank you to the "Helping Hands" group at Mt. Carmel Bluffs for your incredible donation today!

The need is very real—more real than most people may ever realize.

10/09/2026

This week we once again partnered with Western Dubuque High School for their fall service day and it was inspiring, to say the least. Over 900 high school students were out in our communities, doing good for so many.

Recently, we've been overwhelmed with requests for furniture. The Bobcats helping with deliveries and pickups couldn't have arrived at a better time. We should have a little breathing room for a week! Students also gave out thousands of pounds of food, hundreds of diapers and baby wipes and countless bags of cleaning supplies to people in need.

This year we also introduced a new project where some students helped provide the supplies and support needed to weatherize some mobile homes. We receive many calls throughout the year from people reporting that their utility bills are astronomical because of drafty windows and doors and pipes that often burst from freezing temperatures. With the students' help, these homes should be a little warmer this winter.

Thank you all for everything that you did. Your genuine compassion and youthful energy was a great shot in our arm.

10/07/2026

While you might be outside today enjoying this nice weather and being thankful it's not raining, we're over here thinking about Thanksgiving! We are working with the Bobcats at Western Dubuque High School today during their fall day of service and they have also been helping create collection areas for our Thanksgiving Blessing Bags.

Please look below to see where you can find a donation box and what you can put in it for people in need. We are doing a great job with many of the food categories already and are asking people to focus on instant mashed potatoes, gravy packets, cake mix and cornbread.

Go Bobcats!

09/23/2026

We had a fantastic morning in Leisure Lake/Bernard. Our food pantry in that area has grown in so many inspiring ways over the years. While driving back to the office today, we started thinking about our organization's name and how so often it is lived out through different projects.

Resources Unite! It's a call to action, a plea, a rallying cry.

Years ago we were asked to open a rural food pantry for the Bernard area. Almost overnight, Staci from the Molony Foundation reached out and offered a donation to help us get it going. Throughout the years, they have been an incredible partner in helping us reach some of the most marginalized individuals and families.

During COVID, we realized we needed a larger truck to transport large quantities of food to different parts of our community. We received a grant but still fell short of being able to buy a box truck. Without hesitation, the Finnin Family Foundation reached out and helped us purchase it. Fast forward to today, and that truck has delivered nearly 100,000 pounds of food.

Speaking of the food, none of our mobile food pantries would happen without Kathy and her team at St. Stephen's Food Bank. It feels like almost weekly Kathy reaches out, asking how else they can help our mission. And of course, they can't do their work without countless volunteers, including the John Deere volunteers who most recently packed food that went into people's hands today.

This past year, the team at Mercy One reached out to share how they wanted to expand their outreach into the Bernard area to help people access health resources. Now, their dedicated team has been on site with us each month. And wouldn't you know it, those same individuals recently thought it would be nice to have some volunteer cosmetologists join us and today volunteers were there providing free haircuts!

As we were pulling the big RU truck out of Leisure Lake today, we thanked Dave and Vickie Klauer for being such great tag team partners. Once we get all the food and supplies in position, they act as the dynamic duo and help run the distribution so we can get back to the office and focus on what's next.

It takes a village, for sure. And we are sincerely thankful to be a piece of that inspiring puzzle.

P.S. The video below we captured on the way to the food pantry today. Can you hear the song playing in the truck? "Sometimes you need two..." For us, sometimes you need two, three, four and many others to make something great happen.

09/22/2026

Tuesday is not a furniture day, but we made an exception today. The Spanish speaking family recently moved into the area and they've been working really hard to get settled and enroll their little one in school.

My 211-day Duolingo streak has been paying off lately. I'm not ready to move to a Spanish only speaking country, but if you need me to ask how things are going, ask if other kinds of furniture are needed, ask about favorite foods, ask how your daughter is doing, and ask how your job is going, I'm your guy!

We were so happy to provide them with a truck full of furniture, an Earth Angels kit and our new housewarming package. As we gave them their Earth Angels kit (a package full of everything needed for the kitchen), I thought about the time and care that Deb Roling puts into each and every box.

To be clear, this is not a resource in which plates, cups, silverware, pots, pans, a toaster and many other things are just dumped in. No, this is something very different. Each item is placed in and wrapped with care. The dishes match, the pots and pans are like new and there are all kinds of other goodies inside that help convey the message that you are being thought of as you start over in life. This is a cherished gift.

They are starting to make their new place a home and we hope they continue to keep us updated as to how things are going as they move forward.

Welcome to the neighborhood! Bienvenido al barrio!

09/21/2026

Our great friends at the Dubuque Regional Humane Society just dropped of a huge donation of cat and dog food for our pet pantry.

Thank you again for that!

Please stop in our office if you are in need.

Address

1900 John F Kennedy Road
Dubuque, IA
52002

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday	8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday	8:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+15632316280

Website

http://www.resourcesunite.com/

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