What are the opening hours?

Monday 8:30am - 5pm Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm Thursday 8:30am - 5pm

United Way of Wapello County

Home
United States
Ottumwa, IA
United Way of Wapello County

Call Directions Website Contact the organization

We fight for the financial stability, health, & education of every person in every community we serve

11/02/2026

🐝 Sweet news! Our bees have been busy all season, and we have PURE HONEY ready to share.

Every bottle comes from the hives at United Way of Wapello County’s Community Food Pantry Garden.

🍯 1 lb bottles, $10 each

🛒 Stop by our office or buy online: wapellocouw.org/shop

(Local pick up only, no shipping)

Pick up at the United Way office:
📍224 E. 2nd St., Ste. 1
Ottumwa, IA 52501

Mon–Wed, 8am–4pm | Thu, 8am–1pm
(Office is closed on Fridays)

Feel free to call ahead and make sure someone is available to help you! 641.682.1264

11/01/2026

November is National Family Caregivers Month, so here’s a thank-you to everyone in Wapello County who drives to appointments, manages medications, and shows up day after day for someone they love.

You take care of everyone else. This winter, take some time for yourself. Powerful Tools for Caregivers is a 6-week virtual class that gives you tools to manage stress, ask for help, and protect your own well-being.

🗓️ Wednesdays starting Jan. 27, 2027 | 7:00–8:30 PM on Zoom
💲 FREE for caregivers of Iowa cancer survivors with code CANCERIOWA (regularly $60)

Save your spot: https://go.iastate.edu/OJRFVW

10/28/2026

Communities are strongest when they stand together.

For many of our neighbors, the need is urgent: a family that needs groceries this week, a renter facing eviction, a survivor of domestic violence who needs a safe place to stay tonight.

Your gift to United Way of Wapello County helps keep food pantries stocked, prevent evictions, and provide safe shelter when it matters most.

United is the Way to community resiliency.

Give at wapellocouw.org/donate

10/26/2026

Last call for Veterans Day thank-you cards!

If you've been meaning to write one, bring it to the United Way office at 224 E Second St by Thursday, October 29, or drop it in the basket at the Ottumwa Public Library station.

Writing one takes less time than scrolling to the bottom of this feed.

Thank you to everyone who has already written one. These will go to Veterans Day events and nursing homes across our community, and they'll mean a great deal.

Questions? 641-682-1264.

10/21/2026

Grateful for a team that rolls up its sleeves!

On Friday, October 16, the Voss Distribution team spent their company-wide team-building day at the Community Food Pantry Garden. They repaired worn garden beds and built new ones to get the garden ready for next season. Voss also donated $1,000 to the Food Pantry Garden project.

Thanks to their time and generosity, more fresh, local produce will reach neighbors through our food pantries next year. That’s what a healthy community looks like.

Thank you, Voss Distribution!

10/20/2026

Caring for a parent, spouse, or friend with a chronic condition takes a lot out of you, and it’s easy to put your own needs last.

Powerful Tools for Caregivers is a free-to-low-cost, 6-week online class from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. It’s designed for caregivers and gives you practical skills to reduce stress, solve problems, and communicate confidently when decisions get hard.

🗓️ Wednesdays, Jan. 27 – Mar. 3, 2027
🕖 7:00–8:30 PM | Online via Zoom
💲 $60, or FREE for caregivers of Iowa cancer survivors with code CANCERIOWA

Learn more and register: https://go.iastate.edu/OJRFVW

10/20/2026

Looking for a service project your group can finish in one sitting?

Scout troops, classrooms, church groups, book clubs, workplaces, families at the kitchen table; writing thank-you cards for veterans works for almost any group, any age.

Little kids can color and decorate! We've gotten handprint cards that are genuinely some of the best ones. Older kids and adults can write. Everybody leaves having done something real.

The finished cards go to Veterans Day events and local nursing homes.

Stations are open at the Ottumwa Public Library and the United Way office, or make them wherever your group meets and drop them off at 224 E Second St by Thursday, October 29.

Need supplies for a group? Call 641-682-1264.

10/17/2026

GARDENERS WANTED!
You’re invited to a community round table for everyone who grows things!

Whether you've been gardening for forty years or you killed your first tomato plant last summer, you know something worth sharing; and there's something you'd love to ask.
Join us for an open round table discussion. No lecture, no experts at the front of the room. Just gardeners trading questions, hard-won advice, and the occasional cautionary tale.
Bring a few questions. Bring a success story, or the one that got away. Everybody leaves with new ideas for next season.

Monday, November 16 · 6:00 PM
United Way of Wapello County
224 E Second St, Ottumwa, IA 52501

Register online https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/Qp46CvxRnZ

or

RSVP to Brenda
641-682-1264 · [email protected]

Free and open to the public
A program of the Community Food Pantry Gardens

$¯\_(ツ)_/¯✏️ "I don't know what to draw."If your third grader is stuck on their KidsWay contest entry, here's the thing: ...$

10/15/2026

¯\_(ツ)_/¯✏️ "I don't know what to draw."

If your third grader is stuck on their KidsWay contest entry, here's the thing: they've almost certainly already done something that counts.

· Picked vegetables and donated them to a food pantry
· Helped a neighbor
· Held the door for someone
· Walked dogs at Heartland Humane Society
· Volunteered at a community event or at church
· Helped someone in their own family

There are unlimited ways to show kindness. Draw the one you did, write a sentence or two about it, and you've entered.

Open to any third grader living in Wapello County, regardless of which school they attend.

Questions? Contact Brenda Jones at 641-682-1264 or [email protected]

Address

224 E 2nd Street, Ste 1
Ottumwa, IA
52501

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 5pm
Thursday	8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+16416821264

Website

http://www.wapellocouw.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when United Way of Wapello County posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.