United Way of Southeastern Idaho

10/16/2026

The inaugural WIN Summit is coming up on October 22, bringing together inspiring speakers and innovative ideas to help shape the future of work!

Shantay and Tennille will represent United Way of Southeastern Idaho as they accept a $2.5 million WIN Challenge Culture & Practices award supporting the KIDS First Coalition’s Tri-Share Childcare Program. This investment will help advance child care affordability and support a stronger workforce here in Southeast Idaho.

📺 **The awards will be presented at 10:15 AM ET (8:15 AM MT).**

Explore the summit program, learn about the speakers, and register to watch the livestream with us! https://summit.winchallenge.org/

The future of work is being written right now. And the leaders shaping it are gathering at the inaugural WIN Summit in NYC on October 22.

Led by Aspen Digital, a program of the The Aspen Institutenstitute, and supported by Pivotal, a group of organizations founded by Melinda French Gates, the inaugural WIN Summit will spotlight the 18 award-winning solutions from the $60 million Workplace Innovation Now (WIN) Challenge.

The convening will bring together private-sector leaders, investors, philanthropic organizations, and social innovators to advance opportunities that will help women thrive — and everyone win — as AI rapidly transforms the future of work.

You can be part of the conversation:
Sign up to watch the Summit live on Thursday, October 22 at summit.winchallenge.org.

10/15/2026

Big things are happening for little learners! 📚✨

Thanks to the support of the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children (Idaho AEYC), ReadTalkPlay learning kits are expanding to five new library locations across our community!

With help from the Bannock County Early Learning Collaborative, we came together to assemble kits filled with fun, hands-on activities that encourage parents and children to read, talk, and play together while building important early learning skills.

And there’s even more to celebrate! 🎉 The expanding collection will now include bilingual and Spanish-language kits, making these learning opportunities more accessible to even more families.

Soon, families can check out ReadTalkPlay kits at South Bannock District Library, Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Library, Aberdeen District Library, and Blackfoot Library to bring the joy of learning home!

This is what community collaboration looks like: coming together to give growing minds more opportunities to learn, explore, and thrive. ❤️

10/14/2026

A big thank-you to Healthy City USA for making it possible for our Education Director, Tennille Call, to share the work of the KIDS First Coalition on KPVI News 6!

Tennille joined anchor Misty Inglet to highlight the coalition’s upcoming Child Care Open House and the locally built, locally led solutions being developed to support families, child care providers and our regional workforce.

We appreciate Healthy City USA’s support in helping bring this important work to a wider audience and KPVI for helping share the story with our community.

We invite you to join us at the KIDS First Coalition Child Care Open House to learn more about these solutions and what’s ahead for child care in southeastern Idaho. We hope to see you there!

10/13/2026

We’re grateful to Conéctate for the opportunity to have Lupe Olvera Alvarez, our Outreach and Engagement Specialist, join María on the La Voz Que Conecta podcast for a meaningful conversation about the work United Way of Southeastern Idaho does alongside local organizations, businesses, and community partners. ❤️

The conversation explored barriers to accessing resources, the challenges that can come with asking for help, the importance of belonging in our community, and the incredible impact we can make when we work together. These conversations remind us why collaboration matters and why connecting people with support is so important.

It was especially meaningful to share these topics with a Spanish-speaking audience and continue making information about local resources more accessible to individuals and families in our community.

Sharing findhelpidaho.org was also a full-circle moment. A few years ago, Conéctate helped build and expand awareness of this resource, and it was wonderful to revisit it and highlight how individuals and families can use this free website to find local support for food, housing, health care, financial assistance, and more by entering their ZIP code.

Thank you, Conéctate, for creating space for these important conversations and helping connect more people with the resources and support available in our community!

🔗 Explore resources at findhelpidaho.org

Agradecemos a Conéctate por la oportunidad de que Lupe Olvera Alvarez, nuestra especialista en alcance y participación comunitaria, acompañara a María en el podcast de La Voz Que Conecta para una conversación significativa sobre el trabajo que United Way of Southeastern Idaho realiza junto con organizaciones locales, empresas y aliados.

Durante la conversación, hablaron sobre las barreras para acceder a recursos, los desafíos que pueden surgir al pedir ayuda, la importancia de sentirnos parte de nuestra comunidad y el gran impacto que podemos lograr cuando trabajamos en conjunto. Estas conversaciones nos recuerdan por qué la colaboración es tan importante y lo valioso que es conectar a las personas con el apoyo que necesitan.

Fue especialmente significativo compartir estos temas con una audiencia hispanohablante y seguir asegurando que la información sobre los recursos locales sea accesible para las personas y familias de nuestra comunidad.

Compartir información sobre findhelpidaho.org también fue un momento muy especial. Hace unos años, Conéctate ayudó a desarrollar y difundir este recurso, y fue muy bonito retomarlo y compartir cómo las personas y familias pueden utilizar este sitio web gratuito para encontrar ayuda local con alimentos, vivienda, atención médica, asistencia económica y mucho más, simplemente ingresando su código postal.

¡Gracias a Conéctate por crear espacios para estas conversaciones tan importantes y ayudar a conectar a más personas con los recursos y el apoyo disponibles en nuestra comunidad!

🔗 Encuentra recursos en findhelpidaho.org

10/10/2026

🐯 Bengal pride was on full display! ✨

United Way of Southeastern Idaho joined Light the World in the ISU Homecoming Parade, bringing Bengal spirit, community pride, and excitement for this year’s Giving Machines to the streets of Pocatello.

We’re grateful to be selected as a recipient charity again this year, alongside six other incredible organizations: Family Services Alliance of Southeast Idaho, School District 25 Education Foundation, The Idaho Foodbank, Pocatello Free Clinic, Days for Girls International, and Mentors International.

❤️ The Giving Machines are coming to Pocatello November 13–29 at ICCU’s Chubbuck headquarters! These unique vending machines make giving simple, turning everyday purchases into meaningful support for people and families in need.

From the parade route to the Giving Machines, we’re proud to celebrate what makes our community—and our Bengals—so special. We can’t wait to come together, give generously, and Light the World! 🌟

10/10/2026

Big things are happening for child care in southeastern Idaho! 🎉

The KIDS First Coalition is bringing local partners together to build solutions that put families first and support our local workforce.

Come discover how the Tri-Share and Duo-Share models work, connect with community partners, and hear exciting news about what’s next for child care in our region.

📅 Friday, October 16 | 1:30–3:30 p.m.
📍 The Village: Youth & Family Center, Pocatello

Parents, child care providers, employers and community members are welcome!

Join us for an open house to explore Idaho's NEW childcare cost share model.

Tri-Share and Duo-Share are new innovative solutions that makes childcare more affordable by dividing costs between employers, employees, and public funding. Come learn more at our open house on October 16th from 1:30-3:30 at The Village (345 N 5th Ave)

10/08/2026

Exciting news: United Way of Southeastern Idaho has been selected as a Workplace Innovation Now (WIN) Challenge awardee!

Our $2.5 million WIN Culture & Practices Challenge award will support our work with the Tri-Share Childcare Program which reduces caregiving barriers, enabling families, (especially women), to enter, remain, and advance in the workforce in partnership with the ID KIDS First Coalition.

The Aspen WIN Challenge received nearly 900 applications from organizations across the United States and U.S. territories. We're honored to be among the 18 selected.

See the full list of awardees: awardees.winchallenge.org.

10/02/2026

2027 may be ahead, but the conversations shaping it are already happening.

This week, our team stepped away from the office and headed to Island Park for a dedicated retreat to reflect on 2026 and look ahead to 2027. With uninterrupted time together, we were able to dive deeper into conversations about what we’ve accomplished, where we’re headed, and how we can stay focused on the vision and mission that guide our work.

Beyond the planning, we also had time to slow down, connect as a team, and enjoy some time together outside of the day-to-day.

It was a valuable opportunity to pause, listen, ask questions, and think intentionally about what comes next.

We’re excited to carry the ideas and momentum from this retreat forward as we continue working together with our community. 💙

10/02/2026

🦇 A special invitation has arrived from Dracula’s beloved Draculina...

Join us for Terror in Transylvania: Dracula’s 500th Birthday Celebration, Women United’s 6th Annual Murder Mystery Dinner, with the support of Lookout Credit Union as our presenting sponsor.

Your night of mystery and mayhem will help support four local nonprofits: Health West, Bright Tomorrows Child Advocacy Center, Aid For Friends, and CASA Idaho 6th Judicial District.

🩸 Reserve your spot at Dracula’s party and purchase your tickets today!
Visit unitedwaysei.org to view full details.

09/23/2026

And just like that, Kind Community Week is underway!

We had such a fun time kicking things off yesterday at Lookout Point in Historic Downtown Pocatello, where we teamed up with KIDS First Coalition at our booth. The afternoon was filled with great community performances, from music and dancing to cheer, making for a fun and energetic start to the week.

At our booth, we asked community members to finish the sentence: “Kindness is ____.” The responses brought so much creativity and heart to the afternoon, and we turned them into a mosaic of kindness, capturing the many ways kindness can show up in our community.

Each response was unique, but together they created something bigger: a reminder that we are United in Kindness.

From a helping hand to a kind word, a thoughtful gesture, or simply making someone feel seen, there’s no shortage of ways to spread kindness.

And for a fun little bonus… We spotted a kind community member sporting this year’s Read Talk Play in the Outfield shirt! 👀 See if you can spot them in the photos!

Let’s keep the kindness going all week!

Follow Kind Community for activities and updates throughout Kind Community Week, September 21–26.