10/17/2026
The Impact Behind Every Dollar
During the severe storms that swept through Decatur in June 2026, thousands of residents experienced power outages, flooding, downed trees, and storm damage across the community. As families faced days without electricity and soaring summer temperatures, the American Red Cross stepped in to help.
The Red Cross opened a shelter in Decatur that provided a safe place for 11 people, including families with young children and individuals with special needs, while they waited for power to be restored. In addition to a safe, air-conditioned place to stay, Red Cross volunteers provided recovery information, connected residents with available resources, and offered emotional support to help people cope with the stress and uncertainty that often follows a disaster.
"๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต: ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต. ๐๐ฆ ๐ด๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ข๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ช๐ฅ-๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ช๐ด. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ด ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ด." - Dawn Morris, South and West Central Illinois Executive Director.
Every dollar invested through United Way of Decatur & Mid-Illinois helps strengthen local programs that are proven to create lasting change. Through a rigorous volunteer-led investment process, we fund the most effective, efficient, and integrated programsโbecause every dollar deserves to make a difference.
That's the impact behind every dollar. It's more than funding a programโit's helping our community members and families overcome disasters.
Because when we invest together, we create opportunities that last a lifetime.
