UWCFD news
Meet our 2023 campaign assistants
September 26, 2023
The 2023 UWCFD campaign assistants, Betsy, Jack and Sarah, tour the Burke Museum as part of a larger campus tour of organizations and units UW employees can support through the UWCFD. The UWCFD is delighted to welcome our 2023 campaign assistants, who will work closely with volunteer campaign coordinators from across the UW's three campuses…
UWCFD kicks off campaign 2023 this month
September 26, 2023
Every fall, we welcome students back to campus and we kick off the fall campaign of the UW Combined Fund Drive (UWCFD), your workplace giving program. Thanks to our donors during our 2022 annual campaign, we raised nearly $2 million to support nonprofits, locally, nationally and around the world. Campaign 2023 kicks off October 11…
Listener powered: Public radio in the Pacific Northwest
September 26, 2023
Public radio was founded with the idea that everyone should have free access to honest, fact-checked information in order to foster a more informed public. In 1967, when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Public Broadcasting Act, he said that the airwaves “belong to all the people,” and called for “a partnership to share knowledge and…
October is Blindness Awareness Month
September 26, 2023
October is National Blindness Awareness Month, an initiative started to help the public understand the realities of visual impairment and how it affects the world population. According to recent CDC data, approximately six million Americans have vision loss and one million have blindness Navigating the world as a blind person or someone with limited sight…
Celebrating Filipino American History Month
September 26, 2023
Filipino Americans are the second-largest Asian American ethnic group in the U.S. and the first documented Asian people to arrive in the country. In October, celebrate the rich cultural legacy of Filipino Americans during Filipino American History Month. The Filipino American National Historical Society established Filipino American History Month in 1992, but it was not…
Catastrophic flooding in Libya: How you can help
September 12, 2023
Overturned cars lay among other debris caused by flash floods in Derna, eastern Libya, on September 11, 2023. AFP/Getty Images In the second major natural disaster to hit northern Africa in the past few days, over 5,000 people are believed to have died and more than 10,000 are missing after serious flooding in Libya. The…
Morocco earthquake: How to help
September 11, 2023
A resident navigates through the rubble on Saturday following a 6.8-magnitude quake in Marrakesh, Morocco. Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images Nearly 2,500 people are dead and hundreds more injured--many critically--after a powerful magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Morocco in the High Atlas Mountains about 50 miles south of Marrakech late on Friday, September 8. The disaster…
Promoting health in an aging population
September 1, 2023
For several generations, especially for those we know today as the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers, the American Dream included not just gainful employment and climbing the property ladder, but also a retirement filled with frequent travel, enjoying the grandkids, pursuing hobbies and otherwise finding fulfillment. This has, of course, never been a realistic view…
Eastern Washington wildfires: Resources and support
August 30, 2023
Two destructive wildfires near Spokane have destroyed hundreds of structures, burned tens of thousands of acres and claimed at least two lives. The Gray Fire sparked August 18 and quickly spread east and southeast through the town of Medical Lake and across I-90. The fire prompted a widespread evacuation of homes in Medical Lake and…
Celebrate National Public Lands Day
August 30, 2023
Every fourth Saturday of September since 1944, outdoor enthusiasts have come together to spend a day volunteering in and celebrating our nation’s green spaces. This year, National Public Lands day falls on Saturday, September 23. Public lands and waters are fee-free for the day and there are TONS of volunteer opportunities - find an event…
September 15 is Greenpeace Day
August 30, 2023
Plastic Waste / G Images September 15 is Greenpeace Day! The day serves as an opportunity to recognize the impact of environmental activism and as a call to action for proactive response to environmental degradation. Pollution is an environmental issue we hear about more than ever, taking the form of fossil fuels, plastic waste, deforestation…
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month
August 30, 2023
Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the history, diverse cultures, achievements, and contributions of Latinos whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. The 2023 recognition theme, Latinos: Driving Prosperity, Power, and Progress in America, pays tribute to the immense economic and political strides Latinos have made in the U.S. The first nationally recognized Hispanic…
Suicide prevention: Know the warning signs to save lives
August 29, 2023
September is national suicide prevention month. Suicide prevention is important every day of the year, but for the many organizations doing crucial and often unsung work all year long, September provides unique opportunities to raise awareness of risk factors, provide help for those who are struggling, and give support to those affected by the suicide…
September is Deaf Awareness Month
August 28, 2023
September is Deaf Awareness Month, bringing visibility to and awareness of the communication needs and unique identity of deaf and hard of hearing people. Deaf Awareness Month aims to increase public awareness of Deaf issues, people and culture, emphasizing the positive aspects of deafness, encouraging social inclusion and raising awareness of the organizations locally, nationally…
Meet the 2023 UWCFD featured nonprofit: NAMI Seattle
August 28, 2023
NAMI Seattle’s first Stigma Free Seattle day in May 2023 / Credit: NAMI Seattle Every year, the UWCFD spotlights a nonprofit organization doing amazing work to make our communities – locally, nationally and globally – healthier and more resilient. We are excited to announce that the 2023 featured nonprofit is the National Alliance on Mental…
Help those impacted by wildfires in Hawaii
August 11, 2023
A wasteland of burned out homes and obliterated communities is left on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii, following a stubborn blaze. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) Devastating wildfires have swept through the western coast of the Hawaiian Islands, causing widespread destruction and displacing thousands across Maui, the Big Island and the historic town of Lahaina.…
Washington in a statewide drought advisory
August 4, 2023
Late in July the Washington State Department of Ecology declared a drought emergency in 12 counties, including parts of Snohomish County and the two counties just east of King and Pierce, Kittitas and Yakima counties. The rest of the state is under drought advisory. Drought is the absence of precipitation, rather than the presence of an…
Connecting and affirming Seattle's youth: Meet Street Youth Ministries
August 2, 2023
Street Youth Ministries (SYM) is a nonprofit organization that serves unhoused and at-risk youths and young adults, ages 13-26, in University District. The organization's mission is to provide youth and young adults in Seattle’s University District with life-skills, resources and relationships that bring hope and healing to their lives and the community.  The Street…
Strategies for encouraging summer reading
July 26, 2023
School’s out, and summer in Seattle is in full swing. The days are long and pleasant, and activities abound. But how many kids are following their teachers’ last day advice to read every day of summer? “Reading is a skill that can atrophy over the summer,” says teacher John Martin, founder of Seattle-based nonprofit Boys Read.…
The National Park Service turns 107
July 26, 2023
To celebrate the National Park Service's 107th birthday on August 25, national parks across the country will be hosting in-park programs and virtual experiences. The National Park Service (NPS) was created by an act signed by President Woodrow Wilson on August 25, 1916, to preserve and protect the natural and cultural resources of the National…
