In-Kind Donors

Kayley Cox • June 14, 2023

In-Kind Donors

When I first started at United Way, I had so much non-profit jargon to catch up on. “Evergreen,” “Designation,” “In-Kind.” I would hear, “So & So is giving us an ‘in-kind’,” “The food is in-kind,” “They are all in-kind.” I had no clue what that meant. Finally, I asked the question: what is “in-kind”?

An In-Kind Donation or contribution is a non-monetary contribution where goods or services are offered for free or at less than the usual charge, resulting in an “in-kind” contribution. (cite below link). While it’s true that money raised is needed to support the variety of programs in our community, in-kind donations contribute in their own way that often are incomparable in the non-profit world.

At United Way of Wayne and Holmes (UWWH) we celebrate our in-kind donors. We are more successful as an organization in serving our community due in part to our amazing in-kind donors. Here are just a few recent UWWH examples of incredible in-kind donations:

- 2022 In-Kind Donor of the Year- In 2022, we needed quite a bit of printing: our annual report, banners for the race, cut out characters for the Holmes County fair, partner stickers, a selfie-station. Heather Henthorne and her team at Wooster Color Point always helped! With many of the items donated or deeply discounted, we were able to have all our professional printing needs met by Wooster Color Point!

- Reading Under the Lights- Helping to make these events free to attending families removes that financial barrier for many families to attend and focuses on the real reason why the event is held in the first place: To get books into the hands of local students in our community. In-Kind donors for 2023 RUL include: Certified Angus Beef, Buehler’s Fresh Foods, Frito Lay, Goodwill Industries of Wayne and Holmes Counties, American Dairy Association (Mideast), Triway’s Teacher Education Association, Rural King, Country Hilltop Market, Rittman IGA, The (Norwayne) Bobcat Bakers, Pop’s Country Kettle Corn, Taco Bell- Wooster, Rent-A-Tent, West Salem IGA and Arlene Wester. These donors were crucial through their in-kind contributions for 2023 and directly contributed to making these events such a success!

- The Wacky, Quacky Duck Derby- This past Friday, we held our 4^th annual Wacky, Quacky Duck Derby, a positive outcome for the need to cancel in-person events in 2020. We have an incredible anonymous donor that allows us to use their property for the rubber duck race. Having a free space to use for this event ensures that ALL the money raised goes back into our community! We even had a local restaurant, Muddy’s, allow us to use their dish room on a day they were closed, to help us with event cleanup. We went from 8-10 hours of race clean up to less than 2 hours!

- Rhinestone Round-Up- This year is our first ever fundraising event specifically for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Holmes County. Because of the in-kind donation for the event’s space from The Stables at Arrowhead Lake, the money raised at this event will go towards Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, instead of paying for the cost of the venue.

In-kind contributions often go unrecognized. Often the donation is given with no pretenses, only to serve as a way the organization can continue its mission. Some are big, and others may be considered “small,” but every in-kind donation contributes to UWWH’s mission. In-kind donations are significant in helping to mobilize community resources, which in turn measurably improve the lives of those right here in our community. The “In-Kind” contributions to UWWH are truly invaluable, and we are so grateful to every single one of our in-kind donors! We are truly better, together.

In-kind contributions (fec.gov)

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From Grandma to Goal-Getter: My goal setting journey, part 2

By Katie Koglman • June 2, 2025

From Grandma to Goal-Getter: My goal setting journey, Part 2

Books and Balance: Cultivating Mental Well-being Through Reading

By Kayley Cox • May 12, 2025

Growing up, I had a complicated relationship with reading. I thoroughly enjoyed reading various chapter books or series, ranging from the Arthur to The Baby Sitter’s Club to A Child Called “It” series. But once I reached middle school, many of the English classes I attended had required reading for the course, and the requirement meant reading was no longer an option, but rather it was mandatory, and to take notes, and to be tested on the material! The required reading lists often burned me out, leaving me disinterested in picking up a book for pleasure. I would go through phases of wanting to read more, but the enthusiasm was often short-lived. As an adult I have really tried to be intentional with reading. As someone who has made a New Year’s Resolution to “read more” the last 6 years, I have really tried to focus on finding what genres interest me because when I do, I do in fact “read more,” and I like it! It also makes me happy. I feel like I have more to talk about in conversations and enjoy the dialogue reading a book brings, along with the mental break it provides me from daily life. As a parent of two young children, I have really tried to make it a priority to foster a love of reading in my kids. I encourage them to choose the books we read, and to take it a step further, I have also been intentional that my children also SEE me reading. Reading books for my own enjoyment. I want them to remember that reading isn't just something we do together, but also something we can do for ourselves. It’s a form of self-care and can really help our health-our MENTAL health. Literacy plays a critical role in children's mental well-being. Research from Scholastic and the Yale Child Study Center-Scholastic Collaborative for Child & Family Resilience highlights the powerful influence of books and literacy on mental health. It shows that a love of reading can boost self-esteem, increase empathy, and mitigate anxiety and depression. Reading can introduce children to different types of people from all walks of life, and not only that, introducing children to different points of view, perspectives, ideas and ways of life. This exploration can foster creativity and imagination and innovation – traits that are needed for our community to evolve and grow. And this exploration can provide an opportunity to show that no matter your thoughts, you are not alone in them. By modeling reading, I hope to instill in my children the understanding that books, while educational tools, are also powerful allies in maintaining mental health. Our brain, just like anything else in the body, needs exercise. And we have the power to put the book down or keep turning the page. Whether it’s going to library to pick out our selections, or borrowing books through the Libby app, I challenge you to give yourself a moment of escape with a side of perspective that a good book can bring. Then, track your progress through Wayne County Public Library’s Beanstack app to follow your book journey. This action has truly helped me prioritize reading for my mental well-being while also instilling the love of reading in my children so they too can create a balance for their own mental health.