Souris Valley United Way workers shown from left to right are Kathryn Aubol, receptionist; Christy Miller, executive director; and Hannah Pederson, community impact coordinator. Photo by Elizabeth Hendrickson/MDN

What began in 1930 as the Minot Community Chest later changed its name in 1985 to what we know today as Souris Valley United Way.

Since its start, the organization has grown from supporting five agencies to supporting 21 agencies and providing more than 28 programs to the community. Since 1948, the Minot community has invested more than $14 million toward making a healthy and thriving community.

“The mission of our organization is to seek out community problems and create solutions together,” said Executive Director Christy Miller.

Miller has been with the organization for five years and previously worked in a different career field before making the switch to working with nonprofits.

“I was in the fitness industry before this. When you work in the fitness industry, you’re helping people improve their lives and I feel like this is just a bigger scale of that,” Miller said. “I’ve always loved volunteering and feeling like I’m part of the community, so when the opportunity came up I was excited to apply.”

Backpack Buddies is one of the programs the organization offers, This program aims to help keep students who may not have enough food at home fed over the weekend.

“We feed over 500 students a week between Central Middle School and Jim Hill Middle School,” Miller said. “Counseling staff or other school staff identify a student that might not have enough food at home to keep them full over the weekend. So they reach out to us to help keep the student fed over the weekend.”

Miller said that each week the organization is turning away volunteers to help pack the bags for this program. “When it comes to helping kids we always have a lot of volunteers – so much so that we are turning volunteers away each week.”

The organization also supports children in reading through the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. “We have a little over 2,000 kids currently signed up for that program,” Miller said. “Once we receive the registration then the books are mailed directly to the child from the Imagination Library. We fund the program with the help of our donors,” Miller said. Children will receive one book a month until they turn 5 years old, creating a home library of 60 books.

Another program that makes a significant difference in the Minot community is the Blessings Bank.

“It was started by former Central Campus Principal Chuck Krantz who saw the need. He started the program and then moved out of the area and at that time asked us to take over the program in 2023,” Miller said.

The program provides toiletries and personal care items to those in need by simply filling out an online application or calling the organization.

“We have volunteers each week that help fill our orders. We stay very busy receiving usually around 250 orders a week,” Miller said.

All of the programs the organization offers would not be possible without the community support. One of the ways the organization receives donations is through fundraising.

“On May 3, we have a fundraiser called BowlaPalooza. What makes this different from most fundraisers and galas where you have to be 21 or older — this is a family friendly event. We will have prizes for best costume where the team will pick their own theme,” Miller said. “We have had some awesome costumes in past years and are excited to see how creative our teams can get this year.”