PAW PAW – United Christian Services held its fifth annual themed “Cups of Compassion” Thursday, March 12, at 600 E. Michigan Ave. The sold-out event gave those who attended an opportunity to choose a hand painted cup, enjoy a catered dinner and dessert, and learn how contributions have made a difference in the local community.
According to Alison Harrop, United Christian Services Director, more than $45,000 was raised from the event.
United Christian Services of Van Buren County is a 501 c (3) non-profit, based in Paw Paw. It provides emergency assistance to families and individuals in crisis. It offers food clothing (Lydia’s Closet), and financial help for rent, utilities and propane. UCS operates by supporting basic needs while encouraging self-sufficiency.
Harrop told those gathered, “There is great need for help for people in our county who live at or below, or just above the ALICE threshold. ALICE is an acronym meaning Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed,” said Harrop.
Harrop said ALICE households are essential. “Alice is the gas attendant, daycare worker, supermarket employee, factory worker, home healthcare provider. They might mow your lawn, clear the snow, serve you in a restaurant, or clean your home or office. Their wages cannot keep up with the rising costs of goods and services.
“Their families often include family members who need care and assistance, making it difficult to find adequate work, and therefore their schedules are harder to navigate,” said Harrop.
According to the 2023 United Way ALICE report in Van Buren County that is 37 percent.
“A total of 58 percent of jobs in Michigan pay less than $20 an hour. Consider that a single person needs to bring home $12 an hour fulltime pay, and a family of four needs to bring home $32 an hour just to make ends meet, you can see the problem,” said Harrop.
She continued, “By the way, this calculation does not include saving toward a pension, school fees, or even an emergency fund. Vacations – even Christmas are luxuries that are out of reach for these families. Therefore, ALICE lives paycheck to paycheck and regularly have to make choices between paying for food or the rent, paying for health insurance or paying for childcare, pay a utility bill or put gas in the car to get to work. One disaster such as their car breaking down, sickness or injury, meaning time off work, or a furnace needing to be replaced, can start the slippery slope to homelessness, or living in permanent debt.”
Harrop continued, “Our organization is sometimes the bridge to sustainability when a family is facing crisis. We try not to duplicate services; therefore, we work with other agencies such as DHHS, SMCAA, Area Agency on Aging, Salvation Army, WeCare and more to bring help and hope to people facing the worst times of their lives.”
Harrop said, “When you don’t live in poverty and you have a bad day, you can go to bed that night and sleep it off. When you live in poverty, you do not have that option. Another day, another struggle.”
She continued, “Poverty is because of brokenness. We live in a broken world of broken relationships. Our relationships with God, with creation and with each are corrupted. We cannot fix the problem. There is only one who can. In the Bible we are given several words of wisdom to follow to make the world a nicer place: the great commandment tells us to love the Lord our God with all our heart and love our neighbors as ourselves. And the ‘golden rule’ to do to others what you would want them to do to you.”
In 2025, United Christian Services made a difference for 6,284 households in Van Buren County by providing emergency assistance, supplemental food, clothing, free diapers, and free laundry. “We connected 594 households with help through other agencies impacting over 1200 people,” said Harrop.
Harrop concluded, “When you donate to UCS, your donation is to a non-profit. USC is tax deductible, with tax receipts upon request. We do not duplicate services. We work with agencies, so we help in the gap. We are all volunteers here so there is no big wage bill. Statistics sheet tells how much we save because we don’t pay wages.”
For more information about UCS or to volunteer, contact Harrop at (269) 415-0767.
