A Community Partnership between Wired Cafe and United Way Rock River Valley

Good in Every Cup. Good in Every Child.

United Way Rock River Valley and Wired Cafe Rockford are coming together where community already gathers, over coffee, to do something that matters.

Some of the most important conversations happen not in boardrooms or classrooms, but over a cup of coffee. That’s the idea behind this collaboration. Wired Cafe is a place where Rockford gathers, connects, and shows up for one another. United Way is here to make sure those moments carry a little more meaning.

Together, we’re using something as simple as a coffee sleeve to open a conversation about something that shapes a child’s entire future: the ability to read.

Early childhood literacy isn’t just a school issue. It’s a community issue — and it takes a community to make a difference.

Coffee sleeve wrap for Wired Cafe and United Way Rock River Valley collaboration

The Coffee Sleeve Campaign

A small thing carrying a big message.

Every cup served at Wired Cafe will carry a custom coffee sleeve from United Way. This sleeve is a simple reminder that early literacy matters, and that our community is doing something about it.

It’s awareness that travels. That gets read at the table, in the car, on a park bench. Awareness that reaches caregivers right where they are.

1 in 3 children in the U.S. start kindergarten without the literacy skills they need to succeed.

By the end of third grade, children who cannot read proficiently are four times more likely to drop out of high school.

Learn more about United for Literacy

Wired After Dark

An evening of music for a good cause.

Wired Cafe’s Wired After Dark series is more than a great night out. It’s a fundraiser with real, local impact. The funds raised go directly toward providing boxed lunches for kids, teens, and elderly community members in Rockford — delivered with care, right to where they’re needed. You can view their upcoming events on their Instagram page @wiredcaferkfd.

This lunch box program currently runs once a year, with plans to expand. The momentum behind it is growing.

This year, every kids’ and teens’ boxed lunch comes with a book.

United Way is proud to include an age-appropriate book inside every boxed lunch provided to children and teens. A meal feeds the body. A book feeds the mind.

We're also providing information about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library program. Thanks to the funding from United Way, kids in Winnebago County can sign up for free, age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five. These books are mailed every month, rght to their home.

Explore the Imagination Library Program

Want to be part of it?

There’s a place for everyone in this work — whether you’re a regular at Wired Cafe, a caregiver, or someone who just wants to help Rockford’s kids thrive.

A collaboration between Wired Cafe Rockford and United Way Rock River Valley. Because community is built one cup, and one book, at a time.