The University-Neighborhood Initiative to Engage, or UNITE, involves staff from UWM in welcoming students back to the neighborhood and delivering goody bags full of giveaways, coupons, events and resources from campus and community partners to students who live near campus. This initiative delivers roughly 1,000 bags to UWM students and is a great way to get on students’ radar prior to the start of the school year. Bag stuffing will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 21, and delivery will take place the next day.
Take advantage of this opportunity to reach out to and get the attention of UWM students before the fall semester begins! Contributions should be engaging and action-oriented. Giveaway items such as T-shirts and keychains are preferred. At minimum, contributions should be a flyer with events, deals or discounts listed.
As you wrap up your 2018-19 year and any ordering, please place UNITE on your calendars (Thursday, Aug. 22), and consider contributing to the bags. Prior to contributing, please send an email by June 1 with your contribution contents to avoid doubling up on similar items, or ask questions on whether certain items can be included.
Please adhere to the following guidelines as you consider your contribution.
- Delivered to Chapman 180B between Aug. 17 and 21 (M-F 9 a.m.-4 p.m.) or the Neighborhood Housing Office between June and Aug. 17.
- Action-oriented and/or engaging (event flyer or give-a-way item)
- Lightweight (ceramic coffee mugs, T-shirts and other heavier items weigh the bags down and make the bags difficult for volunteers to carry)
- Smaller than an 8×10 sheet of paper (in width and height, not depth)
- No general office brochures or business cards
- If you must include some sort of contact or general info, it should be stapled to an event flyer prior to delivery.
Please do not limit yourself to the list below, however contribution examples from past years included:
- Magnets
- Headbands
- Pens
- Post-It Notes
- Calendars
- T-shirts (These are on the heavier side though, try to avoid if possible)
- Card holders (sticky to cell phones)
- Pendant
- Carabiner
- Frisbee
- Water bottle and laptop clings
- White boards and markers
- Vouchers for free rentals at UREC
- Chip clips
- Stickers
- Keyboard stickers
- Bublr Bike promos
- Event schedules
In addition to your area’s contribution, each bag will already contain:
- Welcome letter
- UWM safety magnet
- Handouts on being safe in the neighborhood
- Family weekend information
- Off-campus student to-do list
- Coupons from local businesses
- Fall Welcome schedule
