United Way kicks off year-long campaign to mark 100 years in Dallas

On Thursday night, the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas is taking over AT&T Discovery District to celebrate a big milestone.

The nonprofit is kicking off its centennial birthday with an entire year of events, volunteering, and charity opportunities to mark 100 years of meaningful impact on millions of people across North Texas.

"For the past 100 years, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas has led the charge to provide the access and opportunity for all North Texans to thrive,” said Jennifer Sampson, McDermott-Templeton President and CEO of United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. “The Centennial Celebration casts a vision that calls us all to ‘Live United’ that will propel lasting change for the next 100 years while celebrating the historic impact made right here in our community.”

Thursday's event will be held at the AT&T Discovery District in downtown Dallas, where PepsiCo Foods North America CEO Steven Williams will serve as the chair of the landmark centennial campaign.

The official 100-year mark will be on Nov. 15, 2025, at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park. Until then, the United Way has launched a number of initiatives and efforts leading up to the milestone, including its Century Project -- which uses data to revolutionize how community organizations work together to make measurable change.

"Our superpower is hyper-local. We use data science to understand what the needs and vulnerabilities are in every Dallas neighborhood block by block. This helps us work smarter with our communities really to deliver measurable results," said Sampson.

The centennial is coming at a time when the needs of DFW have grown to the highest in the nonprofit's history, due to the population boom and the post-pandemic economy.

In 2024, United Way’s combined community efforts impacted more than 1.7 million North Texans, which is more than 20% of Dallas' population. Areas of focus include access to education, income, and health and leaders believe they will need to increase support throughout the next decade and beyond.

In response, the United Way is working on the 'Aspire United 2030' initiative, which aims to increase third-grade reading proficiency by 50%, increase the number of young adults who earn a living wage by 20% — adding more than $800 million per year to the local economy — and increase the number of North Texans with access to affordable healthcare insurance to 96%.

"We're going to continue to drive that measurable, meaningful impact as we look to our next century of service," said Sampson.

Also within the next year, an army of volunteers will be needed for the Volunteer Series. Community volunteer events will include a Food and Health Fair at Fair Park, a Community Resource Fair at the Dallas Zoo, region-wide Reading Day, school restoration projects, Summer Meals Programs, Stock the School initiative, and STEM Fest in partnership with the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.

The first event is a Food and Health Resources Fair in Dallas coming up on November 16 in Dallas. Click here to sign up to volunteer.

Every major sports team in DFW is also stepping up to the plate to support the United Way for its centennial, including the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars, Texas Rangers, FC Dallas, Dallas Wings, and Dallas Trinity FC.

"They're stepping up to play for Team United Way this year, and you'll recognize many of these athletes and stars and legends like the Mavericks' Dereck Lively, the Stars' Jake Oettinger, World Series Champion Josh Jung, and the Dallas Cowboys' Micah Parsons, among many others who are teaming up with United Way to celebrate 100 years of community wins," said Sampson. "It's really exciting to see these Dallas sports legends high-fiving 100 years of impact and cheering us on as we enter our second century."

For more information about the centennial, click here.