VALPARAISO – United Way of Porter County will be hosting public conversations about community needs throughout Porter County beginning Thursday, April 28.

In 2015, United Way of Porter County, in collaboration with One Region, The Times Media Co. and Lake Area United Way, conducted 55 community conversations in Porter County. Nearly 300 Porter County residents attended resulting in seven priority areas being identified – youth and education, transportation, housing, drug-free community, diverse and inclusive community, livable wages and highly engaged community.

“This round of conversations is designed to go deeper on the topics discovered last year,” said Kim Olesker, president & CEO of United Way of Porter County. “We want to know why these topics rose to the top and what we can do to help elevate the community’s concerns.”

A series of five community conversations will be held over the next four months. The first is to be held on Thursday, April 28 at the United Way of Porter County office building. Subsequent conversations will be held in the communities of Portage, Chesterton and Hebron.

The results of the conversations will be part of United Way’s community assessment process to align organization goals with community needs.

Community members are invited to participate. The conversation will begin at 6:30 p.m. United Way of Porter County is located at 951 Eastport Centre Drive, Valparaiso, IN. Seating is limited. Reservations are required. For more information and to register to attend, visit UnitedWayPC.org. Organizations and communities interested in hosting a community conversation can submit a request by email to info@unitedwaypc.org.