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Uplifting CommUnity Health Month 2026
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Join the Conversation: WIU Hosts Powerful Talk on Health and Equity

April 20, 2026

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MACOMB, IL - - Western Illinois University is pleased to welcome Rev. Dwight L. Uplifting, President and CEO of Project NOW, as the keynote speaker of WIU's Uplifting Community Health Month 2026.

The event will take place on Wednesday, April 22, in the University Union Brattain Lounge. A social will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by the keynote presentation at 7 p.m. The event is open free to the public.

Rev. Dwight's presentation, titled "Sick of being Poor: Community Resiliency as Collective Response to the Public Health Crisis of Poverty and Racial Health Disparities," will explore how communities can work together to address systemic health inequities.

Project NOW is a community action agency dedicated to serving low-income families and seniors in Rock Island, Henry and Mercer counties. Prior to his role at Project NOW, Rev. Dwight served as executive director of the Eastern Nebraska Community Action Partnership and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center.

Born in Crystal Springs, MI, and raised in Rock Island, IL, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after graduating high school, where he completed a six-year military career, including service in Operation Desert Shirled and Operation Desert Storm. He is also an ordained Baptist pastor and the founder of Grace City Church in Rock Island.

For more information, contact Professor Lorette Oden, at LS-Oden@wiu.edu or visit wiu.edu/minorityhealth.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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