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Posted on October 07, 2011 09:04
Community Connections
The Value Of $1 Per Week
BY PAM KETTERING
Published: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 10:18 PM CDT
Yankton Area United Way
The United Way & Volunteer Services’ Campaign for 2012 is in “full speed ahead.” Volunteers are contacting and visiting businesses, writing notes, displaying posters, filling and sealing envelopes, planning presentations, picking up supplies and much, much more. Fundraising is fraught with anticipation, committee work, juggling of schedules, building relationships, energy and FUN!
What value is $1 to you? How often do you take $1 out of your pocket for a soda or a cup of coffee? Could your life style afford $1 a week to share in building a stronger community? Could you donate $1 a week to divide among 20 agencies providing more than 35 programs and services that reach out to your neighbors? $1 calculates to about $.029 per the 35 programs and services.
When the United Way & Volunteer Services’ annual campaign occurs, the appeal is community-wide for everyone to consider a donation. If everyone would give a $1 a week (or more if possible), services would have the capability and capacity to meet the increasing need. The annual campaign also takes the major fundraising burden from the partner agencies’ to give them time to fulfill their mission – to provide services to people in need.
An annual campaign culminates the year-round publicity that may occasionally catch your eye or grab your attention. The annual campaign is the critical factor in the success of maintaining multiple programs that directly impact thousands of our neighbors. The annual campaign is the critical factor in the impact of the quality of life for each of us.
Just imagine:
• Families knocking on doors seeking food,
• Homeless people sleeping in business doorways,
• Abused women and children not having a safe haven,
• Meals not available for frail seniors,
• Students roaming the streets after school without supervision,
• Illiterate individuals without the ability to learn to read, manage a checkbook, or write their names,
• Children without mentors to assist in guiding them when times are tough.
Unfortunately, it is too easy to visualize these situations. Before the partner agencies were part of this community, these circumstances occurred much too frequently. Situations like these may still occur; however, programs now exist to address the issues. That is where COMMUNITY (you and I) needs to steps up to the plate - share resource information as well as share personal resources to ensure continuation of needed services.
This year’s campaign will directly benefit the programs of the following agencies:
Big Friend Little Friend (mentoring), Boy Scouts (youth development), Boys & Girls Club (youth development), The Center & Nutrition (comprehensive senior services and nutrition), Connections (special needs activities), Consumer Credit Counseling and Yankton Counseling (money management and life issues), Contact Center (hunger, emergency assistance), Family Education & Counseling Center (group and individual life issues), Family Visitation Center (safe exchange between parents and supervised visitation), Girl Scouts (youth development), Homeless Shelter (emergency housing), Literacy Council (address illiteracy), Parents As Teachers (parental support), Red Cross (emergency services, CPR, swimming), Retired Senior Volunteer Program (seniors sharing skills), Sack Pack (youth hunger), Senior Companions (senior independence), Special Olympics (special needs fitness and sportsmanship), Women’s/Children’s Center (safe haven for abused), and Yankton Transit (economical transportation).
See what $1 a week can do? For more information, call 665-6766 the office of United Way & Volunteer Services, email unitedway@iw.net, or find our website at www.yanktonunitedway.org.
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