If you still aren’t sure what those dollars do, just look around, Macall Speaker said.
There’s the person in the next lane at the traffic light.
And the kid who hangs with your kid after school.
Chances are, both have been helped in some circumstance by the United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties, said Speaker, the organization’s development director.
That means money, donated from the community.
With the 2020 campaign drawing down Jan. 31, Speaker wants to keep you focused on those dollars.
A total of $112,000, to be exact. More on that.
Your campaign contribution helps the United Way fund
46 outreach programs at 24 agencies across Mon and Preston.
Agencies that help residents in need pay the heating bill in the winter when the mercury dips to dangerous lows.
Agencies that make sure youngsters from such homes have nutritious snacks to eat on weekends and holiday breaks when the school cafeteria — oftentimes their only means of breakfast and lunch — is closed.
Agencies that pay for prescriptions when people don’t have health insurance or not enough of it.
Two years ago, those 24 agencies with their 46 programs helped 32,000 people with household fiscal concerns.
And, they also arranged more than 10,000 counseling and legal support sessions for both sufferers of mental illness and victims of abuse and neglect.
Which brings it back to the $112,000.
That’s how much the campaign needs to make its goal of $1,345,000, Speaker said.
Both dollar amounts can be daunting, she said.
The mission of any United Way office, anywhere, could be too, she added, were it not for the agencies that come under the UW umbrella.
“So many people doing such good work,” she said.
“And every single dollar raised stays in Monongalia and Preston counties for our neighbors who need it.”
Which is the watch-word of the United Way, she said: Neighbors, being there for neighbors.
To find out more about the campaign and the mission of the United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties, visit http://www.united waympc.org.
If you follow the United Way, you know the campaign traditionally enjoys corporate support from its “Pacesetter” companies, those businesses that start fundraising early.
This year’s chairs, in fact, are made up of a cadre of bankers, who are expert money managers.
However, that’s not the full heartbeat behind the bucks, Speaker said.
“We have people who donate $5, $10,” she said.
“Whatever you can give is special, it’s appreciated, and it stays right here at home.”
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