In the time of COVID-19, shifting our focus from immediate response and recovery efforts to campaign and fundraising was extremely foreign and difficult for us.
We struggled with the idea of changing our thought process to fundraising, when so many in our community needed food, shelter and financial assistance. But the fact of the matter is, funding is needed to make those things happen, to make our community better.
Each fall, the United Way of Monongalia and Preston Counties runs its annual campaign to raise vital funds for our community.
That money helps 43 programs run by 24 agencies right here in Monongalia and Preston counties. That money goes toward local United Way initiatives, such as Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Helpful Harvest Food Program, WV211 and the Family Resource Network. That money is used to make our community a better place. It does not go to United Way Worldwide or other organizations outside our region. It stays local to help the people right here in north-central West Virginia in the areas of health, education and financial stability.
This year, that money is especially important.
Many of our Monongalia and Preston county residents were struggling before the pandemic hit, but COVID-19 has thrown all of us a curveball. Months ago, many of us were first introduced to the new normal: Wearing masks in public, social distancing, quarantine. For many others, that meant lost jobs, lost health care and lost financial freedom.
United Way, like many neighboring agencies and organizations in our community, rushed in to provide some relief. We packed food boxes to deliver to our families in need. We created a response and recovery fund to provide immediate help for those in need of shelter, utility assistance and food. We asked for your donations of sewn masks and purchased many more to give to agencies and health care organizations that desperately needed them. We worked on all these efforts and more as our community started to adjust to living with a pandemic.
But, as we said before, the campaign is vital to sustaining these types of successes. So that’s why we’re saying to you: It is important, NOW, MORE THAN EVER, to give to your community by donating to the United Way.
If you have the ability to give, we’re asking you to do it. We still need the people who can donate to do so, as this money is necessary for us to continue our work in this community.
Our community is changing, and because of this, we’re not sure we’re going to make it to goal this year. In fact, we struggled with the idea of setting a public goal this year, and quite honestly, given the circumstances we’ve all been dealt this year, we’re not sure at all that it can be met.
But we’re going to try. We’re going to give it our all. We’re going to strive to raise $1,142,000.
And we hope that you will try as well — for the programs that make a difference here, for the neighbors who can’t make it on their own right now, for the ones who may be fighting for their lives but are quickly running out of steam. For your community.
Your gift can make the difference for them and many others. Please give what you can.
Donate today at unitedwaympc.org/give or text NOW2021 to 41444.
