What Exactly Does the United Way Do?
Inspired by the Walt Disney quote, "If you can dream it, you can do it!" the
United Way of Central Missouri has chosen a Disney theme for its 2017 Community Campaign.
Article by Ann Bax,
United Way of Central Missouri President/CPO
We’re often asked, “What exactly does United Way of Central Missouri do?”
The simplest way to answer that question is we help people. That’s it. That’s our one, single goal – to help as many people in central Missouri as we can.
We help people from all walks of life. We help families; babies; kids; teenagers; moms; dads; elderly people; people with health problems, like diabetes, asthma, & autism; people with developmental disabilities; people coping with depression, abuse and addictions; people who are homeless, powerless and hopeless.
How do we help so many people with so many needs?
We partner with 28 local agencies to help 1 in 2 people in Central Missouri—85,000 people in 2016! Instead of focusing on one single cause or issue, we focus on hundreds of them, helping the community as a whole. This way, one donation not only goes to the need that everyone is aware of, but also to those that are less obvious but no less important.
But as you can imagine in today’s economic climate, many United Way partner agencies are receiving increased requests for services…..which is why the goal for the 2017 United Way campaign is $1.875 million, a $50,000 increase over last year’s goal.
Campaign Co-Chairs Jayne Dunkmann of Jefferson Bank, and Ryan Freeman of Freeman Mortuary, are passionate about our community and will lead an equally passionate group of 50+ campaign volunteers to ensure we meet that goal to help our partner agencies address the critical needs in our community. The campaign slogan “If you can dream it, you can do it” will undoubtedly resonate with our United Way supporters…. because this is our opportunity to help our neighbors, coworkers and friends in need make their dreams a reality with help from their caring community.
During August, thirty-one organizations and businesses, our Pacesetters, will jumpstart the campaign by hosting their campaign events prior to the community campaign which begins September 1 and ends October 31.
The United Way’s goal is to bring everyone together to help people meet life’s challenges. By supporting the upcoming campaign, you are helping to make our community stronger, healthier, and a more compassionate place to live!
