If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It and YOU DID! - Board Chair's Report by Mike Hoelscher

United Way volunteers and children served by United Way partner agencies dressed as the seven dwarfs at the Victory Celebration to help reveal the record-breaking projected campaign total of $2,073,065!
 

Mike Hoelscher, Legends Bank
United Way of Central Missouri Board Chair
Photo courtesy of Julie Smith, News Tribune

Wow, how time flies! This is my final article as the 2017 Chairman of the Board for the United Way of Central Missouri.  A sincere thank you to the United Way Board of Directors for their continuous support and leadership.  Many thanks also to the dedicated United Way staff  who always go above and beyond their everyday responsibilities.  Also, many thanks to our outstanding group of volunteers!  I am humbled and grateful to have had this wonderful opportunity to work with so many great people.

With the wrap-up of our Disney-themed United Way Community Campaign, I am truly in awe of the generous community we live in.   A community that comes together to have fun and make a big difference in the lives of those in need.  As Mary Poppins said, “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun!”

Jayne Dunkmann and Ryan Freeman, our 2017 Campaign Co-Chairs; and United Way staff and partner agencies definitely brought the fun into the 160+ workplaces they visited!  Jayne and Ryan truly led our campaign with their hearts.  Their energy and sincerity showed us all that a dream is a wish your heart makes…and the dream that you wish will come true! We dreamed about exceeding our campaign goal of $1,875,000 and we wished to get to the $2,000,000 plateau….to exceed it and end up at a projected total of $2,073,865 is truly a gift. In the words of Dumbo, our community showed us don’t just fly…soar! Jayne, Ryan and all of our volunteers showed us that, in the words of Walt Disney, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible!”

There are many in our community that face what may seem to be an impossible situation, but our community steps up to help.  But as those people who have been helped by a United Way agency can attest, the donations given are an act of kindness that can change the world and most importantly shows us that a little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference!

We had several fun events throughout the campaign such as the first annual Power of the Purse!  The United Way staff  and volunteers definitely believed that all it takes is faith and trust in our community to put together a great, new event!  We also had the very entertaining 3rd annual Mid-Missouri’s Got Talent event, along with the always popular and successful Dine United program involving eighteen local restaurants.

All in all, the 2017 United Way Campaign showed us that the words of Walt Disney ring true, “Many of our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”

It has been a great year as the Chairman of the Board for the United Way, and if there is one thing this year showed me, it’s that this community truly does have a soft  heart and will step up to help those in need!  May God bless us all!