Volunteers have run the annual United Way campaign so well for so long that many people take the campaign’s success for granted. It’s like the story of Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. Everybody was asked to do an important job. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did because they assumed Somebody would.
Fortunately, this is not a year for “Nobody” to prevail. The campaign has collected more than $1.7 million in pledges and is at 94 percent of its goal. Last year, the campaign exceeded its $1.6 million goal by $100,000, giving leaders the confidence to set this year’s goal at $1,785,763. That number is within sight.
United Way gifts help support 16 agencies that go through a rigorous review each year. They encompass a large part of Rowan County life and can be broken into these groups:
Community services: Rowan County Literacy Council
Services for the handicapped: The Arc/Rowan and Rowan Vocational Opportunities
Youth development: Boy Scouts, Central North Carolina Council; Communities in Schools; Girl Scouts, Hornets’ Nest Council and Rowan County YMCA
Emergency assistance: American Red Cross, Rowan County Rescue Squad and The Salvation Army.
Senior services: Trinity Living Center (formerly Abundant Living Adult Day Services), Rufty-Holmes Senior Center and Meals on Wheels
Family-related services: Adolescent & Family Enrichment Council, Family Crisis Council and Rowan County Youth Services Bureau
Imagine how Rowan County would get along without those 16 agencies – not very well. In addition, the local United Way also provides supplemental services to Autism Society of North Carolina, Children’s Home Society of North Carolina, Epilepsy Association of North Carolina, Florence Crittenton Services, North Carolina Alcohol and Drug Council, 211. That’s a broad reach.
When you help the United Way meet its goal this year, you help all these agencies serve very important needs in the community. Thanks to United Way, you can reach them all with one gift. United Way helps Somebody, Anybody and Everybody realize they have the power to help neighbors and friends in their time of need. Nobody needs to be left out.