Monday, December 15, 2014

What Your Gift to United Way Means...



Most of us (me included) have more than we need.  I mean way more than we need.  Clothes, shoes, household goods, kitchen gadgets, and just plain stuff, and we spend time and energy and money trying to better store and organize it so we can get even more stuff.  For many people our happiness is tied to our things and acquiring new things.  The older I get the more that realize I really do have everything I need, and the longer I work at United Way I’m sure of it.   

You see at United Way we regularly work with individuals and families that truly don’t have enough.  Enough income, food, clothes, healthy relationships, skills, support and the list goes on.  There is something very humbling about looking into someone’s eyes or talking to someone on the phone as they share their personal story.  There is no better feeling than being able to connect that person to a United Way funded program that can help.  I am ALWAYS grateful when that connection is made. 

One such connection was last spring when a young woman and her daughter walked into our office.  When I asked her how I could help her, her eyes filled with tears and she said she needed help because she needed to leave a bad relationship and she didn’t know where to go.  She and I took a walk out the back door and down the block to Personal Development Center.  As a supporter of United Way, YOU made this connection possible.  Your gift means help.  It is food, shelter, warm clothes and counseling for a child who has been abused.  It is a resource for parents with disabled children and safety for families living in violence and so much more.  Please give to this year’s United Way campaign, 15,000 people in our community will be grateful.

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