Goal within reach: United Way isn't there yet, but it's not too late

We are down to the wire.

With a little less than a week to go before the end of the 2007 United Way Campaign, there is still more than $40,000 left to raise to help local families next year.

And while that does not seem like much, especially when you are talking about a $1.44 million goal — that means that somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 families and individuals will not get the help next year that they need.

And that is a sad thought, especially now, during the Christmas season.

It would be easy to give up now. Some of the United Way’s battalion of volunteers have put in months of long hours trying to boost interest in the company campaigns, while others are keeping the organization’s message in the minds of residents.

Everybody is tired.

But now is not the time to slow down or lose faith — or to forget that it takes a community to take care of a community.

Getting to the goal is still possible.

It only takes $50 at a time.

You see, the efforts of the United Way’s community partners, which are to whom your donations flow, result in services that equal about that amount per person helped.

So, for every $50 donated, you can help improve the life of a Wayne County family.

There are some Wayne County businesses and organizations that did not have time to take part in the full campaigns this year. That happens.

But that doesn’t mean it is too late.

What a great holiday project — the chance to raise as many $50 donations as possible — enough for your company or group to give a gift to a family who might not otherwise have anywhere to turn.

There are a variety of needs that will be answered with that generous donation.

A child might be able to get a little extra help with his or her reading in 2008 because you took the time to care.

A teenager might have someone to talk to after school about a problem or to get a break that changes his or her life because you wrote a check for $50.

A senior citizen might be able to have a hot meal for lunch every day for a year because your company raised $50.

And maybe, just maybe, a family who loses everything in a fire will be able to turn to someone for help because you took the time to care. Or, perhaps blood will be available for a transfusion that brings a father injured in an accident back home to his children for Christmas — and all it took was a pass the hat at your company’s holiday party.

A woman might be able to steal her resolve and leave a husband who beats and abuses her because there was somewhere to turn — all funded by your church group’s $50.

There is still time to help. Send your company or organization’s check to the United Way Last-Minute Fund, P.O. Box 73, Goldsboro, N.C. 27533-0073.

Published in Editorials on December 2, 2007 12:16 AM