Current fundraising levels are shaded in black to show the percentage of goal raised so far this year.
Those United Way fundraising thermometers you see around Habersham are on the rise.
The Habersham County United Way is now half-way to meeting this year’s fundraising goal of $575,000. The organization’s new executive director Billy Boyd says he’s encouraged, “Campaign’s going well, we’re really getting into now. We’ve still got work to do but I’m excited and I think we can meet the challenge.”
This year’s fundraising campaign theme is Hope In Motion. The campaign kicked off back in August at the United Way Family Fun Fest in Clarkesville and it will continue through the first of next year.
Money raised by the Habersham County United Way goes to support twenty-five local non-profit agencies. United Way annually allocates funds to those agencies to help pay for operational and program expenses. Many of the agencies could not survive without United Way funding.
Volunteers for Literacy of Habersham County (VFL) is one such agency. VFL provides literacy tools and training to residents of all ages in Habersham County. The agency has three signature programs: Read to Succeed, English as a Second Language and GED scholarships. Its mission is to “Empower people through literacy so they can lead more productive and fulfilling lives.” United Way also supports Habersham Homework Centers which provides after-school care and tutoring for elementary school students.
While Homework Centers and VFL focus on education other United Way agencies support the overall safety, health and welfare of the local community.
Rape Response is a hotline and counseling service that helps victims of sexual assault. Circle of Hope serves victims of domestic violence. Circle of Hope has an emergency shelter where women and children can find safe haven. The agency also offers counseling and job training programs to its clients. Circle of Hope Board of Directors President Bob Ingram says last year Circle of Hope housed 212 women and children in its emergency shelter, assisted 155 victims in obtaining Temporary Protective Orders and answered a total of 994 crisis calls.
Not all United Way agencies deal with people in crisis. Some like 4-H, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, are aimed at skill and character building among youth.
With so many people in so many programs relying on United Way funding there is tremendous pressure to meet or exceed the annual fundraising goal. Fortunately, that has not been a problem in Habersham County. United Way president Jim Weidner says since 1998 the Habersham County United Way has distributed $5,551,097 to its agencies. That’s a lot of barbecues, silent auctions and Fun Fests but those aren’t the only ways United Way raises money. Each year United Way solicits payroll deductions from employees in local businesses. Employees who choose to donate to United Way on a recurring basis designate how much is to be withheld from their paychecks. That money is then directly given to United Way. The employee never sees the money in their wallet but daily sees it at work in our community through the life-changing programs supported by their dollars.
It’s a huge cycle of giving considering that at any one point anyone might find themselves in need of United Way agency services. As former Habersham County Executive Director Bonnie Loffredo puts it, “You can’t look at things like, ‘Oh man, the issues are so huge.’ You just take one little bit at a time…and then see what God does.”
And while the task of raising more than half-a-million dollars each year may seem daunting Loffredo says the alternative to not raising it is heart-wrenching. “To have no hope is just the darkest place to be and so that’s what we’ve always wanted United Way to do is to just step in there and in some way give hope to those who may not have any here in Habersham County.”
For a complete list of United Way agencies and to donate, click here.
