Amid all the distressing news — job losses, home foreclosures, business failures, government services slashed or eliminated — most folks in our community are still doing OK. Yet even for them, this recession grows more personal each day as they see more of their friends, neighbors and co-workers get battered by it. They want to help, but aren’t sure how.
We don’t know of a better way than to make a gift to the United Way of Snohomish County’s Local Community Fund. It’s easy to do — you can give a little bit at a time by signing up at work for an automatic payroll deduction — and it’s effective. The Local Community Fund supports 91 programs run by 39 local health and human service agencies that United Way holds accountable for delivering services efficiently and effectively.
The timing of a new or larger gift to the United Way couldn’t be better. Corporate cutbacks and layoffs are taking a toll on giving, which isn’t surprising — as paychecks disappear, so do donations. Without a generous community response, agencies funded by the United Way face a 12 percent reduction in their grants beginning next month.
The United Way is reducing its own internal budget by $296,000. That will include staff cuts, making fund-raising and service delivery even more challenging.
In a community with a long track record of stepping up in such situations, some have already responded. Seventy-three percent of Cascade Bank employees gave to the United Way campaign this year, and their total giving was up 10 percent, to $88,000. Providence Regional Medical Center Everett’s total gift more than doubled from the previous year, from $30,000 to $70,000.
Employees of the YMCA increased their total gift by $7,000, and importantly, 79 percent of their donations went to the United Way’s Local Community Fund instead of individual agencies designated by the givers. That’s by far the best way to ensure your money goes where it can do the most good, right now, in your own community.
If you haven’t given to the United Way in the past, this is the year to start. If you already give, this is the year to consider making your gift a little bit bigger.
To the question so many of us are asking these days — “How can I help?” — there’s no better answer.
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