If the economy is any indication, people are snapping shut their pocket books quicker than ever these days. Fortunately, they kept them open long enough to help United Way of Snohomish County reach its goal this year — the first time that has happened in three years.
It has been a rough year for the organization as merger talk with King County bounced in and out of the news, along with layoffs and an economic crisis that is bound to cling to this area longer than the rest of the nation. That didn’t stop businesses, groups and individuals from stepping up to make sure we didn’t fall short once again of raising the necessary money to help local organizations in need.
The more than $10 million raised during the campaign will go a long way toward enabling struggling nonprofits to meet the needs of hurting people in this community — a group that is guaranteed to swell in population before the nation’s financial climate rebounds. Some of the big donors are hardly surprising. Boeing, whose employees give with unmatched generosity even as they suffer losses, topped the list once again. Equally impressive were the contributions made by the men and women on the USS Abraham Lincoln. Unable to make it home earlier this year, they managed to commit to more than $160,000 for people here — a 37 percent increase over last year.
This year’s goal of $9.6 million was the lowest in six years, which wasn’t surprising considering that fund-raising fell short by more than $1 million last year. This year people gave far and above the goal, and nearly half-a-million more than they gave last year. Campaign co-chairs, Snohomish County Executive Bob Drewel and Timothy Nowlis of Boeing, deserve thanks for staying on an extra year to show their devotion to the organization.
A news article earlier this month told the story of charities across the country reporting a fund-raising loss and the possibility of having to lay off employees and cut important services. Even the traditional spike in giving during the holiday season wasn’t nearly enough to compensate. People were understandably timid about parting with their cash.
If any region had an excuse for holding on to its money, it would be ours. Instead, Snohomish County did just the opposite. And we won’t regret it as we see our neighbors, friends — and possibly ourselves — benefit from the entire community’s generosity.
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