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September 1, 2010

Here's how you can help those in need

The Daily Citizen

“You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.” — John Wooden, former UCLA basketball coach who won 10 national championships and passed away this year at the age of 99



Tuesday morning, the United Way of Northwest Georgia kicked off its annual fall campaign to raise funds for area agencies that provide help for those in need in Whitfield and Murray counties.

The goal it has set for this year, $3.6 million, is ambitious, and more than $400,000 more than the amount United Way raised last year. Last year, the campaign’s goal was $2.9 million and the community ended up contributing $3.2 million.

As we look around our community, there are many signs that the need, once again, is greater than it ever has been.

While this cry may be starting to sound like a broken record to some, for many others it is unfortunately a daily reality that they cannot escape.

All you have to do is go daily to places like the Salvation Army, or last week to CrossPointe Christian Centre where 400 families turned out to get boxes of food and other supplies, to see the ongoing need.

Pamela Cudd, director of CrossPointe, said the families who came through the lines last Wednesday had been previously identified by City of Refuge with help from other social service agencies and Whitfield County Schools social workers.

“We only had tickets for 400 people, so we didn’t have enough for everyone we serve,” Cudd told The Daily Citizen. “We could have used 3,000 or 4,000 sets of supplies.”

Rhett Orr, this year’s campaign chair for United Way, used the above quote from the legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden at Tuesday’s meeting to help motivate those in attendance to give and to encourage others to give as well.

It doesn’t matter, Orr said, if all someone can give is a quarter or 50 cents a day or just volunteer their time in some way — every little bit is needed and necessary.

His point is clear.

It will take all of our efforts to get to this goal. But the more invested members of the community are in the United Way and its member agencies the stronger and better off we all will be.

Please consider giving to United Way this year.

You may have the opportunity to do it as a payroll deduction or one-time gift through your work, or you may be solicited by someone to make a donation.

However you are approached, know that 87 cents out of every dollar you give goes to agencies here in Whitfield and Murray counties. If you can’t give money, consider volunteering your time at one of the agencies or make a donation of some good or service.

We are all in this together and together we can reach this goal. There are thousands of our neighbors counting on us to succeed.

 

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