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United Way Opens Campaign with 'Day of Caring'
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Nearly 400 volunteers representing 46 local businesses fanned across the city Friday, assisting nonprofit organizations with neighborhood cleanups, construction, painting, landscaping, and home repairs.
It's all part of the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley's "Day of Caring" event, which kicked off the organization's annual fundraising campaign with a breakfast this morning at the Covelli Centre and sponsored by Covelli Enterprises.
This year's goal is to raise $2.5 million, and early "pacesetter" support has already brought in 18% of that target, reported the United Way chapter’s president, Bob Hannon. "Today jump-starts our campaign," he said. "Overall, our pacesetters have already raised $446,000. That's a little bit ahead of last year."
The pacesetter campaign, launched in July, consists of 80 companies that began internal fundraising efforts ahead of today’s kickoff, Hannon explained. "It really builds the momentum for the overall general campaign," he said.
United Way's "Day of Caring" is a means to give back to a lot of nonprofit organizations that provide an important service to the community, Hannon said.
"We want to thank the people who support us, and they get a chance to see where their dollars go," he noted. "We want them to feel that they're a partner with us and leave the day feeling good about the work that we do in the community."
Volunteers this year partnered with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. to work on revitalization in the Crandall Park district, and Oh Wow! The Roger and Gloria Jones Children's Center for Science and Technology.
"We have a new project with YNDC, and we're going to work on 10 homes on the North Side, clean them up and clean up some neighborhoods," Hannon said.
The YNDC project consisted of 60 community volunteers that represented the Aflac Regional Office, The Better Business Bureau, Compco Industries, Dearing Compressor and Pump Co., First Place Bank, The Home Savings and Loan Co., Junior League of Youngstown, Crandall Park neighborhood residents, Idora Neighborhood Association, Inner City Gardens, 3rd Ward Councilman Nate Pinkard, United Way, and Green Youngstown.
Volunteers from First Place Bank and Belmont Pines Hospital were also busy Friday whitewashing a wall at the Public Market building on Phelps Street for a future mural there to be installed by Oh WoW!
Becky Wall, vice president of Dearing Compressor Co. and chairman of the 2013 United Way campaign, said the organization is working hard to attract support from some new businesses that have relocated to the Mahoning Valley.
"Part of my job is to try to draw in some of those companies that are new to our area," she said.
Wall said the United Way Team has experienced great success and support for the organization through visiting area businesses and making presentations. "It h as been wildly successful," she added. "We work hard to get them in front of a person in charge and get a workplace campaign in place."
Workplace campaigns are critical, Wall noted, and they contribute a sizeable amount of money toward the overall goal. "It's seems to make up a big part of the campaign."
During the kickoff ceremonies, representatives from labor and management at General Motors Co.'s Lordstown complex – the largest single contributor to the United Way campaign – presented a check from General Motors Foundation for $70,000.
"The United Way, General Motors and the UAW have partnered for years," said Glenn Johnson, president of United Auto Workers Local 1112, which represents more than 3,000 hourly workers at the plant. "We're the No. 1 contributor year after year and we look forward to being No. 1 this year."
Johnson emphasized that Local 1112's objective each year is to get in front of every one of its members and make them aware of how the United Way supports education and other services in the community.
"Our goal is to tap every single member on their shoulder, explain all the good things the United Way does, and ask them for support and increase our giving each year," Johnson said.
United Way has four core focuses: education, income, health and community support, Hannon noted. In education, United Way efforts are focused on programs that help early child development from birth to age eight. "We want to get them ready for kindergarten, we have an after-school program," he said.
The United Way's "Success by Six" program attracted 600 students this year, Hannon said, while the organization supports needed community service organizations such as Help Hotline and Sojourner House.
"That's where your dollars go," he said. "All the money stays here, and 90 cents on the dollar goes back into the program."
Copyright 2013 by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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