United Way of Hartsville launches $275,000 campaign
By JIM FAILE
The United Way of Hartsville kicked off its 2011 fundraising campaign Thursday with a breakfast for agencies and organizations served by the United Way and for donors.
This year’s campaign goal is $275,000, according to T.C. Sawyer, executive director of the United Way of Hartsville.
“With your help, we as the United Way will be able to continue serving people in this community,” Sawyer said.
Sawyer said that through the agencies it funds, the United Way of Hartsville serves one out of every three people in the Hartsville area.
And 90 percent of that funding, he said, stays in the Hartsville community.
“Of every dollar we raise in Hartsville, only 10 cents of it goes elsewhere,” Sawyer said.
The theme for this year’s campaign is “Our Community Matters.”
This year’s funding goal is the same as last year’s, Sawyer said.
Last year’s campaign met 80 percent of its goal, he said. Sawyer said that was good given the dire economy.
Donations dropped off primarily among small businesses, he said. “Small businesses are struggling,” Sawyer said.
He said he is confident this year’s campaign will meet its entire goal. “I’m excited,” he said.
He said the organization has picked up some new corporate donors, including Coker College and Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center.
Sawyer told the group that the most important thing they could do to help boost contributions is “spread the word.”
Sawyer said the weak economy is manifesting itself in many of the telephone calls he gets from people seeking some kind of assistance. “I get calls from people who say they need help with their light bill, their water bill, their telephone bill. I get calls from people who say they need to get gas for their car so they can get to work the next day,” he said. “This year I’ve received a lot of calls like that.”
Sawyer said he tries to refer the callers to the appropriate source for help.
Participants also heard from some of the local agencies funded by the United Way.
Ruth Thomas, executive director of the Darlington County Disabilities and Special Needs Board (Lou Scott Center), said her agency serves 500 people in Darlington County and relies heavily on United Way funding.
“The Disabilities and Special Needs Board is a strong believer in the United Way’s theme of Our Community Matters,” she said.
She said 80 percent of the agency’s clients come from underprivileged backgrounds.
Kathy Baxley, executive director of the Free Medical Clinic of Darlington County, said the United Way of Hartsville is a vehicle through which the various service agencies it funds can come together and meet community needs with a holistic approach.
Last year the free clinic’s two offices in Hartsville and Darlington saw 2,363 patient visits, Baxley said.
“The United Way unites all of us to meet every need,” Baxley said. “The arms that go around, that’s the United Way.”
“Those arms really are your arms,” said Carlisle Rogers, executive director of Big Brothers of the Pee Dee.
“Many thousands of lives are helped every year through the services of the United Way,” Rogers said.
Rogers said his organization serves young people from broken homes who are at risk of becoming a burden on society. The organization offers a support system with mentoring by an adult male for boys and young men.
“Love is just a four-letter word, but it represents the most powerful force in the universe,” he said.
Sawyer, sporting a T-shirt emblazoned with the United Way slogan “Live United,” pointed to the slogan and told the group, “I’m asking you as you interact with the community, express this.”