Local Impact: United Way helps, 'one person at a time'

That amount gave new import to this year’s social, and United Way Manager Ali Church noted that for the first time, allocations will provide help to pre-natal programs. Combined with support for services to the elderly, it connects United Way to the entire cycle of life.

“The impact we’re making is before a person is coming into this word and as a person is leaving their body out of this world, and all ages in between,” Church said.

This year, Steve Morrow added to the occasion with some encouraging words that deserve a spotlight. The retired Insitu CEO told of a personal experience that put into perspective the impact of people who make it a practice to give unto others. He is past United Way board chair, and now serves on the committee that hears requests and decides how the United Way funds will be allocated. Here are excerpts of what he said to the volunteers and employees of the agencies in attendance on July 21:

“It is heartbreaking and also uplifting,” to serve on allocations, he said. “It is heartbreaking because there is never enough money to go around, and uplifting because I got to know each of you. It was an incredible experience.

“I’ve been here five years, and I knew there was a need, no different than anywhere else, but I had no idea there were so many other people who were willing to help. And that’s another thing I learned on the allocations committee — a life-affirming process.”

Morrow told of his regular online conversations with friends who, like him, are at or near retirement and frequently talk with each other about what they accomplished in life, where they had gone, and how much money they had made. One classmate, a guy the others had always looked up to, weighed in on the chat room, telling the others, “these are selfish things. It is not about the things you bought or where you traveled, and I know this is not all you have done. You change the life of one person at a time, and usually you have no idea what affect you have.”

Said Morrow, “That’s what I thought of when I knew I would talk to you: You just never know. The hard work you do. It is extremely easy to write a check. You folks are making a difference, one person, one kid, one family at a time. And you may not know it at the time, but know that you are making a difference.”

That is a message worth remembering, for the folks with all those United Way agencies and those who serve on United Way board and committees.

Church offered up one last figure as a take-away: 16,735. That is the total, based on agency estimates, of how many people will be impacted in the next year through United Way funding to the more than 30 recipient agencies.

Even considering that some residents are served by more than one agency at some point, it is an impressive number to consider, and underscores the broad effect of this regional system of neighbor helping neighbor.