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This
year’s goal set at $175,000
United Way looks to BU community to assist families, children in
need
By Tim Stoddard
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The United Way of Massachusetts Bay (UWMB) kicked off its annual BU
campaign this week, and according to Marian Heard, president and CEO
of UWMB, the University community’s contributions are needed more
than ever this year. A sluggish economy and state budget cuts, she says,
have hit hard the health and human services agencies that support communities
around Boston.
“
The anxiety level in the human services arena remains high,” Heard
says. “Some indicators suggest the economy will improve; others
do not. We will not rest until we are able to invest more resources in
the community to help individuals reach their full potential — not
with a quick fix but by investing in long-term solutions that help reduce
obstacles to self-sufficiency. Our goal is to create positive results
for individuals hardest hit by the economy, with a mix of prevention,
intervention, and individual skill-building programs.”
Last year
BU employees contributed over $170,000 to the United Way, which provides
financial support to more than 200 health and human service
agencies in 80 eastern Massachusetts cities and towns — agencies
that help hold families together, treat substance abusers, assist the
elderly,
and engage disabled people in meaningful, satisfying activities. United
Way is the second-largest funder of human services in Massachusetts,
after the state government.
This year the University hopes to raise $175,000.
All employees received a pledge card in the mail on October 1. An accompanying
pamphlet lists
the agencies and programs for which donors can earmark their contributions.
Through the drive an employee can also give to a group that is not affiliated
with the United Way, as long as it is a 501(C)3 not-for-profit health
and human service agency.
The most useful contributions, however, are
the ones that go into the United Way’s Community Fund, according
to Lois Jones, UWMB director of fundraising. Each year, UWMB volunteers
thoroughly evaluate all the
affiliated charities to decide how much money each one should receive,
she says, and a lot of this aid is drawn from the pooled fund. When a
family faces eviction because they can’t pay a rent increase, for
example, a network of UWMB agencies helps the family secure subsidized
housing, adult education or job training to increase income, child care
so that parents can work, and other services to help them get back on
their feet.
The Community Fund supports such efforts as the Success by
6® initiative,
which safeguards the health of children under age six so they can enter
kindergarten ready to learn. The program provides at-risk kids with nutritious
food and consistent medical care. The Community Fund also supports after-school
programs that teach children the skills they need to graduate from high
school. Through the Keeping Kids on Track® initiative, United Way
agencies provide tutoring, mentoring, sports activities, and other out-of-school
programs to children ages 7 to 18.
Last year’s BU contributions
also helped fund a number of agencies that meet the basic needs of individuals,
elders, and families. In Massachusetts,
one in five children under 12 goes hungry and one-third of residents
cannot easily afford housing. In 2003, the Community Fund helped 65,000
people receive food, shelter, and medical attention. Indeed, a third
of all Bay State residents rely on a United Way agency for support at
some point in their life.
As part of the University campaign, BU employees
who contribute $75 or more ($1.45 a week) will be eligible to win incentive
prizes, which will
be raffled off at drawings every Friday from October 17 through November
16 and at the University holiday party on December 12. The prizes include
a digital camera and multimedia speaker system, Beanpot Tournament tickets,
a one-night stay for two at the Hotel Commonwealth, a $200 gift certificate
to Barnes & Noble, a dinner cruise for two aboard the Spirit
of Boston,
Boston Pops tickets, a weekend getaway for two at a Marriott hotel, and
a travel package for two to any location in the continental United States.
For
more information on giving to the United Way, call 617-358-UWAY, or
visit www.uwmb.org.
3
October 2003
Boston University
Office of University Relations