Story By MARY BAILEY
On Thursday, United Way of Marshall County held their Campaign Celebration and Annual Meeting Luncheon at the Progress Rail Auditorium.
They were there to celebrate not only the impact of unity but the generosity of the community and businesses who helped them to reach their campaign goal.
United Way Executive Director Carrie Thomas gave the opening remarks to begin the luncheon.
“Today we come together not to just celebrate but to honor the collective effort that made these years campaign a success. Your support, generosity and belief in the United Way mission has brought us to this wonderful day and celebration. Every contribution whether big or small has made a significant impact and today we are here to see the fruits of that labor,” Thomas said.
“Today is not just about the funds that have been raised, it is about the lives that will be changed because of your generosity. And it’s about building a community that believes in making a difference. Thank you to everyone who has helped make this possible, our donors, our volunteers, our board members and everyone who has been a part of this journey. We appreciate your presence today and your support. We are grateful for each of you and for this community which we are so blessed to live and to work.”
Jacob Roll with Ainsworth Real Estate then gave the Invocation.
Current United Way Board President DonNeeysa Adams then gave the 2024 community report.
“I would like to welcome everyone on behalf of the board. At United Way our mission is to improve lives by working with communities to advance health, youth opportunities and financial security. In the past year, our United Way supported 22 health and human service agencies and programs that addresses the most critical needs and biggest challenges in our community. Thank to your generosity United Way invested over $545,000 into Marshall County,” Adams spoke to the crowd.
“Many thanks to the volunteers that served on our allocations committee for donating their time to ensure these funds were distributed in the best way possible to create a positive impact in our community. To date, United Way has issued grants of over $184,000 from the Crisis Relief Fund that was created in the spring of 2020. These grants continue to help families and individuals who struggle with basic needs or needs they have during temporary crisis. At United Way we are proud of our partnership with such dedicated service agencies who work tirelessly to improve our community and provide valuable programs for those in need.”
Adams also briefed over the 2024 United Way Day of Caring updates, which included having over 450 community members present, 93 service and collection projects adopted by 45 companies and organizations and 28 companies who held Casual Day United Way t-shirt day.
Thomas then took the stage to present Lee Ward with the “Live United Award.”
Cade Smith and Johnna Williams, both 2024-2025 campaign co-chairs, then went over the 2024 goal and total of where the campaign stands as of today.
The 2024-2025 campaign goal was set at $760,000.
“This is a time for us to come together and celebrate the power of a generous community and we are so excited to all be in the same room as you today,” Smith spoke. “I knew we were off to a great start when $305,045 had already been pledged by numerous companies towards the 2024-2025 campaign goal, which was already 40% of the goal. We want to thank you to those companies and their leadership who played a pivotal role in getting us off to a strong start.”
The United Way Campaign goal exceeded expectations, and the overall campaign total was tallied at $781,647.
To close the luncheon, current United Way Board President Adams passed the gavel to the new 2025 United Way Board President, Melissa McKee.
