United Way appoints new members to youth board

The Area Wide United Way announced the appointment of new board members to its Youth United Way Board developed over a year ago in recognition of the importance of youth involvement in the future of the community.

Participating schools include Central, Jackson, Scott City, Notre Dame, and Saxony Lutheran. Returning board members include Katie Porter and Brett Ford from Central, Justin Gibbs and Amy Sappington from Jackson, Trevor Pearman and Jessica Diebold from Notre Dame, and Deanna Leible from Saxony Lutheran.

Schools represented

New Youth United Way Board members include Lorrin Lynn from Central, Sam Sander from Jackson, Sara Shafer from Notre Dame, Danielle Leible and Hannah Winningham from Saxony Lutheran and Bonnie Walker, Faie Morgan and Courtney Pendergrass from Scott City. The organization is working to include more area high schools in the future.

Gera LeGrand, Zimmer Radio Group and a United Way board member, is the board liaison to the group. Porter is this year's board chair. Other elected officers include Pearman, vice-chair, and Diebold, secretary.

Youth United Way develops youth to become responsible adults and build an understanding of community needs, instill a philanthropic spirit, and help them realize the unique role and impact of United Way in our communities.

The Youth Board will help identify areas of concern for their school community through a Community Impact Committee. They are looking at ways to have an impact in their focus areas of youth substance abuse and teen pregnancy.

Student campaigns

The Fundraising Committee will begin or improve student campaigns in each school. The Central student campaign showed a significant increase after one year of participation in the Youth United Way program. The two schools involved in a student campaign collectively raised more than $18,000.

The YUW Board will have some input into the allocation of the funds raised through the student campaign, working to address impact areas identified by the Community Impact Committee.

The Volunteer Committee will make students aware of community volunteer opportunities and coordinate volunteer events during National Volunteer Week in April.

For more information, contact the Area Wide United Way at 334-9634 or visit their Web site at areawideunitedway.org.