UNITED WAY CAMPAIGN AT 35 PERCENT OF 1994 GOAL

The enthusiasm of one United Way volunteer has led her fellow employees to contribute more than five times as much to this year's campaign than last.

The 220 employees at M&W Packaging, next door to the Procter & Gamble Co. plant north of Cape Girardeau, have contributed more than $7,900 this year, compared to $1,500 in 1993.

Contributions like that have helped the 1994 campaign for the Cape Girardeau Area Wide United Way stay ahead of last year's pace, said campaign chairman Ron Hopkins.

Total contributions through Wednesday were $183,070 -- 35.2 percent of the $520,000 goal.

Pamela Ladreiter, M&W's payroll supervisor and human resource assistant, led the successful campaign at her company.

"More than anything, I feel that United Way is a great benefit to our community," Ladreiter said about her campaign involvement.

"I portrayed that to the employees -- that they were giving their money to their community. I asked them to invest in their community," she said.

"I think that made a difference," Ladreiter said. "The employees were assured that they were giving to their community."

The benefits of United Way were brought home to Ladreiter when she saw the film about the 26 service agencies that were helped last year. Some of the highlights on the film for Ladreiter were senior citizens receiving meals at home and the relief for people caught by last year's flood.

"The film meant a lot to me," Ladreiter said. "I think it meant a lot to the employees also."

Hopkins said the campaign is progressing well.

"There are still some large corporate and employee contributions out there," Hopkins said. "Some companies are just actively getting involved in the campaign."

Hopkins thinks the bulk of the contributions will be made before the end of this month. He expects the entire campaign to be finished by the end of November.

Campaign volunteers are having their monthly meeting today. Hopkins said the group will go over each category to check results and to see where some follow-up work needs to be done.

Dorothy Klein, United Way executive director, said the in-house employee campaigns are in progress. She expects them to be completed by mid-November.

Klein said there are five new firms participating in the campaign this year. She said more than 10 companies have shown significant increases in their contributions over last year's campaign.

The campaign's next special event is set for Tuesday at Garfield's in West Park Mall. For a $10 contribution to United Way, patrons will be able to drink and snack from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. as Garfield's observes its first anniversary.