Jackson tops United Way school campaign

Readers of the Southeast Missourian have noticed lots of photographs recently of large donors to the Area Wide United Way campaign, which set a goal this year of raising $895,000 to be distributed to 44 programs run by 31 participating community agencies.

It is, of course, the generosity of individuals, organizations, businesses and corporation that allow United Way to support vital community services, and one bright spot -- among many -- in this year's fund-raising campaign has been the efforts of three local school districts.

The Jackson School District not only raised the most money of the three -- $18,112 -- but also brought in the most funds per student, earning the district the United Way's Spirit award. Even fans at Jackson High School's football games were enlisted in the United Way effort as the community dug into its collective pocket and found good reason to share their dollars to benefit others.

The Scott City School District received United Way's traveling trophy for raising the largest amount per employee -- $38.25 -- in the three districts. The Scott City district contributed a total of $5,049 to this year's campaign.

And the Cape Girardeau School District received the WOW Award for the largest increase in giving -- $1,365 -- over last year's United Way campaign. In all, the district raised $12,626 for this year's effort.

Thanks to the efforts of these school districts and all the other donors, United Way is able to maintain programs that do so much for our community. These efforts benefit hundreds of individuals in positive ways, relying on hundreds of volunteers who provide their time, energy and expertise to make lives better for someone else.

On its Web site (areawideunitedway.org), the United Way lists some of the ways it benefits the community in four major areas: services to seniors, emergency needs, promoting lifelong independence and building strong families and successful children. This list of accomplishments is impressive.

Services to seniors: United Way agencies saved 1,214 seniors $632,000 by providing paperwork assistance, served more than 120,000 meals, provided 18,000 hours of service that enriched the lives of seniors and enhanced the quality of life for 820 seniors through volunteer placement.

Emergency needs: Through the agencies it helps fund, United Way provided disaster relief to 416 families, provided individual counseling to 71 women who escaped domestic violence, provided more than 3,000 families with rent, utility, food and prescription assistance and performed forensic medical care for more than 200 sexually abused children.

Promoting lifelong independence: United Way's agencies identified services for 214 retarded citizens, assisted 1,306 individuals with outpatient treatment for drug recovery, provided case-management, referral and financial services to 127 disabled citizens and provided transportation to 3,115 disabled citizens.

Building strong families and successful children: United Way's programs allowed 180 youths to participate in summer programs, provided a safe haven for more than 75 neighborhood children, provided financial assistance to more than 300 school-age children in crisis and served 1,146 community members with adoption and foster-care services and counseling.