The United Way of Stanly County is happy to announce our 2018/2019 campaign results! Our total for this year is $360,000, which is 96% of our campaign goal of $375,000. We are greatly encouraged and energized by the support of this community, and very glad that we are maintaining our impact in Stanly County.
Our top 10 campaigns this year are:
Michelin US11 in Norwood: $118,306.00
Uwharrie Bank: $47, 548.00
Atrium: $33,038.00
City of Albemarle: $26,017.00
Jordan Lumber: $23,971.00
Stanley Engineered Fastening: $23,783.00
Preformed Line Products: $14,011.00
Stanly County Employees: $10,398.00
Mohawk: $6,494.00
Central Elementary School: $2,890.00
We appreciate the employees and management of these companies for their generosity and their willingness to give back to our community. Workplace campaigns have a strong history in many of these companies, while some are new to getting involved. Regardless, being willing to dedicate the time and energy to raise awareness of the needs and encourage colleagues and friends to contribute is no easy task, but the outcome is incredibly rewarding. We have had many individual and private supporters as well, and we appreciate their commitment to making life better for everyone in this community.
Each United Way is designed to be unique, to be managed and supported by the community it serves, and to adapt to the changes that occur over time. Our objective is to stay relevant, stay involved and informed, support what is working well and fill gaps in the community service network. The United Way of Stanly County is striving to meet that challenge. We are more than a fundraising agency, although that is the most visible piece of our job. Our agency provides 211, the 24-hour hotline for health and human service resource information, which also serves as a public safety information resource in times of disaster, such as the recent storms. 211 call data is also helpful in learning what the current needs are. In the last year, 28% of calls to 211 from Stanly County were inquiries for housing assistance, 19% for utility assistance, and 10% for disaster assistance (source: nc.211counts.org). We will consider this data as well as other reports as we move forward.
Another initiative this year is the formation of a long-term recovery group (LTRG) for Stanly and Montgomery counties, with United Way of Stanly County serving as the 501(c)(3). FEMA has encouraged all counties to have an LTRG for planning on how to coordinate resources and volunteers after a disaster occurs, as well as streamlining access to state emergency funds for recovery. Our LTRG includes representatives from the Department of Social Services, Health Department, Stanly County Emergency Management, Montgomery County Emergency Management, Habitat for Humanity, Stanly Community Christian Ministry and local Red Cross, among others. We believe this group will be very instrumental in improving our resiliency in disaster situations and creating stronger connections with state and federal resources. If anyone is interested in joining the LTRG, they can contact Salem Taylor at staylor@unitedwaystanly.org and we will be glad to include them.