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September 3, 2020
 
United Way of Union County (UWUC) held their first virtual kick-off on Sept. 1 to inaugurate the 2020-21 campaign season. The choice to go virtual due to the pandemic further emphasized the need for critical funding for the 26 local partner agencies the UWUC supports.

“Ironically, while a traditional in-person kick-off would have been preferred, the fact that we went virtual to ensure social distancing, was a reminder that the agencies we are raising money for have been on the front lines of the pandemic,” Corinne Bix, UWUC Director, said.

This year’s campaign theme is family, Our Union County Family, given how the community came together and continued to provide services for our most vulnerable populations during COVID-19.

Melissa Marino serves as this year’s Campaign Committee Chair. Marino and her family have lived in Marysville since 2014. She is the Director of Legal Affairs for Mary Rutan Hospital in Bellefontaine, OH.

Marino has been an active member of the UWUC’s campaign committee since 2017 and also participates and volunteers in Bellefontaine groups like AAUW. She believes giving back where you live and where you work is vital to keeping a community strong.

“Although I am not originally from Union County, Union County is my home and where my husband and I have chosen to raise our children,” Marino said. “I wanted to become involved with UWUC after learning about what a positive impact the varied partner agencies have and how their services touch everyone and every age.”

UWUC partner agencies meet the needs of the UWUC’s four impact areas; Economic Stability (food and shelter); Access to Health (ex. prescription assistance and peer counseling for mental health); Childhood Success (ex. Dolly Parton Imagination Library, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts); and Senior Engagement (ex. Richwood Civic Center and Union County Neighbor to Neighbor).

“40,570 lives would have been touched in 2020 had we reached our goal of 100% impact in Union County,” Bix explained. “While our campaign was strong last year, coming in at 89% meant we came up short at impacting 36,550 lives. We want to make sure we reach everyone in 2021, to ensure we are taking care of our entire Union County Family.”

This year’s campaign brochure features the four-generation family of Helen Postlewait, Linda Fisher, Leslie and Cassandra Kuebler. Helen, Linda, and Leslie are all involved with United Way partner agencies. Bix said the illustration of family and how United Way touches all people and all generations captures the importance of funding our wonderful agencies.

In addition, this year’s campaign video is animated and takes a United Way 101 approach to explain how the United Way works.

“With social distancing, we were unable to get the live action footage we would normally feature in our annual campaign video,” Bix explained. “Instead we used this opportunity to try animation and tell the United Way story, the Sesame Street version if you will. The feedback has been very positive and will be used beyond this year’s campaign.”

For more information about the United Way of Union County, their partner agencies and how you can donate visit unitedwayofunioncounty.org.
 
 
 
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United Way of Union County, Inc., 648 Clymer Road, Suite 313, Marysville, Ohio 43040-1661
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