Spread a Little Holiday Spirit

This morning, our first day back in the office, we have been sharing the highlights and special details of our holiday celebration. In many cases the phrase, my children our blessed, I am blessed have been repeated over and over. The spirit of the season has brought us back to center and in many cases we want to share our blessings.

Our Robeson County 4-H members, volunteers, and family know that Robeson County 4-H is a United Way Agency. In other words our funding for county programs (not salaries, overhead or typical office needs) which directly impact our youth and volunteers come from United Way. Without this money we would not be able to offer the variety of programs and trainings that you see highlighted here on our blog. 100% of our county budget is dependent on United Way.

I say all of this because this morning we had our quarterly United Way Agency Meeting. Robeson County 4-H is one of 17 agencies that receive funding from United Way. Each agency is different in how much funding they get and what it is used for. The one constant is that the funding is needed by all the agencies and makes a difference in our community. United Way has rigorous reporting guidelines to ensure that the money they give to these agencies is being used in the best way possible to make the largest difference in our community. You may be familiar with some of the agencies; Red Cross, Church and Community Center, Southeastern Family Violence Center, Rape Crises Center, Christian Care Center, Hospice, Hospice House, Protective Services for Sexually Abused Children, Foster Children's Christmas Fund, Communities in Schools, Boys and Girls Club, Girl Scouts, and Boy Scouts. Others you might not be as familiar with such as the Radio Reading Service which provides reading services for the blind, the Born Learning Program run by the Partnership for Children which helps parents help their children prepare for school, the Mayor's Committee for the disabled which builds and moves wheelchair ramps for those in need, and Southeastern Industrial Center JOBS program which helps developmentally disabled adults find jobs in the community. All of these agencies and programs make a difference in our community, but all of us could be facing cuts. You see the United Way is $200,000 short of their goal for this year.

It has been a hard economic year for all of us, and that is reflected in the amount of money given to United Way this year. The problem is in hard economic times the need is even greater and provider costs are going up. If a dollar were given for each child who was touch by 4-H in 2010 United Way would be $6,204 closer to their goal. Would you miss a dollar a year? Two dollars? Five dollars? Just think about it.

United Way Agencies touch the lives of one out of every five people in this county. If you are part of our 4-H program, you have been touched by United Way. If you would like to give to Robeson County United Way please contact them at (910) 739-4249 or you can mail a donation to P. O. Box 2652, Lumberton, NC 28359 or drop one off a donation at their office at 202 N. Chestnut Street, Lumberton, NC 28358.

This is just our opportunity as we count our blessings to bless someone else.