From the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County:
ASHEVILLE – United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County will kick off its 2013 giving campaign Friday, an annual effort that results in millions of dollars being invested in improving Education, Income and Health in Asheville and Buncombe County. The media is invited to come out and join us for the celebration.
WHO: United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County WHAT: 2013 Giving Campaign Kickoff: Portuguese sandwiches by The Bom Bus, games and music by The Lazybirds WHEN: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., Friday, Sept. 6 (the event is drop-in) WHERE: Parking lot in front of United Way’s Community Services Building, 50 S. French Broad Avenue, Asheville WHY: To recognize our donors for their support as we officially begin the campaign
In years past, campaign kickoff was a time to announce a fund raising goal for the organization, said Rowena Buffett Timms, 2013 campaign chair. In recent years, it has evolved into a time to get the community engaged in creating change in our community through Giving, Advocating and Volunteering in the areas of Education, Income and Health, the building blocks of a good life.
“We all have a stake in our neighbors’ success, and it’s critical for people to realize that, when we come together, we have more power than we think to positively impact our community,” said Timms. “One way to do that is giving through United Way. We can also champion United Way to our families and friends and we can volunteer through Hands On Asheville-Buncombe.”
“We were listening when the community told us they wanted our focus to be on making sure every child succeeds and graduates from high school, on people meeting their basic needs and becoming financially self-sufficient and on people being safe and healthy,” said David Bailey, president and CEO of United Way. “Do we want to raise more dollars this year to meet those goals? Absolutely. And we’re going to go for it.”
United Way’s long track record of success in community impact continues this year. Gifts directed to United Way’s Community Investment Fund have been invested in 79 nonprofit programs in Education, Income and Health. We expect to see more than 57,000 people’s lives improved in these areas as a result, and, when that happens, our entire community is better off. In 2011-2012, we saw a 120% return on our investment – that’s a return in lives changed for the better. We expected to see 59,000 improve their lives and instead saw 71,000 people do so. We believe we are on track to exceed expectations again this year!
United Way mobilizes people into collective action through Giving, Advocating and Volunteering in the areas of Education, Income and Health. We believe these are the building blocks of a good life for everyone. That’s what it means to LIVE UNITED! By making results-based investments in our community, we support long-lasting, measurable change in people’s lives right here in Asheville and Buncombe County.
Real change won’t happen without you. Join the movement at unitedwayabc.org
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