United Way begins fundraising campaign

The United Way of Monroe County held a kick-off luncheon for its fall fundraising campaign Thursday, announcing its goal to secure $1.5 million between September and November.\nThe event, held at the DeVault Alumni Center, featured a keynote speech by IU women's basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack. \nThe event was organized by IU graduate student Kristen Schwendinger, who worked through the summer to bring together IU's contribution to the campaign. \nIU School of Law Dean Lauren Robel and Jacobs School of Music Dean Gwyn Richards served as faculty campaign co-chairs. \nRobel said she believed it was important for IU to be involved in the United Way campaign because IU is such a big part of Monroe County. \n"Yes, we want to hit our goal, and we've got an ambitious goal this year," Robel said. "But, what we really care about is that everybody in the IU community makes the gift that demonstrates that they care about our larger community. That's what matters to us." \nIU Director of Community Relations Kirk White agreed with Robel's sentiments. He said that holding the kick-off luncheon on campus displayed IU's support for United Way's efforts throughout Monroe County. \n"It shows clearly that the University wants to take a leadership role in building bridges between the campus and the community," White said.\nBarry Lessow, executive director of the Monroe County United Way, said having a strong start was essential to the success of the campaign.\n"We try to have a nice kick-off event to get everybody fired up and all excited about the campaign," Lessow said. "Our goal is just to help them understand the importance of the money they're raising, the importance of the work they're going to be doing for us and how that's going to translate into an improved community over the next few years."\nLessow went on to praise IU's contribution to the campaign, singling out Schwendinger, Richards and Robel for their dedication. \nSchwendinger said the luncheon was not just meant to bang the drum for support of the coming campaign. She also said the event helped to show people what initiatives United Way had been carrying out in the past year and to celebrate the organization's 50th anniversary. \n"We organized this event to be the first kick-off to get everyone excited about the campaign and let them know what's been going on with United Way in the past year," Schwendinger said. "Part of what we're going to highlight is that there's been 50 years of progress made." \nThe United Way raises money and disperses its funds to several different community organizations. The Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army are three of several organizations that receive support from the United Way, according to the organization's Web site. \nLessow said every organization must pass a rigorous set of tests to ensure they would put such support to good use. He also encouraged anyone interested to contact the United Way or any of its partner organizations to volunteer. \nRobel encouraged students to become involved in the fall campaign and the United Way as a whole. She asked them not just to consider what they would be doing, but what it actually means to volunteer. \n"(Their) gift means that people eat. It means they have a place to sleep," Robel said. "It means that kids don't go off to school in the morning without clothes and hungry. That's what United Way does. It provides that kind of basic social services safety net for our community"