Paul Allen: United Way of the Plains is here to help

The United Way movement was a Western notion. Dreamed up in Denver in 1887 by a local woman and (no joke) a priest, two ministers and a rabbi, the idea was to create a single fundraising organization for the city’s 22 charitable agencies. It worked so well it became a national movement that works in much the same way today in Wichita and worldwide.

The name United Way of the Plains has only been around since 1987, but the organization has championed fundraising for local agencies since 1922 when it began as the Wichita Community Chest. And here we are, in the midst of our 93rd campaign.

This year’s goal of $15.1 million is many times more than the $183,296 we raised in 1922. But through your donations and help, the United Way supports many more agencies and people in more counties today than before. Additionally, your dollars have allowed us to add services such as our 2-1-1 hotline and volunteer center, among others.

Four programs and agencies will receive new United Way support this year. As always, these agencies and programs were selected through review by community volunteers who make funding recommendations to our board of directors. Here are the agencies or programs that campaign dollars are helping fund for the first time in 2014:

▪  StepStone, an agency that provides long-term transitional housing for victims of domestic violence, because a temporary shelter or solution is not always enough for victims of abuse to restart their lives.

▪  The early childhood mental health program at Rainbows United, a longtime United Way-funded partner that provides a variety of clinical services for the social, emotional and behavioral needs of children and families.

▪  Foster Grandparents, a program at Catholic Charities, another longtime funded partner, that brings together senior citizens and children.

▪  Sunshine Children’s Home, a new program through funded partner Sunlight Children’s Advocacy and Rights Foundation that provides a home for children.

Times, people and the nature of the needs have changed since the earliest campaigns, which included the Milk and Ice Fund, but the United Way’s purpose has not. We’re here to help.

As chairman of the board of directors, I am asking for your help this year during the annual community campaign. Your gift means that the agencies we support can continue their work so people with disabilities can get the care they need, families won’t go hungry, seniors don’t have to be alone, and many hundreds of other day-to-day things can happen in our community that help make life better for all.

No matter what it has been called, from United Fund to Community War Chest, there is a reason that United Way has lasted so long in this and other communities: It works.

This story was originally published October 24, 2014 at 7:01 PM with the headline "Paul Allen: United Way of the Plains is here to help."