The United Way's slogan for 2012 is "It's not about meeting a goal, it's about meeting a need."
United Way of Northern Chautauqua serves the northern one-third of Chautauqua County.
It uses the number of lives impacted to measure effectiveness. According to the non-profit, the funds raised during the 2010-2011 funding year impacted 32,451 lives locally.
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Left to right: Deborah Tederous and Patti Fickelscherer from the United Way of Northern Chautauqua County share information about the impact donations have upon the lives of people in our area.
The areas of are broken down as follows: students improving their academics, caregivers were given more independence, children and youth participated in literacy learning, people had meals delivered, youth participated in programs that increased self-confidence, individuals participated in drug and alcohol prevention and intervention programs, people received basic survival needs, mental and physical, vision screenings were conducted, and people were given meals and shelter in a time of crisis.
The OBSERVER asked Executive Director Deborah Tederous to comment on this year's campaign. While most of the pledges have been tallied, she said anyone interested can still give directly at the United Way office, either in person or by mailing in a pledge. The website is www.unitedwayncc.org. The address is 626 Central Ave. Dunkirk, N.Y. 14048 and the phone number is 366-5424.
While the campaign gets more attention in the fall, gifts are gratefully accepted at any time. Sometimes people would like to make end-of-year gifts or give a donation in honor or memory of someone.
Noting that this year has been difficult economically she said, "People in this area who have been able to give have been extremely generous. This is a very giving area."
A particularly bright spot in the campaign has been Nestle Purina PetCare of Dunkirk. The campaign there, coordinated by Heather Marshall, raised $36,445. That figure was matched by the company. According to Tederous, that was over 18 percent of the entire amount raised to date.
"We are very lucky to have them," said Tederous.
Reached by telephone, Ronald Bowers, plant manager of Nestle Purina PetCare in Dunkirk explained that the company employs about 300 people; 150 of them contract employees.
"It's nice to support our local community," he said.
Tederous explained all the money raised stays local. "Patti (Fickelscherer, administrative assistant) and I are extremely frugal. We have never gone over budget. We want the money to go to the community partners."
Comments on this article may be directed to dchodan@observertoday.com
