Pictured left to right is 1 of 28 campaign chair’s, Kathy Grace and Amy Rohler, Executive Director of United Way of Southern Chautauqua County.
JAMESTOWN – United Way of Southern Chautauqua County has reached the 54% mark in their $1.2 million campaign goal.
According to Executive Director Amy Rohler, fundraising during the pandemic has resulted in campaign presentations via Zoom, “virtual toolkits” that are accessible through the agency’s website, and featured video stories from their community partners.
Our theme this year is “United We Rise,” said Rohler, “and we’ve definitely seen the collective efforts of our incredible team of volunteers over the last few months. If you haven’t yet made a gift to United Way of Southern Chautauqua County, now is definitely the time to do it.”
Although Rohler is confident in the community’s ability to meet the goal, she is honest about the challenges of fundraising in a year when so many have seen the economic impact of COVID.
“Programs that help students achieve academic success or programs that provide critical mental health services when many are struggling… they are needed now more than ever,” she added.
According to Cynde Johnson, UWAYSCC Director of Marketing, this message really hits home when they do campaign presentations—whether in person or virtually.
“Our campaign this year can be considered ‘new-fashioned,’” said Johnson, “we have done a lot of innovation so that we’re able to briefly present virtually, with a few different options for our local businesses. Many people even seem to like this way better.”
UWAYSCC campaign leaders at UPMC Chautauqua, Randi Brumbaugh and Diane Franklin, were the first to use the new virtual tool and are seeing great results.
“UPMC has dealt with our fair share of challenges due to COVID 19 and honestly we weren’t sure how it was going to go this year,” said Brumbaugh. “We were excited to jump in and try United Way’s new virtual campaign option and we chose our campaign to span over eight weeks. Our employees are adapting well and engaging more and more. Employees feel good when they are able to give back and having this option available for them is truly impactful for everyone. We anticipate exceeding our goal this year, and our employees have resonated with the message of United We Rise.”
Critical to their fundraising success so far has been the participation of their 28 campaign co-chairs—many of whom have put in volunteer time making phone calls, emailing personal connections and even thanking customers at Wegmans when they donated at the register.
The theme for this year’s campaign is “United We Rise.”
For more information about United Way of Southern Chautauqua County or to schedule a campaign presentation, call 483-1561 or email cjohnson @ uwayscc.org. To donate text WERISE to 91999 or donate online visiting www.UWaySCC.org.
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