WESTERN KY (2/21/12)—Since 1972, the United Way of the Coalfield has remained consistent in its mission to support necessary health and human services in Hopkins and Muhlenberg Counties.
As the non-profit organization’s Executive Director and longtime supporter, Chip Tate, explained at a recent Madisonville Rotary Club meeting, approximately 1 in 6 people are affected by poverty in the US today. As a result, many needs may go unmet. Yet, it’s statistics like these that the United Way and its partner agencies combat on a day-to-day basis.
In total, Tate noted that the United Way of the Coalfield stands as a fundraising source for over ten member agencies in Hopkins and Muhlenberg Counties, which include Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Family Advocacy Center, the Hopkins County Community Clinic, the Hopkins County 4-H, the Hopkins County YMCA, the Muhlenberg County Opportunity Center, Pennyrile Allied Community Services, Inc. (PACS), Pennyroyal Mental Health, the Salvation Army, Sanctuary Inc., Meals on Wheels, Trace Industries, and others.
What’s more, the United Way is linked to a total of 17 fundraiser/support programs via their partners. In particular, Tate noted that the Meals on Wheels program, which helps to deliver food to our area’s elderly, currently serves 67 regional seniors, while 60 more are on a waiting list.
However, before partnering with an agency or program, Tate explained that an “independent citizens’ review panel” looks over the proposal in its entirety. The independent panel assesses the program’s actual usefulness to the area and make sure that it won’t be duplicitous in any way. If chosen, the United Way’s Board of Directors, which is also comprised of independent and voluntary members, will utilize one percent of the raised funding for state and national organization costs.
Tate noted that prompt annual reviews of financial responsibility have remained a hallmark of the non-profit/501C3 organization through the years as well.
“The primary focus of the United Way and our partner agencies is on the area of health and human services. Our focus is and will continue to be on programs that strive to meet basic human necessities, increasing self-sufficiency, nurturing youth & children, promoting health & wellness and strengthening families,” says Tate. “I personally know of no other organization where the money you give stays local, working in our community to help fund 11 agencies, administering 17 different programs that reaches out to ensure that our children, families and seniors continue to receive much needed critical services.”
For more information about all of the United Way’s programs, as well as contributions, visit the organization’s official website at www.unitedwayofthecoalfield.org. Information may also be obtained by calling their office at (270) 821-3170. Or, better yet, just stop by and visit them at 1 South Main Street in Madisonville, KY.
“Each of us can make a difference through our giving and united we can reach out a hand to one and influence the condition of all, but it all starts with one person, ‘YOU.’ It starts with ‘Me,’ as written within our Live United slogan, as it is states in part, ‘Think of We Before Me,’” adds Tate. “It has been said, ‘We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.’”
Luke Short
SurfKY News
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