Article published October 31, 2008
United Way raises $6.5M toward $15M goal
By KATE GIAMMARISE
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Halfway through its annual fund-raising campaign, United Way of Greater Toledo officials announced yesterday they are 43 percent of the way toward reaching their $15 million goal.
Funds are for the group's Agenda for Change, a plan to improve education, income, and health for people in Lucas, Wood, and Ottawa counties.
The agency has raised $6.5 million to date, said Bill Kitson, president and chief operating officer.
Campaign Chairman Steve Krull, senior vice president and general counsel for Owens Corning, said he was confident the goal, while very aggressive in a troubled economy, could be met.
The agency is $400,000 ahead of where it was at this time last year, Mr. Kitson said, but cautioned that is not necessarily indicative of overall campaign success, as donations can come in at a different pace from year to year.
Last year's campaign raised $14,553,644."It is going to be hard," Mr. Kitson said. "We have a lot of work to do."
The campaign could be hurt by recent auto industry layoffs, Mr. Kitson said.
Last year, General Motors Corp.'s Toledo Powertrain plant workers gave $140,000, and Jeep and Chrysler Machining workers gave more than $400,000.
At this time last year, nearly 4,000 people worked for Chrysler in its Jeep Assembly plants in North Toledo. Because of layoffs, by the end of the year, that number could be down to 1,400 workers.
The GM Powertrain facility had employed up to 3,500 workers making transmissions as recently as 2006. That number has fallen to 1,200 through buyouts and layoffs.
"These are employees that were giving to the United Way until they got the slips saying they're not employed anymore," Mr. Kitson said.
He also expressed concern over the increasing numbers of calls to the agency's 211 hot line from suburban areas such as Perrysburg, Maumee, and Oregon, a trend highlighted earlier this month in The Blade's series "State of Distress," about Ohio's troubled economy.
The social service delivery network is geared toward the central city, he said.
Calls are increasing, particularly from people seeking help with utility bills, he said.
The campaign is scheduled to end Dec. 11, though it could be extended, Mr. Kitson said.
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