The Need is Greater Than Ever....
Alexandria has always had a way of pulling the wool over the eyes of visitors.
In Old Town, pricey shops and restaurants offer the best from around the world. On nearby side streets, quaint 300-year-old homes routinely sell for more than $1 million.
A smash hit movie starring Denzel Washington was made about the local high school’s state champion football team. Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford once lived in Alexandria. George Washington once worshipped there.
So is Alexandria heaven on earth? Not by a long shot.
More than 1,500 Alexandria families have incomes below the federal poverty level. More than 5,600 Alexandria families are poor enough to qualify for food stamps. At Carpenter’s Shelter, the largest homeless support agency in Alexandria, the staff has seen more than 1,000 homeless children and adults so far this year—nearly one percent of Alexandria’s population.
But in Alexandria, United Way has been meeting these challenges, and others like it, for 64 years. On Dec. 11, leaders of the Alexandria Regional Council of United Way kicked off this year’s fundraising drive.
It’s an ambitious one. The goal, as announced by chair Carla Fleming, is $1 million. But history is on Alexandria’s side. “United Way is what you can always depend on,” Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille told a crowd of more than 50 at the kickoff event. “It’s always there.” He urged the audience to “give till it hurts. Help people help themselves.”
Perhaps because of its relatively small size, Alexandria has done an especially good job of raising and spending money via a Community Impact Fund. The council, and seven others like it around the Washington area, steer undesignated dollars toward larger community problems that no single agency can resolve. Last year, Alexandria donors gave $158,000 to Community Impact programs.
Because of Community Impact, “United Way is more than just a way to collect dollars,” said James Hoben, co-chair of a local non-profit called Housing Action. United Way money “helps us try to identify problems and coordinate solutions better.”
“People are much more engaged” in a city of only 140,000 or so, which means that “Community Impact funds are more carefully spent,” said Jasmin Witcher, Director of Development and Strategic Alliances at Carpenter’s Shelter. Other city leaders said that more than 100 Alexandria organizations benefit from United Way via the Community Impact program.
Forms were passed out. Checks were written. Year 65 of United Way in Alexandria was underway even before the leftover vegetables were wrapped in plastic.
“The need is greater than ever,” said Jasmin Witcher. “I hope the response is, too.”
In Old Town, pricey shops and restaurants offer the best from around the world. On nearby side streets, quaint 300-year-old homes routinely sell for more than $1 million.
A smash hit movie starring Denzel Washington was made about the local high school’s state champion football team. Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford once lived in Alexandria. George Washington once worshipped there.
So is Alexandria heaven on earth? Not by a long shot.
More than 1,500 Alexandria families have incomes below the federal poverty level. More than 5,600 Alexandria families are poor enough to qualify for food stamps. At Carpenter’s Shelter, the largest homeless support agency in Alexandria, the staff has seen more than 1,000 homeless children and adults so far this year—nearly one percent of Alexandria’s population.
But in Alexandria, United Way has been meeting these challenges, and others like it, for 64 years. On Dec. 11, leaders of the Alexandria Regional Council of United Way kicked off this year’s fundraising drive.
It’s an ambitious one. The goal, as announced by chair Carla Fleming, is $1 million. But history is on Alexandria’s side. “United Way is what you can always depend on,” Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille told a crowd of more than 50 at the kickoff event. “It’s always there.” He urged the audience to “give till it hurts. Help people help themselves.”
Perhaps because of its relatively small size, Alexandria has done an especially good job of raising and spending money via a Community Impact Fund. The council, and seven others like it around the Washington area, steer undesignated dollars toward larger community problems that no single agency can resolve. Last year, Alexandria donors gave $158,000 to Community Impact programs.
Because of Community Impact, “United Way is more than just a way to collect dollars,” said James Hoben, co-chair of a local non-profit called Housing Action. United Way money “helps us try to identify problems and coordinate solutions better.”
“People are much more engaged” in a city of only 140,000 or so, which means that “Community Impact funds are more carefully spent,” said Jasmin Witcher, Director of Development and Strategic Alliances at Carpenter’s Shelter. Other city leaders said that more than 100 Alexandria organizations benefit from United Way via the Community Impact program.
Forms were passed out. Checks were written. Year 65 of United Way in Alexandria was underway even before the leftover vegetables were wrapped in plastic.
“The need is greater than ever,” said Jasmin Witcher. “I hope the response is, too.”
posted by Bob Levey's United Way at
10:42 AM
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