The people of Rowan County have countless needs, and we’re blessed with many agencies working to meet those needs. If you want to help, there’s only one fundraising campaign that can direct contributions to 15 local agencies — the Rowan County United Way.
If you haven’t contributed to this year’s campaign, now’s the time.
The 15 United Way agencies in Rowan touch thousands of lives each day, probably in more ways than you would imagine. Here are some numbers from the United Way website that are worth repeating. In one year:
• The local American Red Cross helped 143 families facing disaster situations.
• Family Crisis Council provided 4,399 days of shelter for abused women and their children.
• Rowan Literacy Council volunteers provided 3,873 hours of tutoring to individuals who wanted to improve their reading and language skills.
• The Salvation Army office in Salisbury provided food, rent, utility help, medication and clothes to 12,598 people.
• Meals on Wheels served 48,770 meals to homebound individuals.
Other member agencies are The Arc/Rowan, Vocational Opportunities, Communities in Schools, Boy Scouts, Rescue Squad, Youth Services Bureau, YMCA, Trinity Living Center (formerly Abundant Living Adult Day Services), Rufty-Holmes Senior Center and Families First.
Here’s another number to emphasize: 1. One pledge or donation from you can help improve the lives of many others. Do something good for yourself by helping someone else. The money raised here stays here. You can make a difference in local quality of life.