Dan Haglund
The 2023 United Way campaign kicks off this week and Clay County employee coordinator Rita Rueckert says her fundraising goal is $16,000.
Rueckert and several other volunteers presented the campaign details to the Clay Board Board of Commissioners on Tuesday in Moorhead.
Other Clay County employees assisting with the campaign include: Bella Lien, United Way Resource Development manager; Sarah Mastera, Campaign Cabinet volunteer from Bell Bank; James O’Donnell, Superintendent of Juvenile Detention at West Central Regional Juvenile Center; LaRae Goeden, Clay County Social Services social worker; and Kirstin LePard, Clay County Social Services supervisor.
Activities for the campaign in 2022 included a pumpkin weight guess, taco bar, lunch, bake sales and guessing jars. Several businesses in town also contributed with donations, including Anytime Fitness, Casey’s General Store, Jay’s Smokin’ Barbecue, Midtown Tavern and Reese & Riley’s.
“At United Way, being a non-profit, we rely on volunteer support,” Lien said. “We service the Clay and Cass counties, so your dollars stay within those counties. We specialize in areas of homelessness, preventing hunger, mental health services, extra education for children, job education, with the ultimate goal of keeping families out of poverty.”
The financial support from Clay County employees and special events in 2022 totaled $15,343, which represented a nearly 30 percent increase over what was donated in 2021 ($11,852). The first pandemic year of 2020 saw a significant drop of more than 45 percent in donations ($8,344) from the previous year ($15,399).
A total of 68 of the county’s 617 employees donated an average of $187.81 in 2022, and 15 individuals each donated more than $300.
Lien made the point that if the 549 employees who didn’t donate would simply give $1 per pay period, which would raise $13,176 for the year.
“Last year, we gave you the goal of $15,000, and we made it,” Lien said.
Lien said this year’s main goal is preventing homelessness.
“We are working on long-term housing solutions for preventing homelessness as well as supporting shelters, too.” Lien said. “We know that on any given night, 1,000 people in our community are experiencing homelessness, and 200 of those are children.”
This summer the group promoted a school supplies drive, and also held bake sales and penny jars during the year for fundraisers.
Upcoming events include a soup luncheon on Oct. 19 at the Child Protection Unit at the FSC, a book/media sale from Oct. 17-19 at the Government Center, a bake sale on Oct. 26 at the Government Center and FSC, and a chili feed on Oct. 25 at the Government Center.
The Clay County employees will receive their e-pledges via email on Thursday, and the campaign ends Oct. 27.