This week I want to use this bully pulpit to advocate for another area of the community that I am involved. About a month ago, I was chosen as the Elizabethton-Carter County United Way 2017 Campaign Chair. Part of my job in this position is to help rally the community around our three-month campaign season – October, November, and December – to raise funds for our local United Way and our initiatives.
This year, I am excited to announce our newest campaign initiative – Give Me $5. Often, when we hear requests for donations, we think we need to give $20, $30, or $40 to make a difference, but the reality is that if everyone gives a little it all adds up to a lot! The Give Me $5 initiative focuses on that concept. We’re asking everyone in Carter County over the age of 18 to simply give $5 every month for one year to the United Way. If everyone committed to this small amount, our campaign could be completed in a matter of a week or even a day! Your $5 match with everyone else’s can change the lives for many people and transform our community.
With that $5, the Elizabethton-Carter County United Way will, with our partners, help provide safe after-school environments for our children, help ensure our kids have full stomachs, clothes and a good pair of shoes, provide a sense of independence to our aging friends and neighbors, give family caregivers a break and allow them to minimize interruptions to their work schedule, and provide food and shelter to individuals and homeless families less fortunate than us. Additionally, the United Way also support our Community Gardens, the Farmers Market, and other initiatives to help create a healthier Carter County.
$5 is only the cost of a few cups of coffee, Dr. Enufs, or candy bars a month. Isn’t such a small sacrifice worth seeing the excitement and pride in a child’s eyes when they get their first A+, the dignity your aging neighbor shows because they are able to stay in their home rather than going to a nursing facility, or the tears of joy that run down the face of a single mother as she unlocks the door to a new apartment knowing that her two kids can sleep well on a mattress tonight rather than the back seat of her car. These are real stories that really happen here in Carter County every day.
It takes all of us to work to make a better city and better county for our friends, neighbors, church family, and citizens. But most importantly, it takes YOU. Our community can only be as strong as its weakest link. Today, you can help make that weakest link stronger. Let’s talk about it!
You can donate to the Elizabethton-Carter County United Way at www.UWayECC.org or any Carter County Bank location.
(Jon Hartman is Director of Planning & Economic Development for the City of Elizabethton. He can be contacted at 542-1503 or by email: jhartman@cityofelizabethton.org)