2014 Community Campaign Kicks Off

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Beth Schnorr, Executive Director of Harbor House Domestic Abuse Services speaks at the 2014 United Way Campaign Kickoff. Shelly Johnson, House Manager at Harbor House waits to share her personal experiences.

Contributor: Nanci Micke, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at United Way Fox Cities

It's that time of year again…the United Way Fox Cities Community Campaign has kicked off! Over 200 supporters gathered at SECURA Insurance Companies on Tuesday to officially kick off the campaign with great food, inspiring speakers and entertaining performances. This year, our goal is to raise $8.1 million to continue to improve lives across the community. Campaign Co-Chairs, Tim Bergstrom, President and COO of Bergstrom Automotive and Tom Riordan President and CEO of Neenah Enterprises will lead the campaign - encouraging the community to come together again to help their neighbors in need.

Keynote speaker, Beth Schnorr, Executive Director of Harbor House Domestic Abuse Programs spoke on the importance of the community working together to tackle the most pressing issues. Many United Way partners working on housing, shelter, financial management, mental health, and youth mentoring serve the clients of Harbor House and provide programs that allow them to achieve self-sufficiency. Shelly Johnson, House Manager at Harbor House also spoke, sharing her personal story of witnessing abuse in her home as a child and receiving assistance from Harbor House and other United Way-funded programs.

Although we ask the community to support our work financially, the measure of United Way is not in the annual fundraising campaign, but in the ways it impacts the quality of life for all of us. United Way recruits people and organizations from across the community with the passion and expertise to get things done. So yes, United Way provides financial support, but we also engage volunteers, draw together stakeholders to identify needs and unite in advocating for change. For example, over 80 United Way community impact volunteers participate in the investment process, a thorough review of all the programs funded by United Way.

We know that by working together we can make a difference. Our work is thoughtful, collaborative and measurable. Our goal is to create long-lasting changes that prevent problems from happening in the first place. We invite you to join us this year in creating a better life for all. To learn more about our work and how you can get involved, please visit our website.

To view more photos from the kickoff event, please visit our Facebook page.