The Citizen, 2010-03-18, Page 24PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010.
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United United Way beats goalMembers of the recently amalgamated United Way ofPerth-Huron celebrated Huron County beating theirfundraising goal for the year with a gala dinner onThursday, March 11. Shown here are members of the
Perth-Huron chapter. From left to right are: Shelley
Groenestege (Board President), Chuck Hall (volunteer
Campaign Chair), Jack Groothius (second Vice-
President), Jerry McDonnell (Vice-President), Mary-Jane
Karkheck (Employee Campaign Coordinator), Ron
Cameron (Director), David Harvie (Director), and Benita
Rooney (Campaign Manager). (Photo submitted)
Perth-Huron United Way passes 2009 Huron goal
The Perth-Huron United Way has
seen some challenges since their
amalgamation, but they’ve risen to
every one.
Ellen Balmain, executive director
of the newly-created United Way
branch, said that three of the
biggest hurdles they saw have been
either overcome, or the object of
attention for the group.
“When we first came together,
members of the Huron United Way
said they needed help with their
campaign,” she said. “We needed to
stop the erosion that had happened
in previous years, so we set a goal
of $207,000, the previous year’s
final tally.”
With the help of the new
organization, Huron County
residents’ local drive not only
reached the local goal, but
surpassed it. A grand total of
$215,087 was unveiled at a wine-
and-cheese event held in Clinton on
March 11.
“The important thing that Huron
United Way members said prior to
our amalgamation was that people
would want to see the money they
donated staying local,” she said.
“And we’ve done that. We have a
local drive so that people can see
that money working in their
community.”
The Perth-Huron United Way
raised a total of $1,018,084,
surpassing their $1,009,000 goal by
$9,084 in 2009.
“We’re going to continue with the
two local drives in future years so
both communities can see their
money at work,” Balmain said.
Another challenge the
amalgamated group is tackling is
dwindling volunteer numbers in
Huron County.
“A lot of people don’t know us
yet, but we’ll win them over,”
Balmain said. “Successes like the
drive will show people we can
succeed, and they will want to be a
part of it.”
There is currently a team in
Huron seeking new volunteers and
going through applications to try
and remedy the issue.
The next big move for the Perth-
Huron United Way is their 211
program according to Balmain.
“Our 211 program is a support
system,” she said. “People will be
able to dial 211 and receive
information about health and
support services regardless of
where they call from Huron or
Perth.”
Balmain said that examples of
services that are available will
include things like healthcare
support.
“Say you live in Blyth, and
you’re worried about your
grandmother in Exeter,” she said.
“She wants to live on her own,
and you’re too far away to check on
her often. You call 211 and they
provide you with the contact
information for the services you
need.”
The service will also provide the
addresses for head offices of
services, as well as locations for
healthcare and emergency
services.
“The program will soft-launch at
the end of March,” Balmain said.
“We want to make sure all the
transfers and connections are in
place, so people will be able to use
it and test it, and if they find any
problems, they can contact us,” she
said.
During the soft-launch period,
The United Way will make sure that
the work they’ve done with all the
telephone service providers in the
area has been completed correctly,
and all phones are able to access it.
“We want people to test it to see
if it works,” she said.
The final launch will happen in
September, and be paired with the
launch of the two local drives.
The United Way is always
seeking partners and donations to
help with the services they provide.
For more information, contact
the group at 519-271-7730, or
toll-free at 1-877-818-0867. The
organization can be found online
at www.unitedwayperth.on.ca
or through e-mail at
info@unitedwayperth.on.ca.
Looking for local heroes
There are so many people out there who do
so much to improve their community.
Now you have a chance to say thanks.
Nominate that special person for the 25th
Annual Citizen Citizenship Awards.
Each year a committee chooses an outstanding citizen from each of the Blyth and area
and Brussels and area communities to receive an award for contribution to the
community. If you know someone you think should be honoured, please fill in the ballot
and send it in. You may attach a longer explanation of why you think your nominee
should win, if you like. If you have nominated someone before and he or she didn't win,
please feel free to try again.
I nominate
as Citizen of the year for
I feel she/he deserves this award because
Nomination Deadline April 30, 2010.
Name and phone number of nominator
❑❑Blyth
& area ❑❑Brussels
& area
By Denny Scott
The Citizen