United Way celebrates start of campaign year

United Way of Monroe County has a question for IU students and other Bloomington residents: can you do without one bottle of soda per week?\nVolunteers from area United Way agencies have a pointed reason for asking. That one-dollar sacrifice, made every week for a year, would pay to shelter a homeless parent or child for a month.\nThis "every little bit counts" message highlighted United Way's annual kickoff campaign Thursday in the Hoosier Room of Memorial Stadium. Nearly 250 volunteers, contributors and group board members attended the luncheon presentation, which both celebrated 1999-2000's record-breaking campaign and highlighted the goals for the 2000-2001 year.\n"(This is) a time for us together to invest in our community,\" said Barry Lessow, community campaign co-chair. "We are going to have a tremendous campaign."\nLast year they raised over $1.71 million for its area beneficiary agencies, which include Middle Way House for abused women and their children, Hoosier Hills Food Bank, Planned Parenthood of Greater Indiana and the Salvation Army.\nThis year's goal is $1.8 million.\nAlready the group has raised more than $133,000 through the Pacesetters program, in which local financial institutions raise funds to "set the pace" for other community groups for the year.\nLast year, IU broke its goal of $500,000, raising $541,000. IU's campaign chairs are Vice President of Public Affairs and Government Relations Christopher Simpson and University Counsel Dorothy Frapwell.\nFrapwell said one of the main goals for IU's campaign this year is to increase the number of individual contributors, rather than simply to increase the amount given. Simpson added, "we are committed very simply to do whatever it takes to reach our goals this year … we believe in the United Way."\nOne of the aspects of this year's campaign that organizers said they are most excited about is a new matching program by the Lilly Endowment. Lilly will match any contribution of $1,000 or more made by a family that has not previously donated that amount. Families that have donated more than $1,000 in past years will have their donations matched if they increase their donation by 20 percent.\nLessow and his fellow speakers emphasized that persons interested in donating have three options for directing their contributions. They can request on the donation form that the money be sent to a specific agency or agencies; request the money be sent to all but certain agencies of one's choice or request the money be sent to whichever agency is most in need.\nAdditionally, volunteers are always needed, said executive director of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program Liz Grenat. The group matches struggling or underprivileged youngsters with an older mentor, and is one of the more popular United Way agencies among IU student volunteers, Grenat said. Still, the average little brother waits two to three years before being paired with a big brother.\nA local Big Sister/Little Sister "success story" was featured as part of the luncheon. In 1990, then-graduate student Ruth Eberle became a big sister to seven-year-old LaTasha Lewis. Organizers of the match had described Lewis to Eberle as "feisty" and hoped that Eberle would be able to focus with Lewis enough to develop her seriously underdeveloped reading skills.\nTen years later, Lewis is a freshman at IU, having graduated with honors from Bloomington High School South a year early. Lewis's eyes welled and voice wavered when she described Eberle as "awesome" and thanked her for being a mentor and friend.\nAt Memorial Stadium Saturday night, a tent will be set up to recruit IU males for the Big Brother program. The goal is to sign up 25 new big brothers.\nAlso speaking at the event was senior Rachel Karess, who recently began an internship with United Way. Karess founded Life Goes On, an organ donor registration program at IU, after a good friend died while on an organ donation waiting list. Karess said that her experiences with Life Goes On and volunteering have led her to pursue a career in non-profit management.\n"Now I can say with a smile on my face that the organization I started is present on 15 campuses nationwide," she said.\nKaress, whose work as Life Goes On president and United Way intern is in addition to a full class load, balks at the protest of individuals who would say they don't have time to volunteer.\n"There is time … it's really about your attitude. And if you don't think there's enough time, you're not appreciating and taking advantage of the time you have."\nKaress said she would advise students to "find out what your passion is," and then turn that initiative into action. She added that most of what she's learned during her time at IU has come from "busting out of the Sample Gates"