The United Way of Lebanon County celebrated the end of its 2023-24 fundraising campaign Thursday, June 13, after raising $882,154 through the year.
The organization announced the total at the end of a dinner at the Lebanon Country Club, where a variety of involved parties and donors were gathered.
The United Way collects donations from local businesses and individuals to put toward programs for the community, grants to local nonprofits and organizing volunteering efforts.
Much of its funding comes from workplace campaigns, where employers offer incentives to employees to set aside a portion of their earnings to donate.
“This is an event to celebrate the community raising money to give back to the community,” said executive director Bert Miuccio, describing workplace campaigns as “the cornerstone of the annual giving campaign.”
Thursday, the United Way of Lebanon awarded several participating employers with awards.
PennState Health received the Community Commitment Award, BlueScope received the Employee Engagement Award, JBT received the Employee Giving Award, and the Hershey Company received the Award of Excellence for the highest donation total over the course of the campaign.
Thursday’s dinner also honored several local recipients of United Way Community Impact grants, including the Girls on the Run of Lancaster and Lebanon camp program.
Program director Kylie Homan says the program helps girls grades 3 through 8 (with the camp just years 3 through 5) stay healthy, develop social skills, and more.
“The girls that participate are able to develop a stronger self of self,” Homan said. “It also helps them with peer relations and being stronger assets to the community.”
The event also awarded a variety of prizes, both door prizes and prizes for donors.
The United Way has contributed to the community through various programs over the past year.
One such program was the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which brought together volunteers certified in tax preparation and people who fall under the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) threshold.
Read More: VITA appointments now being scheduled for those who qualify
United Way president Dan Ehrgood said Lebanon’s program filed 820 tax returns this year, 14 percent more than last year’s total. He estimates that this free filing service saved residents over $80,000 total compared to standard tax preparation services.
To get connected with this program, residents could utilize the 211 line — another United Way project — to set up appointments.
The 211 line, which Ehrgood described as a non-emergency service for members of the community to access resources, received 5,676 contacts over the last year, he said.
The call line not only connects individuals to programs to support them, but also “functions as a community-wide planning tool to anticipate the demand for services and mobilize resources to meet changing needs,” according to the United Way’s website.
Lebanon’s top five requests, as identified by 211, were as follows: housing, with 1,343 contacts; utility assistance, with 922 contacts; income support or assistance, with 599 contacts; food, with 174 contacts; and individual, family, and community support, with 99 contacts.
“[The United Way has] always been a living organization that’s based around need in the community,” explained Ehrgood. “Being a volunteer-led organization, we are open to the community to find out what needs are important.”
The United Way also fosters programs to support local youth, such as Communities in Schools of Pennsylvania, or CISPA, which places accredited affiliates in schools to help connect kids who might be struggling with non-academic resources. Ehrgood said while the community has a variety of services, there is a gap in knowledge in terms of what services families can access.
Read More: Dropout prevention initiative to expand in Lebanon County [2021]
“We do very unique services; we deal with academics, attendance, behavior, family engagement, food, shelter, clothing, and more,” said affiliate Guillermo Barroso, a retired school administrator. “I’m passionate about helping the kids so they can move on to high school, post-secondary education, or the work force.”
Barroso mentioned the importance of creating a safe space for kids who are struggling.
CISPA currently serves two locations in the Cedar Crest School District and three in Lebanon School District. Ehrgood said the United Way supports it through seed funding; financially supporting the program for its first few years at a school, with the school able to add it on as a budget item after that time if they see benefits.
The United Way also hosts an annual Stuff the Bus school supply drive, which Ehrman said provided supplies to over 1,000 families last year. This year’s event will be held at the Lebanon Middle School Stadium on Aug. 3, collecting school supplies including pencils, crayons, glue sticks, backpacks, and more.
Ehrgood emphasized the importance of supporting kids at young ages through programs like CISPA and supply drives.
“If you’re not up to the reading level by grade 2 or 3, you’re more likely to fall behind,” he said.
The United Way also hosts the annual Day of Caring, which connects volunteers with nonprofits to serve the community. This year’s Day of Caring was May 23, and connected over 400 volunteers with 44 work sites.
The organization is also working on a portal for residents to access local volunteer-opportunities year-round, Ehrgood said.
“The volunteers are the backbone of the United Way,” said board member Julie Smyth. “We’re kind of at the end [of the campaign] here, so we’re going to start the next campaign right after this.”
The United Way will be holding a kickoff “Take Flight Dinner” for the 2024-25 campaign at the Lebanon Country Club on Sept. 12 at 4:30 p.m., with attendance costing $30 per person and $270 for table of 10 people.
Editor’s note: This article was updated after publication to include information on the kickoff “Take Flight Dinner” for the 2024-25 campaign.
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