United Way kicks off annual campaign with special guest Brandon Graham

Bright and early Wednesday morning, Sept. 10, representatives of local businesses, educational professionals, and high school athletes gathered at the Lebanon Valley Exposition Center for United Way of Lebanon County’s 2025-26 campaign kickoff, which featured former Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham as a guest speaker.

Graham and Eagles Insider Dave Spadaro traveled from Philadelphia for the kickoff breakfast, which celebrated the Eagles with a variety of memorabilia available for silent auction including signed jerseys, helmets, and photos (as well as non-Eagles-related merch, such as a Taylor Swift CD display).

Campaign chair Bob Hoffman, who has run six previous campaigns for United Way of Lebanon County, explained that this year’s campaign will span from Sept. 10 to Jan. 31 (shorter than their recent campaigns), with a fundraising goal of $750,000.

United Way’s annual fundraising campaigns fund programs including the VITA Tax Assistance program, which connects low-income individuals to free tax assistance, CISPA, which employs school coordinators who connect students in need to community programs (now with eight coordinators in the county), events like the Day of Caring and Stuff the Bus, and grants to nonprofits.

A much-repeated slogan Wednesday morning was, “What’s raised here, stays here,” with a strong focus on providing services to local youth in need.

“One of life’s highest callings is neighbors helping neighbors,” said 35-year United Way volunteer Hoffman. “The United Way, as always, believe that our future is our youth,” he added when introducing football players and cheerleaders from local high schools.

The 2024-25 campaign, which ended May 15, raised around $750,000, shy of a $1,000,000 goal. This was a longer campaign than the nonprofit is undertaking this year.

Read More: United Way of Lebanon County celebrates annual fundraising campaign

“We’re taking it back to the way things used to be, it always used to be a shorter time frame,” Hoffman explained.

In 2018, Graham performed a strip-sack securing the Eagles’ first Super Bowl victory, and would go on to win another Super Bowl in 2024 before retiring this past March, concluding a 15-season career with the team.

During his address, Graham urged listeners to approach each day with positivity and have empathy for people with different life experiences. He emphasized being someone to lean on for your community, and being willing to lean on others when you need it.

“You never know what somebody has been through,” said Graham. “We should be here to service each other; I want to help everybody in this room. I sure didn’t get here by myself, and these conversations need to be had sometimes in private with your friends so that you can get them back.”

Graham echoed themes of supporting youth, reflecting that he hopes his legacy is one of philanthrophy and support for younger generations.

“I want people to say that I supported them as much as I could, I gave up time that I didn’t have to because I really did genuinely care for others,” he said. “These kids these days, now, they gonna be the ones, when I’m older, running the world. So I want to make sure that I support them with positivity and I hope we get it back later on when I’m older.”

After his speech, Graham participated in the live auction of an autographed helmet, which sold for $600, and a group visit to the Eagles training camp, which sold for $800.

During this fundraising season, the Dixon Foundation will contribute a $75,000 matching grant, which will apply to donors who increased their contribution from last year and first-time donors. The season will end Jan. 31 of next year.