THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 7, 1995 TAG: 9509070002
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Boy Scouts of earlier generations were exhorted to perform at least one good deed a day. Perhaps that's still a scouting ideal, which is akin to that expressed by the bumper-sticker counsel to one and all to perform random acts of kindness. How much sweeter our world would be if everyone routined committed kindness.
Millions of people automatically perform good deeds throughout the year by pledging a portion of their income to United Way agencies and fulfilling their pledge. And, yes, it's again that time of year.
Four United Way campaigns in South Hampton Roads will strive to raise more than $15 million for United Way beneficiaries in Southeastern Virginia and elsewhere.
United Way Campaign, which will solicit contributions in Chesapeake, Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach.
Combined Federal Campaign, to which civilian federal employees and active-duty military personnel contribute.
Combined Virginia Campaign, to which state-government employees contribute.
Combined Charities Campaign, which is supported by local-government and public-school employees.
The campaigns start today with a burst of helpful activity. Some 1,900 volunteers will turn out for the fourth South Hampton Roads ``Day of Caring'' to labor at United Way agencies. They will plant and tidy grounds, clean and paint offices and apartments, build shelves and make sundry repairs, sand floors, organize closets and pantries, wash motor vehicles, distribute fliers and brochures, reorder files, work in thrift shops, provide computer instruction, help with marketing and public relations, assist nurses and cafeteria workers, serve food. . . .
Automatic payroll deductions make aiding others year-round simple and painless. Millions of Americans, including many contributors to United Way, are helped by the billions of dollars raised nationwide.
Who is helped? Families down on their luck; abused spouses and children; the needy elderly, the disabled, the diseased; victims of natural and man-made disasters; the starving and hungry; the homeless; youngsters enrolled in character-building programs such as the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.
A much-repeated mealtime prayer reads: ``Dear Heavenly Father, make us truly thankful for these and all thy many blessings and make us ever mindful of the needs of others.'' Others' needs, often dire, are endless, of course, and no one can respond to all of them. But by giving to the United Way we give to a spectrum of agencies helping hordes of people, from helpless infants to the helpless elderly.
Did you want to reach out to bereaved families whose loved ones were killed in the terrorist-bomb blast that destroyed the Oklahoma City federal building? If you contributed to the South Hampton Roads United Way, you did - the agency sent a check to the Oklahoma City Recovery Fund. And another check to aid flood victims in western Virginia. And yet another to help United Way agencies buy electric fans for the elderly poor during the recent heat wave.
Givers may designate the causes to which they wish to direct their money or do as most contributors do: scatter their bread upon United Way's vast waters. Whichever the choice, giving is the right one. by CNB