
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, September 12, 1995                   TAG: 9509120012
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BENJAMIN P. JENKINS III
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

GOVERNMENT CUTS MAKE UNITED WAY GIVING CRITICAL

WHILE IT is too early to assess the full impact of federal budget reductions and welfare and tax reform proposals, early indications are that these combined forces could result in a significant adverse impact on health and human services in our community.

For example, reductions in the physician and nursing staff at the Roanoke City Health Department are increasing the need for medical services from the Bradley Free Clinic. Federal funding reductions to League of Older Americans-Area Agency on Aging nutrition programs will mean some elderly persons who are now receiving home-delivered meals will be placed on a waiting list.

These organizations are two of the 35 United Way partner community agencies that will be called upon to serve as many or more people and families than ever, while public funding of these organizations is likely to decrease substantially. Taken together, United Way partner agencies receive 40 percent of their budgets from federal, state and local government sources. These agencies will be forced to depend on community funding, principally through our United Way campaign, to continue to provide important programs and services.

Our challenge is to continue to be a caring community in the face of growing needs. Consider that in 1995 alone, 200 women and their children will become victims of domestic violence and seek protection at the Turning Point shelter; more than 10,000 working poor will receive medical and dental care at the Bradley Free Clinic; the Salvation Army will provide rent and utility payment assistance to more than 5,000 needy individuals and families; the need for day care for children and frail elderly persons will continue to rise - more than 150 children are on the waiting list at Greenvale School alone.

When we assess our community charitable giving through our local United Way campaign, we benchmark ourselves against 30 other communities with similar size populations. These communities include Ann Arbor, Mich.; Boise, Idaho; Kalamazoo, Mich.; Lincoln, Neb.; Scranton, Penn.; South Bend, Ind., and others. In most comparisons, including campaign total as a percent of disposable income, campaign giving per person in our community and campaign giving per person employed, we rank in the upper quartile of these communities.

In terms of the average gift by individual contributor, however, our 1994 level of $72.37 ranked our campaign 28 of the 31 communities benchmarked. Further analysis of our 1994 campaign results supports the conclusion that we have enormous potential to meet our health and human-service needs if everyone who now gives to United Way just gave a little bit more.

In 1994, 35,733 people contributed to our United Way campaign. If everyone who gave in 1994 gave just 50 cents a week more this year, we would raise nearly $1 million more - money desperately needed by our local partner community agencies to help local people. If each of our current givers gave just $1 a week more - less than 15 cents per work day - we would raise nearly $7 million, compared with the $4.75 million we contributed in 1994.

Of course, if more people could be encouraged to contribute at their workplace, we could do even better. United Way's comprehensive donor choice program opens a wide variety of options for caring, and ensures that every employed person can participate in creating a new, caring community in our Roanoke Valley.

The United Way campaign is vitally important to the lives of children and families who depend on the services this campaign provides. Programs such as day care, medical care, help for abused women and children, emergency assistance for families in need, and a hundred others, could be seriously jeopardized if United Way fails to meet our community's financial goals.

United Way is one of the few forces remaining that can still unite communities. It's vital that we continue to provide a common ground where people of diverse backgrounds, views, religious beliefs, ethnicity or other differences can join together to help needy people in our Roanoke Valley.

Benjamin P. Jenkins III is president and chief operating officer of First Union National Bank of Virginia and United Way of Roanoke Valley's 1995 general campaign chair.

by CNB