| November 2010-United Way of the Black Hills |
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They reach out to four separate areas in the Black Hills, helping thousands of children through different local organizations. Tonight we highlight the United Way of the Black Hills for being "Committed to Kids. "Black Hills FOX reporter Amanda Weber shows us just how large of an impact the United Way makes in the community every year. The United Way of the Black Hills reaches out to Rapid City, Sturgis, the Northern Hills and the Southern Hills. All four branches each year help fund 13 different youth services agencies.
United Way of the Black Hills Executive Director Renee Parker says, "A lot of times people ask me how do my United Way donations help kids in our local community, and I am so pleased to tell them that nearly 40-percent of money donated goes specifically to youth programs in our local area." Parker says it's impossible to come up with an exact number of kids touched by the United Way of the Black Hills. But she says it's likely that millions of kids' lives have been changed due to the organization's partnerships with other programs, programs like Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. Parker says, "Just to give you an idea, in our Rapid City area we serve about 3,500 kids who get just one book a month from United Way. That's just one of the many, many programs." The Rapid City Club for Boys is an example of the United Way's many locally-funded organizations. Club Executive Director Scott Bader says, "It's really essential to the work we do here with the boys. If we didn't have the United Way, if we weren't a United Way agency, we would definitely have to cut back on the services we provide and that means some kids would go without." Parker says the United Way is in constant communication with its agencies, looking to find ways to help more and more youth in the community. Parker says, "Our agency directors will call us and say were having a problem with this, or could you help us think of a solution for this, and so that is really what we try to do. We try to bring groups together because we know that we are much stronger when we all come together as a unified force and help tackle these big problems that we face as a community." United Way of the Black Hills has already reached 55-percent of its yearly fundraising goal. Overall, this year's goal is $2.2 million, and they've raised over $1.2 million so far. Parker says every year an outpouring of donations come in from the community, all to continue this commitment to kids. Parker says, "United Way really believes that the young kids in our community really are our future. And that's why we are so committed to kids." |
