COLUMBIANA COUNTY United Way sets goal of raising $290,000

SALEM -- Officials of United Way Services of Northern Columbiana County hope to raise $290,000 this year for 21 agencies served.
The United Way kicked off the 2001 fund drive Tuesday at Salem Golf Club.
"There are critical needs among people in our community that must be met," said Roger Hack, board president.
The local United Way campaign will be a two-month concerted effort to ensure member agencies can combat such problems as hunger, homelessness, domestic violence, troubled youth and disabilities, and support scouting, counseling, day care, health services, education, recreational activities and more, he said.
Hack said if donors give by making their checks payable to the Salem Community Foundation for United Way, the Salem Community Foundation will give a 10 percent matching gift.
Affecting many: He said services provided by United Way member agencies in northern Columbiana County "reach into every neighborhood, to every age group, across all income levels, to help in a thousand ways a friend, a relative, someone down the street who is ill, out of work or in trouble."
Hack said statistically one in four residents receive some form of benefit from one of the United Way agencies.
The United Way of Northern Columbiana County is governed by a local volunteer board of directors, Hack explained. Donations stay in Columbiana County, with less than 15 cents of each dollar put toward administrative costs, he said.
"We are fortunate to have dozens of volunteers who give to this fund-raising effort, and many generous local businesses donate goods and services," Hack said.
Eligibility: To be eligible to receive United Way funding, an agency must be nonprofit, have an independent volunteer governing board, provide financial information annually for review by a selection committee and provide needed services at a reasonable cost, he said.