lake martin area united way reaches over half their goal
Orginially printed in Alexander City Outlook, November 19-20, 2022
By Abigail Murphy, Multimedia reporter
Tis' the season of giving and United Way has raised 61 percent of their goal.
Lake Martin Area United Way held their campaign update luncheon on Nov. 18 in their conference room. Board members and representatives from different agencies gathered together to give updates on their campaigns.
"I look around the room and I see so many faces here that represent the different agencies. I've gotten to be very familiar with each and every agency, and every single one of them are important to our community," said president of the Lake Martin Area United Way Abby Guy.
United Way's goal is $515,000, which they are planning to meet by March 2023. During their last campaign update in September, they raised about 14 percent of their goal.
At the end of this update, Guy and Executive Director Courtney Layfield announded United Way has raised 61 percent of their goal.
Tucker Nall, board member for Russell Brands, announced their campaign goal was $33,000. Their main campaign raised $28,000, but through their golf tournament and weekly Queen of Hearts event, they were able to raise $33,970.
Additionally, SL Alabama agreed to donate $100,000 to United Way. Sandra Howell, Human Resources manager at SL Alabama, said the corporation looks to donate back to the community in a way that will help make a difference.
"That was my suggestion was United Way," Howell said. "I said, 'let United Way distribute the funds where they can be used best.'"
With these contributions factored in, the United Way is at $313,715. Layfield said there are still upcoming campaigns for this year.
There are also some ongoing campaigns such as The Housing Authority, Alabama Power, City of Alexander City, Farmers and Merchants Bank as well as Central Alabama Community College.
"We're really excited for that 313 number. We've got a long way to go. We're not there yet, but we're really excited," Layfield said.
The next campaign update will be on December 16 and it will be announced through their Facebook page adn by email.