United Way Works to Improve Lives

Everyone who knows her recognizes Karen Brown as a successful real estate agent, motivational speaker and community leader. Someone people look up to and respect.
But it almost didn't turn out that way.

When she found herself in a dangerous situation and facing divorce — with little money and no family nearby to help — she turned to HAVEN in Lee County for counseling and legal advice. As she began building a future for her family, she needed a little help paying tuition for one college course, and in stepped Central Carolina Community College Financial Aid to get her over the hurdle. And when it looked like she had no way to get to a cancer treatment, volunteers from Highway to Healing drove her to Durham.

What could have been a terrible disaster has become an inspirational story of triumph. Karen now contributes regularly to help the very United Way agencies that helped her. She encourages her neighbors with the story about how their contributions helped her family succeed. And her daughter, who grew up watching, has a passion for service — which was clear when she reported for duty with the her National Guard unit on 9/11, just hours after the Twin Towers collapsed into the streets of Lower Manhattan.

Hers isn't the only recent story about neighbors helping neighbors.

A single mother and her young daughter grasped their lifelong dream of owning a home with help from Brick Capital Community Development. A successful, new kindergarten teacher wrote the local Boys and Girls Club to thank them for the guidance that helped her realize what possibilities were open in life. And hundreds of needy families received emergency food from Christians United Outreach Center.

It's easy to dismiss the United Way as just another hand out for money. But when you realize that even the smallest donation is changing lives — and making the entire community stronger for everyone — it's obvious what an impact contributions can make.

"We're actually supporting 28 local groups, and every one of them has the same kind of wonderful stories to tell," says Jan Hayes, the United Way's executive director. "It's a shame we don't hear more about the good things happening in our community, but it's only because so many people are focused on helping others, not getting credit for what they've done."

Thanks to roughly a half million dollars raised last year, more than 25,000 people in Lee County were assisted by some United Way agency, according to Kelly Wright, who coordinates the annual fundraising campaign. That's about half of the entire population.

And though the economy's tight this year, Wright is upbeat about the prospects for helping even more people in the months ahead. In fact, she says, it's because of the difficult economic climate that help is needed now more than ever.

"Our community has always been generous, and that's encouraging for all of us," she says. "Money raised in Lee County stays right here in Lee County. What would reflect the spirit of Christmas more than making a United Way contribution this year to change your neighbors' lives — and our entire community for generations to come?"