SEARCY — Supporters of the United Way of White County gathered Feb. 15 for the Bonnie Schaff Victory Luncheon in the Hubach Conference Center at Unity Health. Schaff was the first director of United Way of White County when it was formed in 1979.
James Horton, 2018 president of the local United Way board of directors, acknowledged that the nonprofit organization is $49,000 short of its $400,000 goal for the year.
“So far, we have raised $351,000 in our 2018 campaign,” he said. “That’s great … but we’re not there yet. We still want to get to our goal of $400,000. There are two months left until we get to allocations. With your help, I know we can get there.
“Today, we are celebrating what we’ve done so far,” Horton said.
“We have struggled for the last few years to reach our goals,” Horton said. “We are working hard to change the way we do things.
“This year’s kickoff in August was fantastic,” he said. “For the first time in a long time we had a fund-raising kickoff. We had Dave Sanderson [who is a survior of the airplane crash known as “The Miracle on the Hudson”] as our guest speaker. We raised way more than ever expected … $14,000 from that kickoff.
“We set our goal for 2018 the same as we had for 2017, which we did not make,” he said. “We’ve worked very hard to get there this year. We’ve shot new video with the help of folks at Harding University.
“We’ve purchased a Whirl-a-Wish [coin donation funnel] that has been placed in businesses around the community as a way to make a little extra money,” he said, smiling. “If you have a business in town, let us know and we will bring it to you next.
“We could not have done what we have without your help, but we need a little more,” he said.
United Way of White County works with 16 local agencies to raise money for those in need. These agencies include the American Red Cross, the Boy Scouts of America, Court Appointed Special Advocates of White County, the Child Safety Center of White County, the Girl Scouts of the USA, Jacob’s Place, the Literacy Council of White County, Newhope Specialized Industries, Special Olympics, The Sunshine School, the White County 4-H Foundation, the White County Aging Program, White County Domestic Violence Prevention and Rape Crisis, White County Group Homes, the White County Single Parent Scholarship Fund and the Wilbur D. Mills Center.
Two special awards were presented at the luncheon.
Unity Health received the Albert R. Yarnell Spirit Award. The late Yarnell, founder of Yarnell Ice Cream, was a founding father of United Way of White County.
Horton said Unity Health raised $53,657.40 during its United Way campaign drive under the leadership of
LaDonna Johnston, campaign chairman.
Mary Lou Dunn, director of The Sunshine School, received a Lifetime Service Award from United Way of White County. The Sunshine School was one of the first agencies served by the local United Way.
“I am usually not speechless but I am today,” said Dunn, who is retiring later this year after 40 years of service to The Sunshine School. “And I usually do not cry, but I have tears in my eyes today.”
Horton also announced seven new board members at the recent luncheon. They include Casey Cullipher, president of Riverwind Bank; Lt. John Falwell, Searcy Fire Department; Matt House, senior vice president, First Community Bank; David Mayes, associate vice chancellor, Arkansas State University-Beebe; Brent Morgan, assistant vice president, Regions Bank; Susan Neaville, Re-Max Advantage; and Karen Qualls, director, Northeast Arkansas Migrant Education Cooperative, Bald Knob School District.