In a taped message for broadcast President Bush praised the United Way as a &uot;great American institution of charity and compassion,&uot; and urged support of United Way community-building efforts &uot;now more than ever.

Monday, November 12, 2001

In a taped message for broadcast President Bush praised the United Way as a &uot;great American institution of charity and compassion,&uot; and urged support of United Way community-building efforts &uot;now more than ever.&uot; Thank you Freeborn County for responding. We salute the countless people who have come forward to show compassion in action. Thanks to all of you, we have reached 75 percent of our goal to date, or $379,000. Finishing out just eight weeks into our campaign, people and businesses have aggressively responded to this year’s needs.

By turning your attention to the United Way’s Web site – http://www.unitedway.org – you will see the variety of areas United Way partners, its initiatives and the impact it has on communities across the country. You can feel good knowing when you make a donation to the United Way of Freeborn County your dollars help support the programs of our 16 agencies, that in turn give hope to our neighbors, friends and families.

Increasing your gift this year will also give a book to a young child. Last week books were distributed to businesses where employees’ contributions mean the opportunity to sign their name in the back of the book. Books will soon be distributed to youngsters in kindergarten to second grade in Freeborn County. Youngsters are then encouraged to have the book signed by the author and illustrator, Marge Hamersly and Marv Wangen, on Sunday afternoon, Dec.2 at the Albert Lea Public Library. Companies which have not turned in campaign contributions are encouraged to do so soon, so increased givers can have the opportunity to be part of this gift that keeps on giving.

On behalf of the United Way Board of Directors, we commend all of you who have placed that extra dollar or who have gone out of their way to volunteer for this great cause. No matter how large or how small your gift, together we can make a difference in someone’s life. &uot;Real People, Real Lives, Real Results&uot; tells the story and reflects how important your contribution is.

Let’s make our goal of $500,000, Freeborn County, so we can look to the future confident we did our best to support the needs of tomorrow.

Pam Bishop is the 2001 campaign chairwoman for the United Way of Freeborn County.