APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – The United Way Fox Cities’ is celebrating a successful community campaign, despite a difficult year for many in 2020.
Like many things in 2020, the United Way Fox Cities annual community campaign had to make some adjustments to their original plans.
“We sat down, reassessed our top campaigns, and re evaluated things, and felt that we were going to be lucky to try to raise $7 million this year,” said President and CEO, Peter Kelly. “It was really uncertain as we kicked things off, but as the year progressed we all learned how to adapt. In that process, we were able to connect with our donors virtually.”
Those efforts were able to bring in $8.4 million in donations.
“We’ve been essentially fundraising since March when we went into partnership with the Community Foundation of the Fox Valley Region create a COVID response community fund,” Kelly said. “That will help us continue to fund the over 100 different programs and initiatives in the Fox Cities that really touch one in three people in our community.”
That initial fund raised about $1.7 million. Their annual campaign then officially kicked off on September 1st.
The United Way Fox Cities focuses on assisting with education, financial stability, and health for people in need across the Fox Valley communities.
“We fund a number of programs in those areas – primarily around mental health, child development programs, and child care, many basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter,” Kelly explained. “We’re very fortunate to have people who care about the communities in which they live, and in doing so, support so many nonprofits.”
For more information about the annual community campaign, the United Way Fox Cities, or how donations are utilized, head to the United Way Fox Cities homepage: UnitedWayFoxCities.org.
