United Way of the Ozarks has worked to bring together service organizations for 88 years. On Wednesday, the United Way held an event to kick off the 2018 Campaign season and ask the community to get on board. KSMU’s Megan Burke has more.
The funding campaign was announced with an 80s themed party where Campaign Chair Steve Fox cut a VHS tape ribbon with giant scissors on the top floor of the Mediacom Ice Park.
The campaign goal? To raise three million dollars this year.
Debi Meeds, President and CEO of United Way of the Ozarks, says the board looked at the latest Community Focus Report to identify “red flags”—or gaps and needs in the community. The three main areas of focus this year are education, mental health, and financial stability, Meeds said.
“We say we’re working upstream to prevent poverty and upstream to help people who are already in poverty,” Meeds said.
The organization hopes to reduce poverty in the Ozarks by 5 percent by 2025.