United Way kicks-off 2009 campaign

The Bureau County United Way Board members and the agencies it serves kicked-off its 2009 campaign Thursday morning. Pictured with the thermometer on the courthouse lawn are Patti Monroe (left of sign, left to right), representing the Bureau County Health and Wellness Center; Jill Guynn, University of Illinois Extension; Gary Patterson. BCUW treasurer; Kathy Clark and Judd Lusher, BCUW Board members. To the right of the sign are BCUW Director Michelle Lymberopoulos; Josh Reck, Boy Scouts; Sue Spratt, BCUW president; and Sandra Kennedy, BCUW secretary. This year's goal is $131,000. (BCR photo/Terri Simon)

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PRINCETON — The Bureau County United Way has set a $131,000 goal for its 2009 campaign.

Executive Director Michelle Lymberopoulos said this is the 37th consecutive annual campaign conducted by the BCUW. The $131,000 goal is the same as set last year, she said.

About 25 BCUW Board directors and agency representatives attended Thursday’s kick-off meeting in the community room of the Bureau County Republican.

The 2009 campaign is officially underway and will run through Dec. 31, Lymberopoulos said.

Serving as chairpersons of the capital campaign are Randy and Patricia Grant. Other leaders for the 2009 campaign are Kathy Clark and Lynne Weber, in the Education Division; Steve Coven for Commercial; Lynn Shurts, Sue Spratt and Crystal Lilley for the F.I.R.E. division; Judson Lusher, Tim Harris and Gary Patterson for the Industrial Division; Jim Angel, Professional Division; Sandra Kennedy, Mailing; and Lymberopoulos for the Publicity, Government and Healthcare Divisions. The Agency/Non-Profit division is led by representatives from the 15 agencies supported by BCUW, Lymberopoulos said.

Those 15 agencies include the American Red Cross of Bureau County; Bureau County Food Pantry; Bureau County Senior Center Association; Bureau Valley Volunteer Hospice; Bureau County Health and Wellness Clinic; Catholic Charities; Illinois Valley Center for Independent Living; Gateway Services; In Home Care, VNA; Girls Scouts of Central Illinois; Prairie State Legal Services; The Salvation Army; W.D. Boyce Council of Boy Scouts; Youth Service Bureau; and the University of Illinois Extension, Bureau County.

In addition to its support of the 15 agencies, the BCUW also funds its Community Impact Grants and children’s projects programs.

To keep the public informed of the progress of this year’s campaign, the BCUW has once again placed its thermometer in the northeast corner of the Bureau County Courthouse lawn. The BCUW has already reached 25 percent of its goal, Lymberopoulos said.

A new sign has been placed this year in the Bullington Isaacson parking lot on South Main Street in Princeton, listing the agencies receiving funds through the BCUW.

At Thursday’s kick-off meeting, BCUW Board President Sue Spratt said the many volunteers who help with BCUW are the heart of the campaign. Spratt also talked about the history of the local chapter and said 99 percent of funds raised locally stay within the county.

BCUW Board member Gary Patterson reported on the Sept. 6 golf scramble at Hunter’s Ridge, which netted $7,400. Seventeen teams, made up of 65 golfers, participated in the scramble, he said.

In her comments at the kick-off meeting, Lymberopoulos said she is honored to be executive director for the Bureau County United Way and to work for the BCUW’s cause of helping agencies who serve people in need. Every day, she is learning more about the vital role the BCUW plays in local communities, she said.

 For more information, to volunteer or make a donation, contact the BCUW at (815) 872-0821.