ANDERSON — Heart of Indiana United Way has helped families overcome poverty since 1925, and the organization’s leaders plan to position it to do so through the next century.
About 70 people gathered Friday evening for the United Way’s 100th Birthday at the Races at Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino.
“As we celebrate this incredible milestone, we’re also thinking about what comes next,” said Jenni Marsh, president/CEO of Heart of Indiana United Way.
Marsh spoke about the Next Century Fund, a fundraiser focused on the next 100 years of service.
“It’s a hybrid fund that helps the immediate causes we fund but also fuels an endowment fund that is here to help us respond to the unknown of what lies ahead in the next century,” she explained.
Community members can make a one-time, milestone gift to the Next Century Fund to “ensure United Way continues to be a driving force for change, resilience and equity ... for generations to come,” according to the Heart of Indiana United Way website.
Local residents and businesses can join the Heart of Indiana United Way 100-year celebration in several ways:
• Order special drinks at local coffee shops, wineries and breweries, with proceeds supporting the organization’s initiatives
• Volunteer with the United Way to help launch a series of anniversary events
• Take part in the 100th Birthday Workplace Challenge • Join the Legacy Society, “a special group of individuals committed to shaping the future through planned giving.”
• Visit the Community Table Experience at local festivals and other events to learn about the organization’s history and impact. According to Hoosiers by the Numbers, a data site powered partly by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, in Madison County, 13% of families are impoverished.
Heart of United Way — which serves Madison, Delaware, Henry, Randolph, and Fayette counties — provides support for those families through resources such as Read United, a reading program at Anderson Community Schools, and the THRIVE Network.
“In Anderson, 55% of households struggle to make ends meet,” Marsh said. “Thanks to our donors’ support, we have the THRIVE Network that helps families set and achieve goals — whether it’s living within their budget, improving their credit, getting a home, even helping their kiddos be at school on time.”
Families are able to pursue those goals with the help of a THRIVE coach who guides the way.
Rising health care premiums have garnered headlines nationwide, which could mean more families will need outside help.
To help meet the need, the United Way has the “Covering Kids and Families” program, through which families and children receive assistance with health care costs.
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