United Way increases Fall 2012 campaign goal, to host kickoff Sept. 28

September 14, 2012 at 6:00 a.m. | Updated September 14, 2012 at 6:00 a.m.

Dan Diedriech participates in a previous United Way Radiothon kickoff at Walmart. The 13th annual United Way Radiothon will be held from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28, at the Fulton Walmart parking lot and raise funds for 14 local groups dedicated to helping or improving the lives of Callawegians.

In an effort to keep ahead of a struggling economy and federal budget cuts, the Callaway County United Way has announced their Fall 2012 campaign goal is $261,000, up $1,000 from years past.

CCUW executive director Kathy Richey Liddle said the decision to up their goal amount was necessary, when the CCUW Board weighed the state of the economy against Callaway's needs.

"Last year our goal was $260,000; we did make it, but it was a struggle," said Richey Liddle. "A lot of our agencies have been hit hard with federal cuts, so the community money through United Way is even more important than ever before. We couldn't go down, but we wanted to show we were working towards making a small increase, so hopefully we can go over that but also you don't want to set it too high and not make it."

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.