Local United Way’sannual fundraisingcampaign underway

The United Way of Sampson County’s annual fundraising campaign is underway, with this marking its 30-year anniversary of building a stronger community — together.

United Way will have $175,000 as it fundraising goal again for the program, which was established in 1991 for Sampson, and has amassed more than $4 million in aid for groups and individuals all across Sampson County.

“Basically what we do is raise funds in the community and then we have a local governing board and they are charged with distributing those funds annually,” United Way executive director Nancy Carr stated. “We have both a fundraising season which is in the fall typically and then an allocation season which occurs in January.”

“Partner agencies and new agencies will apply for funding, every year is a new year so they have to reapply,” Carr added.

Any agency interested in receiving funding has until Friday, Jan. 7, to apply.

Carr also noted that they have fundraising “pacesetters” that kick off their campaign much earlier than their official campaign. These once again include Smithfield Foods, Clinton City Schools and Sampson County Schools.

“We’ve had a very strong campaign this year so far and we’re really excited; We anticipate meeting our goal this year,” Carr said. “Last year with COVID we had a very strong campaign and we appreciate everyone’s generosity in giving to United Way and also in investing in their community.”

Carr said that another part of their campaign this year will consist of their “Dine-out” event taking place on Dec. 10. This event will have restaurants participating and they’ll be donating a portion of their proceeds to United Way. The list of participating restaurants, however, wasn’t solidified at this current time.

Aside from allocating funds United Way also aids in times of natural disaster with the help of their mobile unit, something Carr says they’re proud of.

“We have a crisis trailer that we use to go into the community’s such as one’s that were hard hit by the flooding due to the hurricanes,” she said. “We went into Ivanhoe, Salemburg and Autryville to help them distribute hygiene products, water bedding and other equipment like that that we have to help people who experienced a crisis.”

“So we are really proud of our mobile unit and being able to go into the trenches,” Carr added.

Carr and the 15-member volunteer governing board is led by president Sherrill Allen, vice president Susan Warren, treasurer Tom Hart and secretary Trey Godwin. The board, said Carr, believes strongly in the mission to return money to Sampson.

Carr also noted that she will be stepping down as executive director at the end of the year after being part of United Way since 2003, something she says was truly rewarding.

“It’s just been one of the most rewarding parts of my life both in terms of getting to know our partner agencies and the people through our disaster relief,” she said. “Also making friends with such a strong committed board that makes my job very easy because they’re so hands on.”

“Really and truly I feel very honored that I’ve been able to serve this long for the board.”

She will be passing the torch to Wendi Ferrell, who’s been assisting Carr over these past few months before stepping into the executive director role. She expressed her joy about the upcoming role with a simple statement.

“I’m very excited, I love Sampson County and I’m so happy to get to serve Sampson, I’m just so excited,” Ferrell said.

While Ferrell didn’t divulge much information on what some of her future plans with Untied Way will be once she takes over, she did highlight that getting back out in the community was her top priority.

A last keynote that Carr wanted to share with the people about the United Way campaign is their dedication to giving back locally to the community. She also wanted to clear the air on common misconceptions about fundraising in general.

“We raise funds and they stay local and then they go right back into program services that help those in need and we currently have 11 agencies,” Carr said. “I think it’s just important to know that the funds we raise really do stay local. Sometimes there’s a misconception about where money goes for charities.”

“There’s many wonderful charities out there but what sets United Way of Sampson County apart is that when you give to United Way of Sampson,” she said. “The money is going to stay here invested in the community, people and residents.”

United Way of Sampson County’s 2021 partner agencies have included:

• Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program (BCCCP)

• Clinton Area Foundation for Education (CAFE)

• The Girl Scouts of America – NC Coastal Pines

• Sampson County Child Advocacy Center

• Sampson County 4-H

• Sampson County Health & Wellness Education Program

• Sampson County Firefighters Association

• Sampson County Friends of Education

• Sampson County Horticulture Program

• Wheelchair Ramp Program

• Sampson County Agriculture Education Program

“We touch probably one in three residents in Sampson County through the programs that we have with those 11 agencies,” Carr attested.

Applications can be found online through the agency’s website at www.unitedwaysampson.org under the agency resources tab. The applications will be due Jan. 7 2022, qualifying programs will be invited to present their program to the board in January. The complete calendar is available via the website.