United Way struggles

FISHERSVILLE – Put your hands out.

That’s what Sandra Stanwitz, executive director for the United Way of Greater Augusta, jokingly told representatives of about 10 local groups as a television crew was setting up for a news conference Monday.

Stanwitz, the executive director of the local United Way, isn’t joking about the agency’s need, however, as its campaign projections show a 30 percent shortfall toward its current, $750,000 goal.

United Way board president Joe Leigh said it is “significantly behind” in its fundraising efforts and is on track to raise a lot less money than it did last year. That means more than two-dozen agencies could face drops in what they receive from the United Way.

“There’s no question that folks in the community are hurting, and the United Way is not immune to those effects,” Leigh said.

He said the United Way understands that many may not be in a position to give, but said people may be unaware of how the economic recession is impacting the agency.

“These are tough times for us, and these tough times will translate into tough times for the agencies, and that will translate into tough times for the people who use these agencies,” Leigh said.

Jeff Fife, executive director of the Waynesboro YMCA, said programs for children with disabilities, and those that make the YMCA affordable for children participating in its basketball and swimming programs, would be hurt by not getting as much from the United Way.

When the economy is at its worst, Fife said that’s when the United Way and the agencies it supports need to be at their best.

“It would be, in a way, cutting back on our ability to serve some of those children and families that need it most with the shortfall in United Way funding moving into next year,” Fife said.

Ginny Harris, the executive director of the Valley Hope Counseling Center, said the number of people it serves has doubled, primarily because people either don’t have health insurance or can’t continue to afford it.

“If we don’t have significant funding, we can’t keep our fees at a level that it’s affordable to the clients,” Harris said.

Big Brothers/Big Sisters Executive Director Judith Shuey said United Way cuts would hurt that agency’s efforts to provide mentors for children. Cuts for Donna Gum, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Augusta, mean services could go unmet.

Alan Fairfield of the Family Resource and Referral Center said that, without United Way money, it might have to lay off one, or both, of its parent educators. He said he has seen a large increase in calls to the center.

“There are more layoffs with parents at home” who are seeking education, Fairfield said.

The United Way of Greater Augusta invested about $600,000 into agencies in the region in 2007.

John Whitfield, executive director of Blue Ridge Legal Services, said he has seen a 20 percent increase in the current quarter in people seeking free legal assistance for such things as foreclosures, evictions, bankruptcies and domestic violence.

But Whitfield said it has turned away three times as many people in the last quarter than in the same period a year ago. Without United Way funding, Whitfield says it would have to turn away even more people who have nowhere else to turn.

“When the economy goes bad, we get swamped, and we are underwater now,” Whitfield said.

Stanwitz said the United Way would hope for more money to come in to mitigate potential cuts. Otherwise, she said the agency would have to make “grueling” allocation decisions by February.

“I’m not sure how it will all play out, whether it will be across-the-board cuts, or if it will be considered agency by agency,” Stanwitz said. “It will be a challenging time.”