As we hurtle through December, shopping for gifts, attending open houses and hanging decorations on our Christmas trees, it’s easy to forget our friends and neighbors who might need a little extra attention during the usually joyful season.
Not all of the Scurry County United Way’s funds go to agencies and organizations that help those in need, but the majority of the money raised each year is allocated for just that.
Snyder Daycare Center and Gateway Family Services receive the lion’s share of the money raised during each year’s campaign.
Snyder Daycare Center, which is part of Jumpstart Enrichment for Tomorrow’s Students (JETS) located at Stanfield Family Learning Center, is crucial for working parents. Without someone to care for their young children, it’s difficult to join the workforce.
More than just a babysitter, the daycare center staff provides educational services, giving the children in their care a boost to their school career. And as the federal and state governments continue to decrease funding for a myriad of children’s programs, the local funding provided through the United Way is vital.
It’s heartbreaking that we need services like those provided by Gateway Family Services, but the reality is that we do. When women and children are in danger and need a safe place to turn, Gateway is there to open a door and protect them.
Several other agencies are also there during families’ times of need, including the Scurry County Food Cupboard, Cancer Services Network and West Texas Children’s Advocacy. These aren’t charities that collect donations and run nationwide headquarters that often are more interested in fundraising than providing services.
All the agencies that receive United Way funds here are hands-on advocates in our community. They operate here and work face-to-face with our friends and neighbors who find themselves in need of assistance. They help feed the hungry, make sure those facing cancer have money to get to and from their treatments and provide reassurance to children facing difficult situations.
I know the representatives from each of these five agencies could each provide a long list of additional services they provide here, including outreach programs they offer in an attempt to avoid the situations they help victims through.
The Scurry County United Way’s three remaining agencies use the funds they receive to proactively teach lessons that will last a lifetime.
The Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts each help mold young people by teaching them leadership skills and the importance of working as a team toward common goals. They participate in community projects and other activities that focus on building productive citizens.
The Snyder Volunteer Fire Department uses United Way funds to teach fire safety to children, as well as to provide smoke detectors and other services to the public at-large. The goal of those efforts is prevent fires before they become a problem.
Each of these agencies, and their employees and volunteers, play an important role in Snyder and Scurry County, in ways too numerous to list here. They are, in a word, heroes. They were the inspiration for this year’s campaign theme: Be A Hero.
And your opportunity to join them and be a hero is right in front of you. By donating to the Scurry County United Way during this Christmas season you will both give and receive. You will give these agencies some much needed financial support during a time that it has never been more important. And if you make your donation before the end of the month, you’ll receive a nice little tax break as well.
Many of us have donated to this year’s Be A Hero campaign, and we’d love for you to become the next hero and join us.
Donations may be made online at www.scurrycountyunitedway.org, mailed to P.O. Box 1411 or brought by the United Way office at 2311 Ave. T between 1-5 p.m. weekdays.
Bill Crist is the publisher of the Snyder Daily News. Comments about his column may be emailed to publisher@snyderdailynews.com.