MOORE — Greetings to the City of Moore. My name is Debby Hampton and I would like to introduce myself to the Moore community as the president and CEO of your United Way of Central Oklahoma.
Every year at this time, we have the privilege of beginning the Community Investment process where we will allocate the monies raised from our fall fundraising campaign. The monies raised supports 61 partner agencies who facilitate social services programming in the seven counties we serve, which includes the Moore community. Currently, more than 55 of our partner agencies are actively serving Moore citizens. You may be familiar with some them — the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the YMCA of Greater Oklahoma City, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, Moore Youth and Family Services and many more.
The people who decide which programs to fund are donors just like some of you. These United Way of Central Oklahoma donors volunteer approximately 5,000 hours over the course of six months to research the structure and outcomes of the programs, as well as conduct site visits to learn how these programs are administered. Once the evaluations are complete, the volunteers submit their recommendations to our board of directors which programs to fund and the dollar amounts to be allocated.
In 2011, donations to the United Way of Central Oklahoma from Moore residents totaled approximately $50,000, which supported more than 37,000 services to Moore residents — an increase of 1,500 more than the previous year. Clearly, there is an emerging and expanding need for additional social services in the Moore area.
For the next few months, I would like to share some of the stories we hear every day about the positive impact made in our communities by working together for the common good. I am confident that together we really can build a stronger, healthier and more compassionate community.
For more information about United Way of Central Oklahoma, visit www.unitedwayokc.org or call 236-8441.
