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United Way kicks off 2009 campaign
Featured speaker encourages ‘volunteer diet'
Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by DARWIN WEIGEL
Sue Hu, left, chair of the United Way Women's Initiative, and Christa Conant of Christmas in April, have a chat at the United Way of Calvert County's 2009 campaign kick-off and awards ceremony Thursday at the Holiday Inn Select, Solomons.
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Despite falling slightly behind in its last campaign, the United Way of Calvert County is beginning its 2009 campaign with an optimistic and forward-thinking outlook.
The organization formally launched it at the 2009 Campaign Kick-off and Awards Ceremony on Thursday at the Holiday Inn Select, Solomons.
United Way President & CEO Kelly Chambers said that the goal of this campaign is for companies to increase payroll deductions to ultimately increase the organization's bottom line.
"Our overall goal is to hopefully reach $1 million," said Chambers, who said that United Way was down 4 percent overall in its most recent campaign.
"It was a difficult year … It was difficult for people to continue their pledges when they lost their jobs," said Chambers, who said that she is hopeful about this campaign, nonetheless, citing an increase in United Way volunteers.
"I think there's a feeling in the air about wanting to give back," Chambers said. " … With the needs in the community increasing, there's also a need to want to help."
The 2009 campaign chair, Mike Frederick, who is the director of operations at Dominion Cove Point LNG, said that he is hoping to inspire other companies to follow his model by having 100 percent campaign participation.
"The reality is, yes, it's more difficult, but there're a lot of us in positive employment positions … if you're in a place where you can help, you should help," Frederick said.
Attendees at the event included Calvert County Board of County Commissioners' President Wilson Parran (D), Calvert County Superintendent of Schools Jack Smith, Register of Wills Margaret Phipps (D) and College of Southern Maryland President Bradley M. Gottfried.
"We try to get 100 percent participation," Parran said of the Calvert County government employees.
Parran explained that the board of county commissioners has several non-county agencies, some of which are part of United Way.
"We can't do it all; we have to rely on a lot of organizations here to make it happen," he said.
Smith said he ensures that Calvert County students and staff are all aware of the United Way, and does so by having representatives visit each school and the central office.
He also said that each elementary school holds a "penny drive" for United Way each year, which St. Leonard Elementary School has won for the last two years.
Smith said that while school system employees are not obligated to donate, "we urge them to consider it.
"It's an easy way to give back to the community and they can give a little or a lot," Smith said.
The event's guest speaker, Gail Perry Johnston, author of "The Social Cause Diet," laughed that she was initially inspired to write her book when her husband told her he heard that most bestselling books tend to have the word "woman," "man," "house," "sex" or "diet" in their title.
Johnston said that she then came across an article about the health benefits of volunteering.
"‘Diet' kind of makes sense because when you give to other people you feed their soul," said Johnston, who explained that with giving back to one's community comes lower rates of depression; greater functional ability as one ages; and a longer lifespan.
"People who are volunteering tend to be alive 10 years later because they have a reason to be," she said.
