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Investing in the community

Local agencies benefit greatly from annual United Way campaign


You’ve always heard it was better to give than to receive. With this year’s United Way campaign in Weakley County, you could do both.

MTD Products Inc. is donating a Troy-Bilt lawn tractor to encourage more people to give to Weakley County's 2003 United Way campaign. Each person who pledges an hour’s pay per month or more through their company’s United Way campaign will be entered to win the lawn tractor. The winner of the mower will be announced at a UTM basketball game on Jan. 17, 2004.

UTM is one of many employers throughout the county that annually conduct a campaign through payroll deduction. The campaign is currently under way, and those interested in contributing should contact Steve Vantrease at 7766 or Tomi Parrish at 7558.

“For many years, United Way has been working to make Weakley County a stronger, healthier community,” said Jim Schuster, 2003 campaign chair. “The lawn tractor is a great way to build excitement in our community and encourage people to learn more about United Way. When people learn that United Way money stays in Weakley County and that all investment decisions are made by local volunteers, they realize that it is a great way to support the entire community. We are excited about this year’s effort.”

In its 2002 United Way campaign, Weakley County raised more than $144,000. That money is being invested in eight health and human service agencies and programs that serve people from Weakley County. They are: the Developmental Disabilities Dental Clinic, Infant Stimulation Program at UTM, COMMUNITY Program of Weakley County, Damascus Road, American Red Cross, Learning Enrichment Center/Martin Housing Authority, Office on Aging and We Care Ministries.

United Way of West Tennessee is a local, volunteer-driven organization that helps strengthen the communities it serves. Through United Way, individual pledges and payroll deduction campaigns are combined to create a fund that supports health and human service programs and agencies serving the area. The organization serves Carroll, Dyer, Gibson, Henderson, Hay-wood, Crockett, Hardeman, Madison, McNairy and Weakley counties.

For more information about the lawn tractor giveaway or for more information on Weakley County’s United Way effort, call Hope Cooper at (731) 422-1816. More information also is available by visiting www.unitedway.tn.org</A>.

Following are stories about some of the agencies that United Way of Weakley County funds.

<B>Infant Stimulation Program/UTM</B>

Developmentally delayed children should be provided the opportunity to realize their potentials at the earliest age possible.

This is one of two goals set by the Infant Stimulation Program at UTM along with providing ideas for growth within the frameworks of these children’s families. The program serves children from ages birth to 3 years old who have a 20 percent delay of chronological age in one or more areas of development.

“We want children to have the chance to develop all the skills possible,” said Sharon Wenz, the director of Child and Family Grant Programs. “A lot of learning happens between birth and 3, and we help maximize learning in that period of time.”

Infant Stimulation serves six counties, which are Benton, Carroll, Henry, Lake, Obion and Weakley. The program’s teachers visit the children in their homes for at least one hour per week.

The program also has two inclusion groups that meet in Martin, giving a chance for children who are both delayed and typically developing to interact.

With all of the travel done by the administrators of the program, though, it can become quite expensive. Wenz estimates that the annual costs per child are about $3,500.

The program is contracted through the State Department of Education and the Division of Mental Retardation to serve 57 children in the area. Eligible children for the program can range between 55 and 75, however, so they must often rely on outside funding from United Way and other local charities.

“We’re only contracted to help 57 children, so we really need those additional funds that the United Way and others provide,” said Wenz.

For more information on Infant Stimulation, contact Rene Bard at 587-7113 or Sharon Wenz at 587-7115, or if you would like to make a donation of any kind to help the program, contact the Weakley County United Way.

<I>– By Dustin Stovall, a senior Communications major from Lexington.</I>

<B>Developmental Disabilities Clinic</B>

The Developmental Disabilities Clinic, along with the United Way, the Department of Mental Health and Retardation and several volunteers, provides dental care to those who are developmentally disabled and certified as eligible individuals from West Tennessee. The program serves thousands each year and handles most dental procedures. The Developmental Disabilities Clinic receives some private contributions and has volunteer dentists on staff as well.

The clinic’s doors opened in Jackson with only four dentists and the staff has grown to 20. The clinic has one full-time and one part-time employee, and the other employees are volunteers. They receive referrals from doctors, dentists, health departments, and other agencies that serve the developmentally disabled.

Diane Britt, public relations director, said, “The Developmental Disabilities Clinic has been open for 25 years and provides dental care to those who could not otherwise find treatment in the private sector thanks to the volunteers.”

<I>– By Mitchell Phy, a senior Communications major from Dickson</I>

<B>Office on Aging</B>

The United Way goal of bringing communities together is apparent in the efforts to provide funding for the Weakley County Office on Aging.

The Office provides services and various opportunities to members of the community who are 60 or older. The goal is to help these people remain involved and feel independent in the later years of life. The office also provides homemaker services and Meals on Wheels.

Suzann Kroll, a representative of the Office on Aging, has experienced first hand the importance of the United Way funds. “Without the help of the United Way, we would not be able to offer many of the programs we have now. One such program is the homemaker program. This program allows professionals to go into the home, access various needs, and also help with some light housekeeping.”

Individuals who wish to gain help from the Office on Aging have several options. The Office on Aging has contact points at senior citizen centers in Dresden, Gleason, Greenfield, Martin and Sharon. For direct assistance, call the Office on Aging headquarters in Dresden at 364-3581. Individuals seeking help must qualify through an application process . <I>– By Lee Lawrence, a senior Communications major from Gleason</I>

<B>PEACH Project</B>

This year, through designations rather than community investment, United Way is helping the PEACH (Parent Education and Children’s Health) project to provide special parenting programs in Weakley County.

The program is designed to help parents face the many challenges of raising children and is associated with the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at UTM.

The goal of PEACH is to inform parents of the options available to maintain their children’s well-being. This goal is met by designing individual programs on topics raised by parents, and the programs are offered at no charge. The PEACH program hopes that child abuse will be prevented as a result of the offered counseling sessions.

The United Way has helped to increase the awareness of the PEACH project as well as its mission in Weakley County by setting up booths at health fairs, interacting with private donors to the fund, and setting up special events at local businesses.

If you have any questions or need help with a parenting situation, contact the PEACH office at 587-7034 or 587-7114.

<I>– By Lee Lawrence, a senior Communications major from Gleason</I>