Big donations boost United Way campaign

With donation goals up from last year and two months to go in its annual campaign, the United Way of Onslow County is well on its way to meeting its targets, executive director Craig Wagner said Friday.

The United Way set an objective of $625,000, a $25,000 increase on last year’s goal, when its fundraising campaign kicked off in September. With 73.5 percent raised to date and the campaign at its halfway point, Wagner said the effort was off to the best start in organization history, helped significantly by large donations from businesses in the community.

Last weekend, the organization held a drawing for a 2011 Chevy Cruze donated by Marine Chevrolet. Donors who contributed $78 or more to the campaign were eligible for the car, and the winner, from among 10 finalists, was Convergys’ employee Regina Rawls.

Wagner said the participation incentive from the donated car gave the fundraising effort a dramatic boost.

“If it wasn’t for them and that donation, we wouldn’t be this high in our campaign,” he said.

Others have partnered with the United Way in creative ways. Stevenson Automotive announced on its Facebook page that it would donate $1 to the organization for every fan of the page.

And the AT&T regional office in Jacksonville has pledged the campaign more than $6,000, which will be presented in a check before the end of this month.

For the last two years, the United Way has exceeded its annual fundraising goals. This year’s campaign goal is the organization’s all-time highest. Wagner said this runaway success — even in difficult economic times—was thanks to the exceptional generosity of Onslow County residents.

“It’s directly attributed to the community,” Wagner said. “If we weren’t in a community that was so caring and so compassionate to those in need, we wouldn’t be able to meet those goals.”

The money, he said, will go to ongoing projects as well as two new initiatives to be announced in January. In the coming year, Wagner said the United Way would focus on being more strategic about solving this community’s most pressing problems, including homelessness and need.

To contribute to the campaign, call the United Way office at 910-347-2646 or visit Unitedwayonslow.org.