United Way's call to action

A lot of us may be feeling donation weary. We've dug often and deep over the past year to help a wide variety of charities and groups, especially those trying to assist 2008 flood victims. Just last week, more severe flooding inflicted severe damage on several communities.

And now United Way of East Central Iowa is asking for more - a total of $10.5 million or $100,000 more than last year's campaign goal. This won't be easy, but it's important.

United Way and its 40 partner agencies provide many services and resources to people facing hardships and problems that are overwhelming. And little more than a year out from our region's worst-ever natural disaster, the number of people in dire need of financial assistance, health care access or counseling is still substantial.

More than 18,000 people in Cedar Rapids alone were affected by the flood, and for many, their recovery has only just begun. Hundreds of owners of damaged homes, for example, have their fates on hold as they wait for federal buyout or other mitigation plans to be processed. Unemployment is on the rise. Food pantries are seeing about 15 percent more customers than a year ago. Calls for assistance with utility bills are up. More people are struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues.

And at the same time, local government officials are dealing with loss of property tax revenues while demand on public services escalates.

While Iowans are resilient, many flood-related needs aren't about to go away any time soon, it's sad to see.

United Way's leadership and campaign are critical. We remind you that the organization's focus is to serve residents of Linn, Johnson, Benton, Cedar, Iowa and Washington counties in three areas:

l Education: Helping children enter school prepared to learn and stay on track to becoming productive members of the community.

l Income: Low-income people are assisted through services that will lead them to financial stability and independence - not long-term dependence.

l Health: Helping uninsured and low-income families and adults access vital services.

We're also anxious to see the first report measuring United Way partners' impact - a new and welcome wrinkle that is supposed to tell us what programs are working, which are not and how to make the most effective use of campaign dollars. That's due this fall.

Meanwhile, we urge everyone who is able to support the United Way campaign. If you can increase you donation, wonderful. If you can at least maintain what you gave in the past, that's a huge help. We're all in this together.

How to help

-- Visit United Way of East Central Iowa's Web site at: www.uweci.org