United Way of Central Kentucky was the featured organization at the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce’s September luncheon Wednesday, with emphasis placed on the multiple ways that supporting the United Way supports the community as a whole.
“We have 22 funded partners, now 23 funded partners this year, and that represents 27 programs,” says Central Kentucky United Way Director of Development Christa Shouse, who announced during the meeting she would be taking over as the organization’s president.
“There’s maybe one degree of separation between those who need help and those who can give it, and a lot of times it’s our neighbor, it might be somebody we work with,” says Shouse. “We don’t know, but what my job is is to make sure that we have resources in this community for people when they need it.”
Wednesday marked the beginning of the United Way’s annual fundraising campaign. Shouse says while the organization doesn’t have an official number in mind, her personal goal is to see contributions return to pre-pandemic levels and to continue bringing new people into the United Way’s network.
“There’s still, even with the money that we’ve raised, grant requests that we can’t fulfill, but the community desperately needs these programs, so I want to keep trying to find that revenue out there, make new partners for volunteer experiences, for fiving back, for finding a way to be a part of the community,” Shouse says.
When it was announced during the luncheon that Shouse would step into the president role, there was a round of applause. Shouse says it is humbling to be entrusted with leading the organization she has been part of now for 12 years.
“I love United Way,” Shouse says. “I love the community that we serve. Having this opportunity, I can’t quite distill into words what that means, but I’ll say this: I started out as the admin assistant, and I’m going to be the CEO, so all of my experiences within the organization are important, and I’m blessed to have this work to do.”
To learn more about United Way of Central Kentucky, visit www.unitedwayck.org, or call 270-737-6608.
