Seward County United Way to kick off 2013 Campaign Sept. 7

The Seward County United Way will be kicking off its 2013 Campaign at a Liberal Chamber of Commerce Breakfast at 7 a.m. Friday, Sept. 7, at Seward County Community College. This year, the goal is $330,000, the highest goal ever set for the local United Way.

The Kickoff Breakfast will also introduce this year�??s campaign chair, Deb Pridie. �??We�??re extremely pleased that Deb has accepted the challenge of bring this year�??s chair. I think she�??ll be a great addition to the Seward County United Way team,�?� said Kay Burtzloff, executive director of the Seward County United Way.

This year�??s theme �??Go for the Gold�?� will introduce the first �??United Way Olympics.�?� Burtzloff said, �??We wanted to have some fun this year so we will have audience participation as we see who will win the medals for their United Way countries.�?� Attendees will be challenged in several competitions to see who will win the �??Olympic�?� medals.

�??We�??re starting the next 50 years for the Seward County United Way since it was certified as a non-profit by the IRS in 1961. That means for 50 years we�??ve been supporting non-profits in this community and it adds up to literally millions of dollars of donations,�?� said Burtzloff. �??During tough economic times, our agencies are hit hard with more requests for services and less support. It�??s up to United Way to �??Go for the Gold�?? to help our agencies to continue to provide what the community needs.�?�

Burtzloff said that the United Way increased its funding to the agencies more than $35,000 in the past year. �??My board made the decision to provide additional funds to the agencies this year. Many of our agencies, like the Liberal Area Rape Crisis and Domestic Violence Center, have had their grants cut this year. We haven�??t been able to replace all the lost funding but we have been able to help.�?�