Sikeston/Bootheel Area United Way kicks off fundraising push

SIKESTON — The Sikeston/Bootheel Area United Way kicked off its 2022 annual fundraising campaign Thursday afternoon with a luncheon at Fox Haven Country Club.

The goal for this year’s campaign, which runs from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, is $85,000.

“We’ve all had a pretty rough year with finances and this past year we only met 65% of our goal,” said Lisa Angle, executive director of the Sikeston/Bootheel Area United Way. “In the last two years, COVID has really effected everybody and everybody just doesn’t know the unknown. I think that is where the problem is.”

In it’s 58th year, the Sikeston/Bootheel Area United Way helps 18 local agencies from five local counties: Scott, New Madrid, Mississippi, Stoddard and Butler. Of the money raised, 99% of it stays local with 1% going to United Way Worldwide.

Two new agencies the United Way will be helping this year is the Sikeston Wrestling Club and the 4-H Club.

Jay Lancaster, representing the Sikeston Wrestling Club, said the club has been around since 2003. “We’ve had kids as far as Poplar Bluff, New Madrid, Benton area,” Lancaster said. “It is something we hold in the winter months November through March and we have 50 kids, give or take, kindergarten through eighth grade. It teaches hard work, discipline, physical fitness, leadership, character and good nutrition. It teaches them how to understand and do well in the sport of wrestling.”

Lancaster said the club hosts a local tournament that draws people from as far as Memphis and St. Louis.

Marsha Burke with Missouri Extension said the 4-H Club is the youth program for the Extension.

“We reach kids from 5 to 19,” Burke said. “This past year we started an after-school program.”

The mission of the 4-H Club is to engage youth as valued contributing members of the communities through clubs, camps and programs.

Other groups helped by Sikeston/Bootheel Area United Way are: Boy Scouts Greater St. Louis Area Council, Delta Area Blind, Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland, Kenny Rogers Children’s Center, Nutrition Centers of Southeast Missouri, Scott County Transit, Sikeston Cultural Development Corporation, Spread Hope Now and the YMCA.

The United Way is also partnering with dial 2-1-1 and the FamilyWize Prescription Savings Card. For those looking for resources, dial 2-1-1 helps callers connect with the resources they need while the FamilyWize Prescription Savings Card helps users get the best price on prescriptions.

The United Way is also able to help some individuals with some money that is set aside, something that has been utilized during the pandemic. Angle recalled one family just needing $60 to refill their propane tank to keep warm in the cold of winter.

“Most people are not asking for a whole lot of money,” Angle said. “These are working class people that are calling.”

The biggest fundraiser for the Sikeston/Bootheel Area United Way is a golf tournament held in the spring, which Angle said has done well, but she is looking at more fundraising opportunities. One idea is text donations where everyone gives $10.

“A lot of people feel like they are intimidated when you ask them for donations because they don’t give $50 or $100,” Angle said. “But if everybody gave $10 we’d be doing just fine.”

Angle said it has been a struggle during the pandemic.

“Everybody is just trying to do the best they can,” Angle said. “We are doing the best we can and I am trying to find other ways to be able to give you all more money. It’s just a hard time.”

Angle said by supporting the United Way, people are supporting the community and making a difference in ways they may not even know, like helping parents and caregivers keep their babies safe, helping people struggling through tough times and improving the quality of life for people with health challenges along with helping senior citizens get assistance in different ways.

“This funding is helping our community be better,” Angle said. “For us to be a better community, we have to give back.”