Finding a way: Bootheel Area United Way is changing to better serve communities

Shawnna Gerding

SIKESTON -- A downturn in giving could mean less money to assist the homeless, to provide programs for children or to deliver meals to the elderly but not if Shawnna Gerding and the board of the Sikeston/Bootheel Area United Way have anything to do about it.

Gerding, who took over as the area United Way's executive director in January, is looking for new sources of funding. She is tackling the job with determination and a smile.

"The drop in giving began slowly," she said. The 2014-15 campaign had only 75 percent of its pledges filled, according to Gerding. Last year, pledges were half of the previous year, requiring the board to amend its budget 35 percent downward.

The local United Way provides funding to 16 agencies across seven counties. The agencies are Bootheel Counseling Services and Family Medical Clinic, Boy Scouts, Delta Area Blind, Foster Grandparent Program, Girl Scouts, Hands of Hope Partners, House of Refuge, Kenny Rogers Children's Center, Nutrition Centers of Southeast Missouri, Scott County Transit, Sikeston Cultural Development Corporation and the YMCA of Southeast Missouri.

Now, this year's campaign begins without one of United Way's major contributors. Typically, Noranda Aluminum provided close to $28,000 in funding for the annual campaign, Gerding said.

"We cannot depend on our annual campaign for the money we need to fund our agencies," Gerding added.

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