SUNBURY -- Executives at Valley nonprofit organizations say their elimination from the 2008 Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way roster will adversely affect their agencies.
The local United Way's lineup of 30 agencies for 2008 is five fewer than it was in 2007. Some organizations were cut because they are part of larger, well-funded organizations, said Keri Albright, president and chief executive officer of the local United Way.
Among those agencies left out were Geisinger Health System's Children's Advocacy Center, of Northumberland, which provides services to children who must undergo police interviews for sexual assault investigations; the Salvation Army; Evangelical Home Health Services; ACTION Health, Danville; Avenues, Pottsville, which promotes the general welfare of persons with developmental or physical handicaps; and Habitat for Humanity of Snyder and Union counties.
United Way provided $49,000 to those agencies and to two others in 2007, Ms. Albright said.
"There's no vehicle, so to speak, to bill for the bulk of the services we provide," said Melissa Hummel, coordinator of the Children's Advocacy Center, which received $14,000 in 2007. "It's not like we have another way to recoup that money, so we rely heavily on the community and donations.
"If there's one message that we hope can remain out there, it's that we do need community support. We do need people coming forward to say this is a community problem and we're going to do what we can, whether it's $2 or $2,000 -- every little bit counts."
When the Children's Advocacy Center was getting started, the United Way bridged its gap in funding, Ms. Albright said.
"And now that they are in a position of a really well-run organization with great support," she said. "They are where they need to be. Our exclusion of the CAC is in no way a reflection of the strength of its services."
Maj. Sharon Cupp of the Sunbury chapter of the Salvation Army said the loss of funding from the United Way -- about $10,000 -- will level a blow to the organization's food bank.
"The United Way has funded the Army greatly in the past," she said. "In the last few years ... the funding hasn't been up to what it should be, but that little bit helped and it will hurt a lot. But I'm already looking at alternative means to try and fund.
"I'll do the innovative things I have to do and the community is just going to have to be understanding when I say there's no funding, there truly is no funding."
Sandy Nelson, director of Evangelical Home Health Services, said the organization will lose $8,500 in United Way funding, money that was used to bridge the gap between insurance reimbursements and the actual cost of providing care.
"We have a large elderly population ... but (there are) mothers and new babies served as well," said Ms. Nelson, who added that she was surprised her agency was declined. "It's going to hurt with that."
ACTION Health's loss of $8,000 in United Way money will hurt the agency's health education programming, executive director Allison Clark said in a written statement.
"The loss of their funding will affect the number of important health programs we can provide in our service region, as well as reduce the impact we can have on the important health issues on which we currently focus," she said.
Those issues include chronic disease in the aging population, cancer prevention and early detection, abuse and injury prevention, diabetes and childhood obesity, she said.
The loss of $2,500 of United Way funding will curb the availability of an Elks Home Services nurse to the disabled in Northumberland County, Avenues executive director Peter Keitsock said, and will likely require the Elks Lodge, which helps to fund the program, to contribute more.
New agencies on the roster are the Children's Discovery Center, Selinsgrove; the Clinical Outcomes Group, Northumberland; and SUN Home Health Services of Northumberland.
Organizations that reapplied for United Way membership were evaluated on whether their operations were in line with the mission and expectations of the United Way as determined by the organization's newly adopted strategic plan, which charges the United Way with solving community problems at their root cause, Ms. Albright said.
Those community problems are early childhood education, lack of public transportation, poverty and the effect of drug and alcohol abuse on families.
Money raised in the 2007 capital campaign will still support the 35 agencies currently funded through the United Way. The 2008 campaign will fund the new roster, Ms. Albright said, adding that United Way will honor donations to any designated agency.
Clinical Outcomes Group of Northumberland is new to the United Way's roster. The organization has a subcontract with the Family Health Council of Pennsylvania to provide tobacco control within the community, and uses state and federal grants to address abuse intervention, drug and alcohol abuse and workplace wellness.
"We sought a partnership with the United Way because their mission and our mission very much coincide," said Dan Derr, director of tobacco and business services. "We were ecstatic for the United Way to recognize us a partner within the community ... and we readily accept that challenge and look forward to our working with the United Way."
SUN Home Health Services, Northumberland, will use its funding to provide personal response system units to high-risk patients in their initial 60 days of home-health care.
The units provide homebound patients with a communication device to call for help, if needed.
"SUN Home Health Services is pleased and honored to be selected as a new member of the Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way and we look forward to working together to meet the needs of our community," said Donald N. Wilver Jr., executive vice president for community affairs."
Attempts to reach Habitat for Humanity, the Selinsgrove Area Youth League and USO World Headquarters were unsuccessful.
n E-mail comments to akeister@dailyitem.com
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