CASSOPOLIS — Cass County commissioners Thursday night gave United Way of Southwest Michigan permission to form a campaign with employees through interim Administrator Chuck Clarke.

Action followed a presentation by Campaign Manager Retta Curneal on what it means to “Live United” — “when we reach out a hand to one, we influence the condition of all.”

Her United Way serves Berrien and Cass counties and within the past four weeks moved into its own building in St. Joseph as a gift from the Upton Foundation.

Curneal asked commissioners “to take under consideration allowing United Way to have a campaign among county employees. We do this in Berrien County. I met with Sheriff Underwood and he would allow his department.”

Goal for fundraising is $3 million. Payroll deductions for this campaign run Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2011.

“Our needs are probably more like twice that amount,” she said. “In Cass County last year we raised approximately $40,000, but we invested much more than that. We’re proud sponsors of the Lewis Cass Intermediate School District backpack spectacular, which supplies up to 1,500 to needy children so they have supplies to go to school.

“We also just entered into a program with Lewis Cass ISD to start Parents as Teachers here in Cass County.

“I always tell people, ‘You may not see us here every day, but we are here.’ A lot of agencies headquartered in Benton Harbor and St. Joe have satellite offices here.”

“Money raised in Cass County stays here to support your community, your friends, your families,” she said. “Approximately 17 cents of each dollar is used for administrative purposes, which means 83 percent of the money we raise goes right back into our communities. The standard for non-profit overhead is 25 percent, so we are outstanding stewards of our money.”

By moving into its own building, Curneal said the agency will be saving on rent, “so even more money will be going right back into our community. We’ll save thousands of dollars every year from what we paid in rent.”

Curneal said United Way partners with other agencies “to make lasting change in our community in the areas of education, income, health and basic needs.

“Our focus area, number one, is education. Our target issue is early childhood education. In Cass County, 12 percent of third graders don’t read at their grade level. Some states actually plan the growth of their prisons by the reading levels of that current year’s third graders. If a child can’t read and comprehend well by third grade, they have a very good chance of spending part of their adulthood in prison. We want our children to be ready to go to school.”

In focusing on income, United Way’s target issue “is to increase income,” since “42 percent of public school students in Cass County receive free or reduced lunches. An average median income for Cass County is about $5,000 less annually than the rest of Michigan.”

Focus area three is health. “Our target issue is to have healthy children,” Curneal said. “Only 68 percent of Cass County toddlers are fully immunized. That leaves many children at risk for serious illnesses. And we also want to help promote healthy youths and adults. Sixty-nine percent of Cass County adults are considered obese.

“Our priority issue for basic needs is being there in an immediate crisis when families face dire emergencies and also to remove barriers so people feel safe to get help they need to get out of poverty and sustain themselves.”

Drug savings

Ways United Way does this include prescription drug savings cards.

“FamilyWize drug discount cards are intended to be used by people who don’t have prescription drug coverage,” Curneal explained. “Perhaps they lost their job. Perhaps they’re a contract employee who doesn’t get benefits. Or, their company offers benefits, but they don’t feel they can afford them.

“Maybe they’re on Medicare, but they get in this doughnut hole each year where they have to spend thousands of dollars out of their own pocket just to get their medicines. This card can be used at pretty much any pharmacy. I personally have not heard of any pharmacy rejecting it. People can walk out saving up to 35 percent on their prescription drugs. There’s no income limit, there’s no age limit, there’s no residency limit. It’s totally free (www.FAMILYWIZE.org).”

Curneal said in Cass County, through September, 976 prescriptions had been filled for a savings of $19,980. The average savings in Cass County is 35 percent. Total savings in United Way’s service area exceed $476,000.

“This card truly does work and helps save our residents money,” Curneal said.

Free books

United Way sponsors Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which mails free books every month from birth to 5 years old, so by the time a child starts school, he or she has a library.

The country singer “created this program because of her love of books. She realizes not every family can or will buy books for their children,” Curneal said. “I’ve had school superintendents tell me that 5-year-olds come to kindergarten who have never seen a book. No one has ever held them in their lap and read a story to them. They don’t know what a book is and these children are expected to go to school and have a successful educational experience. That’s not going to happen, so we brought in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which is free to all children. The only qualification for this program is that the child be at least one day old and not have reached their 5th birthday. Enrollment is open to all children in Cass and Berrien counties. No income restrictions. The only restriction is the age limit.”

Curneal continued, “The child gets an age-appropriate book mailed to his or her attention at home every single month they’re in the program. If we get a newborn and they stay in the program until they’re 5, they’re going to have an awesome library. Obviously, we hope someone’s going to pull them in their lap and read to them and teach them how to read. But even if they don’t, the child is still going to understand how to open the book and they’re going to use their imagination to create great stories. They’re going to know a book is a really good thing.”

The book program costs United Way $30 per year per participating child so it can be free to every family. Families can enroll up to four children.

Write to United Way of Southwest Michigan, Attn.: Imagination Library, P.O. Box 807, Benton Harbor, MI 49023 or call (269) 925-7772 for enrollment information.

211

Curneal compares 211 to 911, except this national program connects callers to health and human services organizations rather than emergency responders in police cars, firetrucks and ambulances.

“It’s a program United Way worked for about seven years to bring to our area,” she said. “Our umbrella covers Berrien, Cass, Van Buren and Allegan counties. About 80 percent of the United States and 95 percent of Michigan has the 211 program right now. It’s live 24 hours a day.

“A person dials 211 — it’s a totally free, confidential call — and before they hang up, they have a referral to an organization that can help them solve their problem. If you can imagine someone in your family having surgery that didn’t go quite as it was supposed to. Now that person’s coming home and they need someone to stay with them. Maybe you can’t take time off from your job. Call 211 and they can refer an agency in your area which can help with that problem and send people to your home. It’s a great program. We kicked off our program on 211 — Feb. 11, 2010.

“This is what we do at United Way because underneath everything we are and everything we do, we’re all people. We’re connected. We’re interdependent. And we’re united … that’s why we call it Live United. It takes everybody to make a good life for other people,” she said.