United Way Of Bristol Community-Wide Campaign In Full Swing

BRISTOL, Tenn. – The United Way of Bristol is more than a third of the way toward reaching its $1.375 million goal for this year’s fundraising campaign.

The agency has raised $471,515 since the campaign began Sept. 1, campaign Chairman Brock Fleenor said during a Friday luncheon with United Way supporters.

“Fear has turned into enthusiasm,” Fleenor said. “We will attain our goal. Failure is not an option, and we will not let it be.”

Friday’s luncheon marked the end of the pacesetter campaign, a time when the agency’s staff focuses their fundraising efforts on 20 businesses with close ties to the United Way.

“These are the companies that step up and say: ‘We’re going to set the pace,’ ” said United Way of Bristol Executive Director Lisa Cofer.

The agency raised $503,000 during last year’s pacesetter campaign, she said.

The agency now will start reaching out to other businesses as it tries to raise the remaining $903,000. Cofer said this phase of the drive is called the community-wide campaign.

The United Way of Bristol’s “One Enchanted Evening” is a traditional highlight of the campaign, Cofer said, adding that last year’s event brought in $12,000. This year’s event will be Nov. 23.

Money raised by the United Way of Bristol goes to help its 33 partner agencies, including the Bristol Cancer Association, CASA for Kids and Highlands Community Services.

“You can tell the strength of a community by how well its United Way does,” said Jeff Byrd, who coordinated the Bristol campaigns in 1998 and 1999. “It’s hard to contemplate what a loss and what a void there would be in this community without a United Way.”

Travis Staton, executive director for the United Way of Washington County, Va., said Friday that his agency has raised $212,000 during its current campaign, which is about a fourth of its $850,000 goal.

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