So he is pleased to announce that businesses, local governments and individuals in Walker, Catoosa and Dade Counties donated a grand total of $505,818 to United Way. Of that total, $468,738 in donations were undesignated and will stay in North Georgia.  Unless the donor designates their gift outside North Georgia, all funds raised in North Georgia through United Way’s annual campaign are used in North Georgia to ensure that residents will directly benefit from local dollars contributed to the campaign.

“I’m thrilled and honored that the people of North Georgia have rallied around our cause in this way,” said Mr. Fant. “But it could not have happened without the hard work of my committee members and – most importantly – the fact that the people of this region dug down deep in their pockets to give for their communities at a time when everyone was hurting. Such a giving spirit makes me proud to be a North Georgia citizen.”

Mr. Fant had a wonderful team aiding him throughout the campaign. United Way’s North Georgia Advisory Committtee was chaired by Chandler Peeples and included  Mary Carpenter, Mark Hartline, Bob Naughton, Maureen Ragland, and Doris White.

Mary Carpenter was instrumental in helping organize the successful community campaign in Walker, Catoosa and Dade Counties. She also called on many new businesses in the area and even chaired her own company’s successful United Way campaign at Gateway Bank in Ringgold, Georgia. So United Way has recognized her as the 2009 Campaign Volunteer of the Year for Walker, Catoosa and Dade Counties.

The following are programs in Walker, Catoosa and Dade Counties that are funded by contributions to United Way. 

NORTH GEORGIA SERVICES:
Christmas Assistance (LaFayette Empty Stocking Fund)
Walker County 4-H (Walker Extension Services)
Parents are Teachers (Catoosa County Communi­ties in Schools) 
Legal Advocacy & Shelter (Family Crisis Center)
Supervised Visitation (Four Points)
Emergency Services (American Red Cross)
Adult/Child Mentoring (Big Brothers Big Sisters)
Speech and Hearing Services (Speech and Hearing Center)
Emergency Services (Salvation Army)
Adult Training (Orange Grove Center)
Comprehensive Youth Services (Boy Scouts)
Comprehensive Youth Services (Girl Scouts)
Services for Older Adults & the Disabled (Partnership for Families, Children and Adults)
Puppetry Education (Kids on the Block) 
Oral Health Services (Primary Health Care Center)
Food Pantry (Tri-State Food Pantry)

United Way in Walker, Catoosa and Dade Counties funds local programs that create opportunities for people to care for themselves and each other, making our community the best at helping people achieve their potential. Thanks to an endowment fund that covers all overhead and administrative expenses, all contributions (100 percent) go directly to services that help individuals and families in Walker, Catoosa and Dade Counties. Unless the donor designates their gift outside North Georgia, all funds raised in North Georgia through United Way’s annual campaign are used in North Georgia to ensure that residents will directly benefit from local dollars contributed to the campaign.

Call United Way at 423-752-0300 or go to www.LiveUnitedWCD.org for more information or to get involved.