A Letter From the 2008 United Way Campaign Chair to the subscribers of “Leading the Way,” our newsletter for Leadership Givers and Tocqueville donors:
Welcome to the first edition of “Leading the Way” for the 2008 United Way campaign season. As chairman of this campaign, I am excited and proud to be leading our effort to make our community stronger by inspiring people to give, advocate and volunteer.
We have a great opportunity to LIVE UNITED and make a difference in people’s lives by giving to United Way. For the last few months we have been energized by the LIVE UNITED movement, recognizing that we are all connected and have the opportunity to improve lives in our community. When children succeed at school, and families are financially stable and people of all ages have good health, we all win.
United Way is focused on education, income and health-three critical issue areas that, if addressed, can ensure that people become independent. Still, many are struggling to keep their homes, more and more children are becoming victims of violent crimes and far too many families are going without food in order to pay for healthcare. It is said that the health of a society is measured by how it cares for its most vulnerable. I think together, we can all show just
how strong metropolitan Chicago is by our capacity as Tocqueville and Leadership givers to care and to make a difference.
Thanks to generous corporate and individual support, last year United Way invested $57 million in health and human service programs throughout the 238 communities it serves. This included the amazing support of almost 650 Tocqueville Society members, who raised just under $10 million last campaign year. We are also grateful for the support of more than 6,900 Leadership Givers, who contributed $11.7 million. There is no question that in our current economy we have our work cut out for us, but I am confident the same generosity exhibited by our Leadership and Tocqueville givers will continue to inspire and grow our 2008 Campaign.
Every day we make the choice to give to United Way at a Leadership or Tocqueville level, participate or promote volunteer opportunities among colleagues and make the effort to become informed about the issues that affect us all. When we give, advocate and volunteer we LIVE UNITED. We do this because it’s the right thing to do and because of the impact our gifts have in the community. We also give with the hope that it will inspire others to help individuals and families in need. Finally, we give because we know that United Way understands the needs in our area and the programs that best address them. I look forward to workingwith this year’s Campaign Cabinet, our initiative sponsors and so many of you who make our United Way campaigns so successful each year.
Ray McCaskey
Chief Executive Officer
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois
2008 United Way Campaign Chair
