Live United: How Centre County United Way was able to exceed its campaign goal amid a pandemic

I am sure we can all agree there is no better time to make a career change than amid a pandemic. Am I right? While the world was swirling with panic, wearing masks, adopting social distancing, and adapting to life on Zoom, I found myself applying for a new job! I guess it is true, “fate rarely calls at a moment of our choosing.”

Growing up in Centre County, it was when I entered adulthood that I began to fully appreciate what makes this Happy Valley. Like many of my schoolmates, a child of a Penn State employee, I was set on attending Penn State. Unlike some classmates, my journey to college commencement took a slight detour and by graduation I was mommy to a 6-year-old. Fortunately, my post-graduation employment search yielded two promising sales offers. One offer required relocation and the other was local. I accepted the local offer because I wanted the stability for my daughter. Six months later I was finding success in my role, my daughter was thriving in the State College Area School District and I was pleased with my decision to remain here.

My love for this community strengthened through tragedy when we lost our home to a large-scale apartment fire in 2013. Thankfully, no one was injured, and all loss was material. It was traumatic, but the response from ordinary residents was overwhelming. Witnessing this unique benevolent nature reaffirmed my decision to call Centre County home. With renewed love for my hometown, I began entrenching myself in ways to give back. I became active in volunteer organizations and serving on boards for nonprofits. My appreciation had turned into my passion.

Then when all of our lives were thrust into uncertainty, the most certain action I took was accepting the campaign and relationship manager position at Centre County United Way. It was as if my winding career path had led me here; it was serendipitous. I felt a strong sense of purpose and passion that had not come with any prior employment. At the same time, the weight of the COVID impacts were shadowing over my excitement. While fears and apprehension lurked, I remained optimistic.

Riding high on optimism I joined the small but mighty staff and got to work. It became apparent early on that flexibility was the name of the game. At the mercy of ever-changing restrictions, traditional deadlines were obsolete. Without the ability to execute two major fundraisers, we focused on donors, workplace campaigns, and our partners at Penn State. We projected a realistic goal of $1.5 million dollars.

As the campaign progressed, we navigated through obstacles and roadblocks. My efforts were highly concentrated on assisting workplace campaigns. At every turn there seemed to be the disheartening news that some companies were so impacted they were unable to run a campaign. Suddenly $1.5 million dollars seemed impossible. Then like rays of sunshine, other companies turned out incredible results, outperforming prior years. Hope returned and after 9 roller coaster months, we EXCEEDED the 2020 campaign goal!

The single most important element to making all of this possible is volunteers. One of the things that attracted me to United Way is the community engagement and ownership. The funds are raised by the community, they stay in the community, and even the final distribution amounts are determined by the community. From helping craft messaging with the communications committee to delivering materials and recognition to companies with the campaign cabinet the campaign is truly United by volunteerism. If you are interested in meeting new people and working alongside your neighbors to better your community, please contact me at janae@ccunitedway.org and LIVE UNITED.