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  • Hunter Collins gets his face painted at the First Christian Church Daycare Center booth during the United Way campaign kick off Saturday. Rebeka Rutledge/The Duncan Banner

    Hunter Collins gets his face painted at the First Christian Church Daycare Center booth during the United Way campaign kick off Saturday.
September 16, 2012

United Way kicks off new campaign with Fuqua party

Rebeka Rutledge The Duncan Banner

DUNCAN — Despite a chance of precipitation, United Way of Stephens County enjoyed a sizable turnout for the kick off to this year’s campaign season.

The organization hosted a four hour block of fun for the community in Fuqua Park to make the public aware of what they and their agencies do for residents.

The weather was chilly, but the energy in the park was not.

“We’ve got a good crowd and the weather is nice,” said Russ Stewart, campaign chairman. “I’m happy that all the agencies are here.”

Sure enough, all thirteen agencies the United Way helps with its campaign funds were present with various booths offering information on how they help the community.

Some also offered free treats or activities.

Christians Concerned had a clever idea for their booth by setting up various food and personal items on their table.

The food represented the amount that would sustain two to three people for a week. They are well known for their food bank.

“There are also personal items that they can’t get with their food stamps such as toilet paper and laundry detergent,” said Cassie Gilmore, director of Christians     Concerned. “We get so many comments that people are grateful we provide those.”

In the first hour of the kick off, many of the agencies traveled around to the other booths, which Gilmore thought was beneficial to them all.

“It’s good networking between agencies,” she said.

However, once Fuqua Park’s Kiddie Land opened at 12:30 p.m., a larger crowd congregated and children popped around from a few booths that offered them goodies.

“The kids are rotating from the face painting (provided by First Christian Church Daycare Center) to the cotton candy (provided by Stephens County Worship Center) to the bounce house,” said Stewart.

Along with the agency booths and kid fun, food was provided by Duncan Regional Hospital. Among meals offered were hot dogs, nachos and veggie wraps.

The best part of it all for the community was that everything was free.

It was the goal of United Way for residents to come learn about their agencies and why they raise money for them while having a good time.

“It’s an opportunity to see the work the agencies do,” said Lauren Siess, United Way director. “And the kids are having a lot of fun.”

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