United way of north central Mississippi is seeking donations

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)- Nonprofit organizations thrive off of donations and when they can’t get them they can be hurt drastically. The United Way of North Central Mississippi is facing that exact issue and now have to think of more creative ways to get donors before potentially closing their doors. The organization has tried to host a fundraising event for nearly a month but inclement weather has pushed them to make other arrangements.

“The hope is that in May we have an outdoor location with a close-by indoor location that we can go into so we’re hoping that within the next 2 weeks we’ll announce that date and that venue so people can come out and finally participate in that,” said the president of the board of directors for the United Way of North Central Mississippi Michelle Garraway.

Garraway said people can sometimes overlook their mission to help the community, but they go through a process to meet each of their county’s needs.

“In order for us to plan what we want to do we not only meet together as a staff here you know we reach out in the community we attend stakeholder meetings we talk to people we talk to our donors and if they’re very supportive or interested in what we’re supporting then we want their input on what are the other needs that we aren’t aware of,” said Garraway.

The United Way of North Central Mississippi partners with several entities like the Emerson Family School in Starkville, and if the United Way were to close their doors it would drastically hinder the business at Emerson and potentially their other partners as well.

“That will hinder us a lot because thanks to United Way they allowed us to provide 30 coats this winter for all of our children that were enrolled so they are a vital part of our community in supporting and helping children that are dealing with challenges,” said project help manager at Emerson Family School Vanessa Shaffer.

With limited time left executive director, Brittney Oliver said they are trying to move operations remotely just to keep serving the community.

“What we’re facing now is really another 30 days before we have to make critical decisions about being able to sustain our operations so with that in mind we’ve diversified our sources of income and we’re looking at virtual fundraisers,” said Oliver.

The United Way of North Central Mississippi plans to host a battle of the sirens fundraiser within the next month and encourage anyone willing to help them along with their community to donate.