Thank to you, it works for all of Kitsap

Published 1:00 pm Saturday, August 20, 2005

“Seems like every time you turn around,” one of

our loyal readers mused a while back, “there’s another news story about some fund drive or another, somebody else with their hand out.”

Far from a rebuke, we took that to be a compliment and a reflection of the caliber of this community. Island folks aren’t content to sit around and watch needs and opportunities go unmet; there’s a collective and persistent resolve to marshal resources to improve the community. So yeah, there are a lot of items in this newspaper about fund-raisers. And since you mention it…here’s another.

United Way of Kitsap County rang up this week to announce its annual drive. Not like we needed a reminder; the Review and its parent company, Sound Publishing based out on Day Road, are proud to have partnered with United Way for more than a decade. American Marine Bank and other local financial institutions are also key business contributors within this community, while two island residents who prefer to keep their names out of the paper have made $10,000 contributions to the agency, Executive Director David Foote reports.

Because the island has the excellent Bainbridge Foundation as its own umbrella organization for charitable giving – the foundation represents several score fine island agencies and non-profit organizations – it can be easy to overlook Kitsap United Way.

But don’t.

A handful of island organizations, including the Bainbridge Island Boys and Girls Club, the Housing Resources Board, Bainbridge Youth Services and Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers, are among the beneficiaries of the United Way drive. Many local youths enjoy their participation in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Camp Fire. The ALIVE domestic violence shelter has enjoyed an excellent partnership with our Bainbridge Island Municipal Court at Rolling Bay. The mission of the American Red Cross simply transcends geographic boundaries. And everyone on this island probably knows a family that has been touched by the services of Hospice of Kitsap County at a time of need.

The United Way’s annual kick-off event will be held at the new Kitsap Conference Center at Bremerton Harborside beginning at 11:45 a.m. Sept. 8. But you don’t have to leave the island to get involved. A phone call to Kitsap United Way at (360) 377-8505 will bring a “loaned executive” to your business, with donor cards and an explanation of the program and its member agencies.

Now, where good causes are concerned, we’re nothing if not equal opportunity; the Review is at this very moment putting together our annual supplement for the One Call For All drive, to be published a few weeks hence. That effort gets under way in October, and you’ll be reading about it right here.

In the meantime, you might remember Kitsap United Way. And don’t ask why so many hands are out; ask why the need is so great.