Live United in Lenawee kicks off for 2014

The 2014 start for Live United in Lenawee County is fast approaching on Friday, Sept. 19. United Way of Lenawee County starts the campaign with a kick-off breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at The Center in Adrian with special guest Kinetic Effect sharing some of their inspirational poetry.“Everyone is invited, you just need to register on our website,” said Executive Director Amy Palmer. “It’s free, thanks to sponsorship from First Federal Bank.”The rest of the day volunteers will participate in the United Way Day of Action across Lenawee County. “It’s always a great time,” Palmer said. “We’ll have hundreds of volunteers out working on 50 different projects.”After the projects wrap up for the day, participants will gather from 4:45 p.m. until 5:15 p.m. on the Art-A-Licious stage near the Adrian Public Library in downtown Adrian. Groups and individuals will discuss their work during the day.The campaign continues on until Thanksgiving. The focus of the Live United Campaign in Lenawee County has changed from meeting a particular monetary goal.“We don’t have a financial goal this year,” said Palmer. “We’re just hoping we get more people involved in giving.”Raising awareness is a big part of the work United Way does in the fall every year. Special activities throughout the campaign help to spread the word about the work the organization does to support community organizations.“We are working in the areas of education and common health,” Palmer said. “We are also funding programs that affect basic needs. We call them the building blocks for a good life. United Way is supporting 19 programs in the county that are in these area. We have a three-year grants funding cycle, which ends this year. The 19 groups we are funding will continue to receive support through next July.”2015 is a new three-year cycle, and at that time United Way will review requests from other groups within the county. The focus will stay the same for the next cycle, according to Palmer, but new groups would receive support at this time, if selected.Small Business Day will find volunteers representing United Way by going to small businesses to talk about how it is possible to participate in the campaign. A date has not been set for Small Business Day.The week of November 17 is Live United Week. A different activity is planned for each day of the week to promote United Way in the community.The events of the week end with a celebrity bagging competition at Country Market on W. Maumee St. in Adrian on November 21.For people wanting to reach out and make a difference in the community, the Day of Action on Sept-ember 19 is a way to contribute. Although kick-off is only two weeks away, people can still help — as individuals, families, or groups.“We do still have some projects for groups to adopt for the Day of Action,” said Palmer. “It’s not too late to adopt a project.”For more information or to register for the kick-off breakfast visit www.lenaweeunitedway.org. United Way can also be reached at 263.4696.