With balloons, guests and food from the Studio D Food Truck, the party drew a crowd in support of the kick-off.

United Way Executive Director Amy Rohler welcomed visitors and thanked them for attending the event to support the campaign. She noted that the campaign kick-off was shared with the United Way of Northern Chautauqua County through streaming.

Rohler introduced the campaign co-chairs for the year, Christine and Mark Tarbrake.

“We are so, so, so honored to be leading the campaign this year and (are) excited to kick it off today,” said Christine Tarbrake. “I just want you to feel really confident that the money that you pledged with us today goes to organizations and programs that are making an impact and making a difference in somebody’s life.”

United Way Campaign co-chair Christine Tarbrake and United Way of Southern Chautauqua Executive Director Amy Rohler are pictured during a kickoff campaign last week for the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County annual fundraiser. P-J photo by Katrina Fuller

Tarbrake said she was appointed to the vice presidency of the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County and is excited to lead the campaign.

“I’ll just tell you today, any little amount helps — it’s any little amount contributing to a big amount,” she said. “They can make an impact and a difference in so many lives that you can help, so don’t think about just any little amount — it can be bigger and it kind of accumulates. Help today gives hope tomorrow, so be thinking about how you can make a difference in someone else’s life.”

Rohler thanked the Tarbrakes for their efforts, and explained that “help today gives hope tomorrow,” is a shared theme for the campaigns of both the north and south county. She said the funds that are donated have a great impact on the community in a real way.

“We’re here because we’re fundraising and we’re asking for people to make a donation, but I gotta tell you, it’s really just a means to an end,” Rohler said. “It’s not really fundraising that makes the difference — it is what that money does in the community, and how when people give, how they’re investing in really important work in this community that I’m not sure would be done in the same way if it weren’t for the United Way.”

Rohler invited Diana Butcher from The Salvation Army Anew Center to discuss some of the impacts United Way funding has had on the program at large and the local Salvation Army.

“The Salvation Army, as you all probably know, provides a lot of services in our community besides just the church,” Butcher said. “We have a food pantry, we have emergency relief programs, and a lot of stuff going on in the campaign. I think a lot of you are familiar with the Red Kettle campaign, but we’re really a lot more than that. We can help people with things like utility assistance, rental assistance, and basic needs, diapers and pet food. You name it, we’ll try to help.”

Butcher said the Anew Center, part of The Salvation Army, also benefits from United Way funding.

“Every county has one licensed designated (domestic violence) program for the community, and we are that for Chautauqua County,” she said. “We’re a 24-hour program, all of our services are free and confidential and they are client-driven. We don’t tell anybody what they need to do — they pick and choose what services they want from us, and we assist them with that. Under the Anew Center, we have several different departments: we have a 24-hour hotline and we have response 24-hours a day to the three community hospitals. So, if a person presents as a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault, and they indicate that to a hospital worker, the hospital employees are obligated to call our hotline and we send out a trained professional staff person to respond to that call and assist that person in that moment of need.”

Butcher pointed out that the Anew Center serves all people — not just women and children, including male domestic violence victims and members of the LGBTQ community.

“I think it’s nice for people to know what their dollars are really doing,” she said. “I just wanted to thank everybody for coming out and thank you for those of you who donate. The donations are greatly, greatly appreciated.”

More information about both United Ways can be found on their websites and through Facebook, including the programs they fund and the positive impact they have in the community. Last year, United Way programs made a positive impact more than 23,000 times. One hundred percent of all donations remain in Chautauqua County, investing in 43 local programs at 28 agencies. The results of the campaign will be announced in January 2022.