• By Todd Luck
• Posted Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Forsyth County employees raise $25,783 for United Way

Forsyth County employees raised $25,783 for the United Way of Forsyth County during a month-long workplace campaign in October.

County employees contributed through pledging money, which largely involved dedicating an amount per paycheck to go to the non-profit. They also contributed through county-wide and department-wide fundraisers. The amount raised this year was 14 percent more than last year.

“The United Way would like to thank Forsyth County employees for a successful United Way campaign,” says United Way Director of Donation Relations Suzanne Isenberg. “Because of the generosity, enthusiasm and commitment of Forsyth County employees, pledges increased for the first time since 2010. The United Way is bringing the community and its resources together to solve problems that no one organization can address alone.”

County departments created their own fundraising events. These included a football toss, raffles, a candy jar, bake sales, a hot dog cookout, a soup lunch and a chili cookoff.

The campaign ended with a finale celebration, held on Oct. 31, which featured an employee costume contest judged by Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough and Commissioners Gloria Whisenhunt and Tonya McDaniel. The finale was also a chance to meet some of the many local nonprofits that receive funding from the United Way like Experiment in Self-Reliance, Crosby Scholars, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Family Services and the Salvation Army,

Contributing to the United Way has become an annual tradition that lets county employees help the community.

“This year’s United Way campaign was a huge success,” said Shontell Robinson, the county’s Human Resources director. “We are thankful to all of the employees who donated and participated in an effort to raise funds for local nonprofits. We are also thankful to Budget Analyst Janice Hillanbrand who graciously agreed to serve as this year’s campaign chair as well as the department representatives and HR staff who assisted.”

United Way is one of only two organizations the county participates in fundraising campaigns for, the other being the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.