Worcester School System Recognized By United Way

Worcester School System Recognized By United Way
resUNited Way submitted pic

recognized Worcester County’s public school system last week for doubling its contribution to the charitable organization.

During Tuesday’s meeting of the Worcester County Board of Education, Oliva Momme, community outreach manager for United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore, offered her thanks for the school system’s renewed fundraising efforts. Worcester County Public Schools (WCPS) raised $40,987 for United Way in its 2016 campaign.

“We are so grateful for everyone’s hard work this past campaign,” Momme said.

Vince Tolbert, chief financial officer for the school system, said that while WCPS made a habit of participating in United Way’s annual fundraising campaign, donations had been down in recent years. He said Superintendent Lou Taylor wasted no time in forming a committee to reinvigorate WCPS efforts.

“I’m proud to announce that with Mr. Taylor’s leadership and the help of our committee and the wonderful support of our employees our school system doubled our contribution from the prior year,” Tolbert said.

Taylor praised school administrators for their efforts.

“We spoke to them as a committee and asked them to step up their game and gave them just a few pointers,” he said. “That was the end of the conversation. Each one of them took on the challenge at their schools and met that challenge. It was the individual schools and the administrators standing before you today that truly made the difference. Everybody jumped on board like they always do.”

Cole Taustin, a member of the board for United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore, told the crowd at Tuesday’s meeting just how far $40,000 would go. He said it would fund a year’s worth of Imagination Library books, 70,000 pounds of emergency food, 15 days of hospice care, five wheelchair ramps, 950 meals on wheels, 80 Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts memberships and 2,500 hours of crisis hotline assistance.

“This is going to make such a difference in our local community and the health, educational and financial stability programs we support,” Momme said. “A few dollars from every paycheck really does add up and go a long way in our community.”

About The Author: Charlene Sharpe

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Charlene Sharpe has been with The Dispatch since 2014. A graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and the University of Richmond, she spent seven years with the Delmarva Media Group before joining the team at The Dispatch.