The Rush County United Fund hosted its annual dinner and recognition program Thursday evening at Flatrock Grill in Rushville.
The evening started with Rush County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Pam Leisure recapping a number of RUF high points so far this year.
The event also served as a kickoff for this weekend’s Fall Festival and October’s fundraising campaign.
Leisure said that prior to 2004 RUF was primarily known as a funding organization for 10 agencies. The organization began making changes in 2005 to “priority based” funding. Additional changes took place at that time when RUF became more involved in how the money they awarded was used.
The next change was noted this year when “impact funding” was stressed.
Leisure explained that impact funding is a more proactive approach to spending by organizations in that it is stressed that monies need to have a direct impact on the community. This year the focus was directed to LifeLong Wellness issues.
According to statistics released by the Center for Disease Control and the National Cancer Institute, Rush County ranks eighth in Indiana in lung cancer cases.
“Every day in Rush County, citizens are faced with the adverse effects of cancer. These are our friends, neighbors and relatives,” Leisure said.
Leisure also pointed out that between the years 1965 and 2003 the U.S. has recognized a 448 percent increase of overweight children between he ages of six and 11 and a 378 percent increase in children between the ages of 12 and 19, with an overall rate of obesity in excess of 25.2 percent, ranking Indiana ninth in the nation.
Armed with this information and the desire to change an emphasis on health issues was realized locally.
Monies were used for a variety of projects throughout the year including offering a comprehensive nutrition, wellness and fitness program free of charge to any county resident. Additional grant monies were also earmarked for a one-mile extension of the fitness trail. The trail improvement plans have since been postponed until early 2008.
“This has been a challenging year both for the agencies we support and the board. We are in a transitional period. We are taking positive steps and looking to the future,” Leisure said.
October marks the RUF collection drive kickoff. Unlike years past, there will be no street collections.
“We felt that street solicitation types of collection not only put RUF members in harm’s way from a safety standpoint but also is a method used by many other organizations,” Leisure said.
This year’s kickoff will be a chicken fry dinner held Oct. 13 at the Knights of Columbus, 227 East Third Street, Rushville.
“What I don’t feel people completely understand is that the donations we receive have a direct impact on everyone in the county, not only on those organizations that depend on our contributions,” Leisure said.
In closing Leisure stressed the need for the community and RUF to look forward and for “what really matters” by looking at bottom line results and the lives changed by the organizations RUF supports.
Frank Denzler can be contacted at (765) 932-2222 ext. 106 or via e-mail at frank.denzler@rushvillerepublican.com. To add a comment to this story visit our Web site at www.rushvillerepublican.com.
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“Wellness Check” a reality this year
October is the kickoff month for the Rush County United Fund
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