FARMINGTON – Pulling the community together to help change lives, the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area launched its annual fundraising campaign Thursday with a celebration held in Meetinghouse Park on Main Street.

Showing the caring capacity of the community by working together, lives can be changed with funds raised by the campaign, Lisa Laflin, executive director, said.

Once again, the United Way seeks community participation to raise $360,500, the same goal as last year. Last year, 12,000 lives were helped through the work of the United Way’s partner organizations.

Giving to the campaign is like giving to a bean supper without the beans, Dennis O’Neil, this year’s campaign leader, told those gathered in the park to enjoy music, food and learn more about the UW’s partner agencies.

A benefit supper is a way to reach out and support those who have fallen on hard times, he said.

“There’s a need – big time. It’s not just the big cities. People are hungry and fearful all around us. It’s right here, right now,” he said. “It feels good to contribute, to reach out and build a sense of community.”

O’Neil, with a history of United Way participation and municipal government experience, went on to encourage others to be a good neighbor, step up and help the organization run a successful campaign.

Representing UW community partners, representatives from the Red Cross, Abused Women’s Advocacy Project and Community Dental each spoke of the family and partnership that exists between the organizations devoted to helping people in the area.

The resources of working together can make a big difference for a lot of people, Laurie Levine from the American Red Cross said of the friend and family the organization has found with the United Way.

For women and men facing domestic abuse, funding from the United Way provides help for those trying to leave the situation and gain empowerment for themselves, said Jessie Dorr from AWAP. The funding also helps AWAP provide support in court for those seeking legal protection.

Funding from the United Way is money invested and not wasted, said Kathy Gregory of Community Dental.

One of the larger local employee donors, Franklin County Health Network, makes campaign pledging fun, said Tom Hagerstrom, as he urged businesses to get started on a campaign.

“If you get participation, the money will come,” he said.

United Way of the Tri-Valley Area is celebrating 30 years of improving lives in greater Franklin County.

“There’s been a successful United Way here for many years and the community has embraced it,” O’Neil said.

This year’s slogan, LIVE UNITED, “means being a part of the change. It takes everyone in the community, working together, to create a brighter future,” Laflin read from distributed pamphlets.

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Partners of the United Way of the Tri-Valley Area set up demonstrations as part of the launch of the annual fundraising campaign Thursday in Meetinghouse Park in Farmington.

Louis Bryant, a volunteer for the Community Energy Challenge, works on an interior storm window panel for the Farmington Grange in West Farmington.