By Meladi Brewer
DailyAdvocate.com
GREENVILLE — Give Where You Live, the 2025 Darke County United Way Campaign kicked off at the annual luncheon on Wednesday.
The Campaign Chair, Chance Cox, stated that despite growing up in Darke County, he was unaware of the many needs of the individuals living within the county.
“Serving on the Board for Darke County United Way for approximately seven years has opened my eyes to the hardships faced by many citizens in my own backyard,” Cox said.
The campaign looks to continue the growth and opportunities the United Way helps fund and provide for the community. It is a great way for the community to benefit and receive needed funds for the continued programs.
“My mission as the 2025 Campaign Chair is to enhance awareness of the needs that exist in Darke County and to strengthen the vitality of our communities through your support,” Cox said.
The Darke County United Way fights for the health, education, and stability of every person in Darke County. During last year’s campaign, the DCUW, with community support, was able to raise $739,347.73. These funds allowed the UW to help over 15,000 Darke County community members through their 28 different agencies and 20 different programs.
“When I became the Municipal Prosecutor for the City of Greenville, I started to become more aware the issues that this community faces,” Cox said. “Some of the biggest issues I was awoke to are addiction, mental health, poverty, and homelessness.”
Cox said shedding light on these issues is what the United Way is all about, and the passion to help the community is important. He said he was ignorant to these issues growing up in Darke County having a more fortunate living experience, but Cox shed light on how important the 20 programs the United Way helps fund and support are.
Executive Director, Becca Cotterman, said the United Way and all the agencies they list on their website and brochures are on the frontlines fighting everyday to better the lives of those living and working in Darke County. She said they are really happy where the 2024 campaign is ending and they are able to celebrate, but the reality is there are still individuals in our community who have nowhere to sleep tonight, no food in the cupboards, their children are still struggling to read, write, and do basic math, and there are those with addiction. The support and contributions the United Way receives are important to them and the community at large.
“We have come so far but still have a far way to go,” Cotterman said.
Cox said he has seen first hand the impact this community has on the individuals who need to utilize the services. The ACES Alternative School program has had 67 kids go through the program, and 29 of those students were able to obtain their diploma as a result. These diplomas are through the students home school, so they are taking the alternative classes in order to better learn at a pace and environment suited for the individual while also completing the same State testing.
Jeff Vaughn with the ACES program stated that 59 percent of those students either have full-time or part-time jobs while completing their schooling, but the program itself goes beyond education. It provides mental health counseling, a community, and event meditative exercising. Exercise and community have been shown to help promote mental health strengthening and growth in the individual. Ruth Barga with the Gateway Youth Program spoke on her experience starting a running program called Running Buddies within that CORS opening.
Gateway Youth is an after school prevention program, 24-hour crisis hotline, crisis intervention, respite care, emergency housing, case management, and provides other needs for at-risk youth. She spoke on the need for programs to bridge the gap in the year when children go home during the summer where they feel more isolated and aren’t as active being home. Her own passion for running lead her to start a Running Buddies program.
“Over the last six years, we have had over 90 participants in some way, shape or form; the students themselves have ran a total of 4,212.9 miles; we have had 14 go out and run CC; six of our current runners are in CC now; as a team, and we have come in second place twice and third place once during out 5ks,” Barga said.
One of the success stories she told involved a female who was part of the target audience, who is not athletic or active, was able to run a full 5k by year two.
“By year two, we were finishing a race, and she was going a lot quicker than what I thought she would. I asked how it was going, and she said ‘I haven’t stopped.’ It was amazing to see that she was able to run the whole thing,” Barga said.
Much like that young lady hadn’t stopped during her 5k, another gentleman was able to keep running. Barga said there was a senior who they talked into doing CC for the first time. After the first practice, he went back and thanked her for encouraging him to try the sport.
“After their first practice they came and found me and said ‘I got to tell you there were times it was hard. There were times when I was out there doing hills and I wanted to stop but I didn’t and just kept going’,” Barga said.
She said the young man said the coach had said numerous good things about him and his level. He said the coach said he was running in the advance category, not beginner, even though it was his first time running.
“The joy on his face was just – he told me ‘I know I am like a kid on Christmas morning. You don’t understand. I tried football, it didn’t work; I tried baseball, it didn’t work; and this works’,” Barga said.
She said the impact of the program goes beyond just making students more active. It provides community and mental clarity as well. The program currently has eight students who have made the 100 mile club, three students have reached the 200 mile club, and there is currently one student 15 miles shy of the 300 mile running club.
“When looking at evaluations from the students, the thing we hear the most is that the number one thing they are getting out of the program is friendship and family,” Barga said.
Barga said the United Way helps with the bulk of the funding for staffing.
“Without all of you guys, none of this would be possible,” Barga said.
Cox said that all the programs that the Darke County United Way helps support help to educate and provide stability to the community.
“I think shedding light on these issues is a lot of what we are about. A lot of us go day-to-day and sort of live our lives not seeing the bigger picture of what’s happening around us, but it is important to acknowledge these issues and shed that light,” Cox said.
It is important for donors to also understand the time and due diligence going on in the United Way according to Cox.
“We aren’t just giving money away, we collect detailed information on all the organizations, we make sure they are sustainable and stable, and we have site visits to see what they actually do,” Cox said.
He said the whole experience is very eye opening, and there is a lot that goes into the process to ensure the sustainably of the United way long-term as many of the programs in Darke County rely on them.
“I truly believe in the work that the United Way is doing to collect resources and allocate those funds,” Cox said. “I just want to thank everyone for their continued support.”
For more information on the United Way or to see what programs they offer to the community, visit www.darkecountyunitedway.org.
To contact Daily Advocate Reporter Meladi Brewer, email [email protected].
