There are many worthy charitable organizations in Southeast Missouri. Each of them plays an integral role in making our region one of the best places in the nation to live, work and raise a family.

I've been involved with one of those organizations, the United Way of Southeast Missouri (UWSEMO), for most of my adult life, dating back to the early 1980s. Over the years, I have served on almost every United Way committee and in numerous volunteer roles of the local organization, which recently marked its 50th anniversary.

I'm currently a member of the United Way's Board of Directors and Community Impact Committee, both of which have given me insights about the United Way's role in responding to the region's needs in the areas of health, education and income.

The United Way of Southeast Missouri helps support a wide range of human infrastructure programs in Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Perry and northern Scott counties. These programs benefit tens of thousands of people annually, from children to senior citizens and everyone in between.

This is the time of year when the United Way typically begins its annual giving campaign with a kickoff lunch for volunteers, donors, corporate sponsors and so forth. But this year, with the COVID-19 pandemic still affecting the region, the United Way has decided to redirect its resources that otherwise would have been used for a campaign kickoff.

"We want people to understand we are investing the human and financial resources we would normally spend on a kickoff luncheon to better inform and engage our community," Elizabeth Shelton, UWSEMO's executive director, told me last week.

"Last year was incredibly difficult for everyone, especially nonprofits, and especially social service agencies," she added. "Many of our 30 funded partners, as well as the United Way itself, had to cancel or postpone fundraising activities because of the virus."

As a result, Elizabeth said UWSEMO is trying to accommodate growing needs with diminished funds.

In the coming weeks, the United Way will send its annual impact report to all of its donors to let people know how their dollars — and 98% of their donations go directly to fund various programs — are used.

With nearly two-thirds of the United Way's donations coming through workplace campaigns, UWSEMO is directing much of its initial campaign awareness efforts to reaching employers and engaging them with the United Way.

One of the ways UWSEMO hopes to engage them is through its Get on the Bus partner tour through which bus riders visit United Way partner agencies to see how charitable dollars are put to work.

"Our tour later this month is specifically for business owners and managers to ensure they are aware of the many resources and programs United Way invests in that support their workforce at every level," Elizabeth said. "We will literally 'get on the bus' and visit or hear from mentoring and education programs for children and students, programs for employees and the unemployed, as well as services to support retirees."

Several United Way fundraisers are planned during the annual campaign, including UWSEMO's 34th annual golf tournament Oct. 15 at the Cape Girardeau Country Club. Team and individual player registrations are underway now and several sponsorship opportunities are still available. To be a tournament player or sponsor, call the UWSEMO office at (573) 334-9634.

The United Way also hopes to send people "over the edge" rappelling down a 12-story building next spring as part of its largest annual fundraiser. Over the Edge, which was first held in 2019 and canceled last year because of COVID-19, gives participants who raise at least $1,000 the chance to rappel down Towers South on the Southeast Missouri State University campus. More details will be announced in the coming months.

The United Way is planning a series of four public forums in November, called Community Conversations, which will give people in Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Perry and Scott counties the opportunity to learn more about the United Way.

"These programs will also give us the opportunity to hear from community members about the needs and gaps in each community that our United Way network can collectively tackle," Elizabeth said. "This information will help guide the volunteers who determine which organizations we will invest in with our next funding cycle beginning in July of 2022."

More information about these forums, as well as other United Way events and sponsored organizations, may be found online at unitedwayofsemo.org, on its Facebook page (United Way of Southeast Missouri) or Instagram platform (uw_semo).

Businesses expansions

I received word over the weekend two businesses will be expanding in Cape Girardeau in the near future.

Balls-N-Strikes, a baseball training business owned by Todd and Kristy Pennington, will soon double the size of its operation at 822 Enterprise St. in Cape Girardeau. The Penningtons are enlarging the business from 5,000 to 10,000 square feet by accessing available space adjacent to their existing space allowing them to enroll additional youth in programs.

Ziglin Signs, based in Washington, Missouri, plans to open a branch office at 2109 Rust Ave. in Cape Girardeau across the street from Blattner Steel Products. The company reportedly plans to open its Cape Girardeau location in the next month or so. Founded in 1997, Ziglin is a single-source, custom sign company that's been active in the region for several years.

Tom Kelsey, who helped broker both deals on behalf of Lorimont Commercial Real Estate, also tells me a local medical practice has plans to expand its facility in the near future; I hope to report on that by next week.

Gone but not forgotten

Readers messaged me last week asking about the departure of two KFVS12 News personalities from their televisions.

"The Breakfast Show" anchor Justin Fischer, who joined the station five years ago after graduating from Southeast Missouri State, where he studied multimedia journalism, left KFVS12 a couple of weeks ago and is now the morning anchor at 2 News Oklahoma (KJRH) in Tulsa.

Also, Saturday marked the last sportscast for Adam King on KFVS12. Adam came to Cape Girardeau three-and-a-half years ago after graduating from the University of Cincinnati and working a couple of years for stations in Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. His Facebook page Saturday said he "will have more on what is next" soon.

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