UNITED WAY SPREADS THE WORD ON GROUPS IT FUNDS AT CAPE MALL

The United Way held its fifth annual Care Fair Saturday at Westfield Shoppingtown West Park, with trivia contests and prizes given away throughout the day.

The event was to make the public aware of the things the various agencies do, said Nancy Jernigan, executive director of the Area Wide United Way.

"We're always trying to figure out ways to educate the community about the organizations we help," she said. "It's a shame that a lot of services people would need are right here in Southeast Missouri, and some people just aren't aware of them."

Throughout the day, United Way employees manned their booth in the center of the mall, encouraging shoppers to take their "scavenger hunt" list and complete it for a chance to win two tickets to a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game. The scavenger hunt consisted of questions about the various agencies with booths set up around the mall, such as "This agency builds new homes for families every year." (Answer: Habitat for Humanity.)

"We get a lot of funding from the United Way," said Amy Franklin, independent living specialist for the SEMO Alliance for Disability Independence, one of the agencies. "This is just our way of showing support for them."

Some agencies, such as the American Red Cross, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri, Success by 6 and A.P.P.L.E. Paperwork Service presented programs throughout the day designed to educate the community about the services they offer.

Store helps raise funds

The Eddie Bauer store held a silent auction and a 50-50 raffle, with the $751.50 raised going to the United Way.

The United Way "touches everyone's life in some way," said manager Jeannie Van de Ven. "Very few people can say they're not affected by anything. Our team was passionate about giving to them."

Jernigan said Eddie Bauer has done a lot of things to raise funds for the United Way, including holding garage sales and car washes. "They've really gone above and beyond to raise money for us," she said.

Jernigan said the United Way is getting ready to kick off its 2001 campaign, with the theme of "Make Someone Happy." Another purpose of the fair, she said, was to make people aware of the United Way and the agencies they support. Even a small donation to the campaign can make a difference, she said.

"Some individuals think they can't have much of an impact by themselves," Jernigan said. "But when you multiply even what little they can give by 30,000 people, it makes a huge impact."