Deserving drive

There are many demands for local charitable dollars, but donors shouldn’t forget the ongoing impact of United Way and its 29 local agencies.

Amid all the special fundraising efforts in Lawrence and Douglas County this year, local givers shouldn’t overlook one of the community’s most solid and traditional charities.

Erika Dvorske, executive director of United Way of Douglas County, reported last week that the agency was still about $600,000 short of the goal for its annual fund drive. The official United Way campaign runs from September through the end of November, but the agency collects donations through the end of the year and announces the campaign total in February.

In the last four months, the Lawrence Community Theatre completed a $6.2 million fund drive for a new building, the Lawrence Community Shelter raised $890,000 to allow it to purchase a new home, and leaders at the Lawrence Public Library say they are nearing their goal of collecting $1 million in private donations for the library expansion.

Those are all good causes, but local residents shouldn’t forget the role United Way, and the 29 agencies it helps support, plays — day in and day out, all year round — in making our community a better place to live.

The success of major fund drives for special projects confirms the generosity and commitment of local residents for various worthy causes.

United Way of Douglas County obviously is on that list. Let’s not let them down.