United Way’s 80th Campaign Kickoff Spotlights Decades of Impact in West Alabama
The United Way of West Alabama kicked off its 80th anniversary fundraising campaign Tuesday with a record $5 million goal and a program packed with the personal stories behind the numbers.
United Way of West Alabama raises funds annually to support more than 30 local partner agencies across a nine-county service area, allowing those organizations to focus on service delivery rather than fundraising. Partner agencies include Temporary Emergency Services, Boys & Girls Club of West Alabama, Easterseals of West Alabama, Tuscaloosa's One Place, Caring Days, and dozens more.
The Bryant Conference Center luncheon often acknowledged how far the campaign has come - the first "Community Chest" fundraising goal in 1946 was only $54,444 - just over one percent of what the United Way seeks to raise 80 years later.
They also thanked volunteers and former campaign chairs who stepped up after last year's leader, former UA President Stewart Bell, departed partway through the cycle for a leadership role in Florida.
As it does each year, the campaign kickoff also highlighted what a difference the United Way makes, estimating that one in four people living in the area will have their lives touched by a UWWA partner organization at some point.
Charles Nash, the 55th campaign chair in 2001, highlighted the Success By 6 school readiness program and its partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which delivers free books to more than 8,700 children a month locally.
Jordan Plaster shared his story as one of the "one out of four" West Alabama residents impacted by United Way partner agencies. Born with 75% hearing loss, Plaster said a doctor once told his mother he might never learn to talk. She drove him to Tuscaloosa for assessment and then to Montgomery every Thursday for nine years of speech therapy through a United Way partner agency.
"They worked with me to master my speech," Plaster said. "Not only did my speech improve, I did all the things that boys want to do. I played football, I played baseball. And defying what that doctor said, I graduated from high school and I graduated from the University of Alabama."
Gene "Poodgie" Pool, the 2015 campaign chair, discussed Project Dash, which delivered more than 2,000 meals to food-insecure families in 2025 through DoorDash.
(Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)
Carla and John Coleman, parents of an Arts 'n Autism student, described their son James's transformation since starting the program.
"The child that started the program in September is not the child we have today," Carla Coleman said. "He is spelling, he is adding, subtracting, and multiplying. He is reading on a third-grade level at the age of four. He is brilliant."
Mark Sullivan, the 59th campaign chair, presented the 2025-26 Homer Butler Jr. Agency of the Year Award to Caring Days, an adult day care for people experiencing memory loss founded in 1994 by First Presbyterian Church and now supported by 21 local congregations.
Caring Days is one of only 19 programs nationally, and the only one in Alabama, recognized as a Dementia Care Program of Distinction by the Alzheimer's Foundation of America.
Executive Director LaDerrick Smith accepted the award, reflecting on founding director Vicki Kerr, who gave him his first job out of college and died in January 2024.
"You always hear your coach say there's no 'I' in team," Smith said. "But there is one in United Way, and I need to give. But there's also another letter in United Way: you. You need to give too."
The $5 million goal is the largest in the organization's 80-year history. Learn more and contribute here.
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Gallery Credit: (Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)