United Way: On Comeback Trail

The United Way fell a bit short of its goal during the annual campaign that ended Tuesday, but the charity still raised a whopping $83.5 million. The donations came primarily from working people who gave a little out of every paycheck to help others. One person in three in Southern California will benefit.

Millions of children and adults need help, and their needs are changing. Absent stronger government support, charities must shoulder the burdens, keeping up with old needs as well as new.

Homelessness, AIDS and child care top the philanthropic agenda. Immigration, legal and illegal, also poses new social challenges. The needs are monumental and they are expected only to multiply.

The Los Angeles United Way traditionally funds more than 360 agencies including health partners such as the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Assn., American Red Cross, American Health Assn. and the Crippled Children’s Society. The mainstays deserve continued support, but the emerging needs also deserve great support.

The umbrella fund-raiser supports 78 agencies that address the AIDS crisis by providing counseling, testing, education, emergency assistance and patient care. Nearly 40 agencies help the homeless by providing emergency shelter, job assistance, food assistance and referrals to help families get back on their feet. Much more is needed in these areas.

Among its special projects, the United Way also invests in an after-school program that provides affordable supervision for 600 children from kindergarten through the sixth grade in Lawndale. Parents pay $40-per-month for a single child and $50 for two or more children. Best of all, the successful program has become a catalyst for additional latchkey programs. A brand-new program, a physician-referral and health-resource directory announced Tuesday, will help foster parents find doctors willing to treat children who are Medi-Cal patients. That might not sound like a big deal, but it will help hundreds of children get treatment.

The United Way of Los Angeles, which stretches into San Bernardino and Kern Counties, collected $83.5 million, including donations from 30,000 new contributors. Although $1.5 million shy of the goal, the total represents a solid comeback after last year’s shortfall, due in part, to public reaction against questionable loans made to charity executives. All that is behind the United Way. Millions will be helped in Southern California.