With the addition of a couple of new members, the Castlegar District United Way has escaped the noose for now.
"Unfortunately, we had one of the new members resign," said Nicole Beetstra, Castlegar District United Way president. "Never-the-less, we are in operations. We are always looking for donations. Our focus is going to be more on corporate donations. We're going to try and go out to businesses and explain what we do and do payroll deductions just to try and regroup for a bit rather than focus on fundraising events."
With the lack of members this year, the local United Way has had to cancel not only the popular quad raffle but also the annual Kick-Off Dinner and Dance and the Halloween for Kids event.
"I'm hoping more board members will come on and we'll be able to do things like that again in the future," said Beetstra. "But with the limited number of bodies on our board, the board felt that it would be easier to try and be a bit more focused on events throughout the year."
Beetstra says becoming a board member for the United Way can be, at times, very time consuming but it's also very rewarding.
"Like many non-profit groups, you have the same people volunteering," she said. "There comes a time when the changing of the guard needs to happen. Other people have to step up."
Anyone interested in helping the Castlegar United Way can email castlegarunitedway@gmail.com or phone 250-2365-7331.