On Thursday, April 4th, 2019 United Way of Clark, Champaign & Madison Counties celebrated 100 years of changing lives in the community at the Clark County Heritage Center. The evening began with a cocktail hour and hor d'oeuvres, and followed with a program in which United Way Board President David Heppner, Board Members Marianne Potina and Chris Chilton, led us through the Past, Present and Future of the United Way.
We were taken back in time to 1918 when our country was deep in World War I. 3,260 men from Clark County served our country during the War and 168 gave the ultimate sacrifice. The average household income in 1918 was $1,518 which equates to a little over $25,000 today. And the population was a little over 66,000. A group of dedicated citizens, Judge George Tehan, Charles Bauer, Frank Geiger, Bill Scarff, Harry Kissell, Warren Myers and others in Clark County, called upon everyone in the community to raise patriotism to a higher level. To come together to meet the needs of those returning from war, the widows and those with mental and physical challenges.
The Springfield and Clark County War Service began and in the course of one week -- May 22 through May 28, 1918 with an Army of Generals and Soldiers with 10 divisions canvassing individual neighborhoods, townships, corporations, retail and public employees, 31,025 pledges or “subscriptions” totaling $740,997 (which would equate to over $12 million today) was received. Over 34 organizations were beneficiaries of the War Chest including American Red Cross, YMCA and Salvation Army – which we still fund today.
