The 2016 Harmony Community Chest Drive will start its solicitation campaign in September this year. Due to the difficulty in recruiting and retaining door-to-door solicitors, our 2016 campaign will rely on only mail-in contributions. This entails solicitation letters and envelopes, which are sent out with Harmony’s utility bills. Hopefully, people will respond with donations by mail or by dropping them off at the community center with their utility bills.
Currently in its 65th year of existence, the Harmony Community Chest is a small town version of United Way. Our purpose is to collect and distribute donations to various deserving groups, with an emphasis on local organizations. As we are now doing only mail-in donations, our distribution of funds will give top priority to local organizations, which means that some of the regional charities listed below may be eliminated.
In previous years, contributions have gone to the following local groups: Camp Winnebago, Harmony Public Library, Harmony Ambulance, Harmony Girl Scouts, Harmony/Preston Boy Scouts, the Fillmore County DAC, Maple Leaf Supervised Living Services of Fillmore County, Fillmore County Salvation Army, ARC of SE MN—which provides places and jobs for disadvantaged people– and our local Alzheimer’s Association. Other regional donations have been sent to the SE MN American Red Cross, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the North Central Arthritis Foundation, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, MN Chapter; the Midwest American Cancer Society, and the American Heart Association, Midwest. Ninety-nine per cent of the money donated goes to these organizations, with 1% being used to finance the costs of our drive.
If you do not receive a Harmony utility bill and wish to make a donation, you may do so by sending your contribution to: Harmony Community Chest, 225 3rd St. SW, Harmony, Minn. 55939. Indicate with your donation if you would like a receipt.
Officers of the Community Chest Board are Carroll Armstrong, Chairperson; Carol Rhodes, Secretary; and Kay Himlie, Treasurer. Other board members are Phil Burkholder, Bonnie Bakken, Muriel Gunderson, Gerri Ehler, Pam Hoppe, Renee Reicks, and Renee Olson.
The financial support of Harmony residents and the surrounding community is vital to the continued existence of the Community Chest and its support of local organization, as well as regional ones. Hopefully, a wide and generous response to our solicitation letter will enable us to continue supporting all of the above-mentioned groups.
Leave a Reply