Big Week of Big Giving

It's absolutely humbling, exciting and inspiring all at once to see the community come together to Live United and donate to the United Way of Greater Topeka. This week was a busy one with two check presentations.

The first was on Tuesday at 1 p.m. at BNSF. The presentation was at the BNSF Shops, and it's quite the maze to drive to their cafeteria area. You maneuver around stopped locomotives and repair areas, and luckily I had been there before, but the reporters from KSNT and WIBW had not. They arrived separately, so for each, I met them at the gate and had them follow me in.

I caught a glimpse of the check before it was officially unveiled. The amount? $259,642. It was amazing to see a number so large - a number which represented so many individuals uniting together in a common cause.

On Wednesday morning, several United Way staffers crammed into a car with pent up excitement. We were heading to BCBS of Kansas for another big check presentation. Everyone was excited and curious as to their campaign results. Despite the economy, we discovered how thankful people are for what they have. This gratefulness appears to lead donors to give - to help out their neighbors in this community. Topeka really is a place where folks will dig into their own pockets to help each other out.

The big news out of BCBS of Kansas wasn't simply that they surpassed last year - they raised $209,845.44! But, they also increased the percentage of individuals donating -- 66 percent of local BCBS of Kansas employees are choosing to Live United by giving to the United Way of Greater Topeka -- and hundreds more are doing so through volunteering and advocating!

All in all, it was another incredible, amazing week for the United Way of Greater Topeka. And, it shows all of us here just how fortunate we are to live in such a generous community.