What if.... I don't consider my self a worrier. I try not to let things that I have no control over take up any time and space in my thoughts. My husband on the other hand worries a lot. I think that makes us a good match, but he of course worries about it. Most days I believe that good things will happen, it won't rain on my parade, all of my children will have good days or.. at least not bad days, my team will win and Mariah Carey will leave American Idol. Then something I care about comes along, something that I can only control so far and I have a "What If" day and often a "What If" night follows. Usually I use "What If"s to be better prepared for whatever I am considering and I plan around them, but some "What If"s are too big. I have to learn to cope with these. One of these tough periods is occurring right now, right this minute as I write this and it will still be with me tomorrow when you are reading this. What is that ominous " What If " you ask? What If we don't reach our Campaign goal? What will happen? Will agencies we support have to close? Will people not be fed, clothed, have medical care, or shelter? Will children not learn how to read or young people ready to graduate? Will senior citizens sit alone in their homes without healthy food and company? Right now, we are still a long way from our goal. We worked hard during campaign and had some wonderful successes. But overall, donations and pledges are down. So what will we do? Our United Way will do precisely what we have always promised we would do with the funds you entrust to us. We will do the best we can with what we have and you will help us. Over the next four weeks, community volunteers are meeting to decide which grants get funded. They will use the data presented and their best knowledge to spend pledged funds wisely. Beyond that, our volunteer board of directors will meet many times to plan and approve a budget for United Way for the next year. Will we have to make cuts? Perhaps. Will it effect programs we run? We hope not. Will we need more volunteer help? Absolutely. The one thing I know for sure will come out of this is change. It is already happening. The United Way Board is active and very invested in working to reach more people, people who need help, people who have time to give and people who have funds to donate. They are already busy doing research and talking to people. Together we promise to do our best and effect real change with the money you have entrusted to us. What if we don't meet our goal? We'll be ready! We will be poised to move into a better next year. You don't have to worry. Thanks for reading. Maureen Nelson | 
