Daily Skiff

Business students in the Neeley Fellows are extending their hand to United Way in an effort to encourage the campus to get involved in the community.

This week, the group hosted Live United Week, a week-long series of events supporting the nonprofit, to tie in with United Way's current campaign, said Emily Taylor, a junior accounting major.

The Live United campaign urges people to reach out to their community by donating and advocating for causes they care about.

Daryl Wagoner, assistant vice president of marketing communications for United Way of Tarrant County, said United Way works with more than 1,300 organizations across the country to improve communities.

"We know that communities really benefit when people decide to get involved ... by donating or volunteering or just speaking up for causes they care about, and that's what the United Way calls living united," Wagoner said.

Taylor said she wanted to work with the organization because its members focus on education, health and income. She said education is very important to her.

Catherine Anderson, a junior accounting major and group member, said the biggest event of Live United Week is Friday night's baseball game against the University of New Mexico.

Taylor said the Frogs for the Cure football game inspired the group to promote the organization at a sporting event.

"We liked the informal atmosphere of setting something up at a game, and we also knew it's springtime; everyone wants to be outside," Taylor said. "A baseball game is a great way to bring everyone together for a common purpose but still give them the opportunity to learn about the United Way."

Robert Strong, a junior finance and accounting major, said the group will be on one of the patios serving ice cream, handing out T-shirts and answering any questions students may have about United Way.

Strong said throughout the week group members handed out brochures at an information booth in the Brown-Lupton University Union.

Taylor said the group used the information booth to promote the basic themes of the United Way and ask students to sign a poster saying they would either give, advocate or volunteer, whatever was easiest for them.

Anderson said she was impressed with the originality and boldness of the Live United campaign.

"The United Way is really an organization that works on root causes," she said. "It helps with education and income, so rather than the short-term problems, we really try to look at long-term problems."

Taylor said the group's focus is to raise awareness in the hope that students will choose to give time or money to an organization that is important to them.

"One of the main things about promoting it is just asking the students on campus to think about if they're giving, advocating and volunteering because that's essentially the mission statement of the United Way," Taylor said.

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