Torch Drive sets goal to raise $61 million

Donations to United Way for Southeastern Michigan help to fund 300 area programs.

Mark Hicks and Santiago Esparza of The Detroit News write:

Three years ago, Chrystal Jendrowski needed a helping hand.

Once a substitute teacher, the Orion Township resident had been temporarily homeless before learning that her son, Noah, was unable to speak more than a few words.

Hoping to find help, she was referred to a free home-based literacy program for young children funded by the United Way for Southeastern Michigan's Women's Initiative.

Noah was diagnosed with dyspraxia, a developmental disorder, and enrolled in the two-year Parent-Child-Home program to improve his speech and reading skills.

Thanks to the program, administered by Catholic Social Services of Oakland County, Noah, now 6, speaks more clearly and is a successful first-grader.

"It was a great transformation," said Jendrowski, 36, who now lives in Lake Orion with her husband and two sons. United Way support, she said, "helped me bring out the best What they do is phenomenal."

The United Way for Southeastern Michigan launched its annual Torch Drive on Friday to help fund more than 300 programs in the region. This year's fundraising goal for the campaign, which runs through Nov. 15, is $61 million. Last year's goal was $66.5 million. More than $64 million was raised.

United Way officials on Friday morning lit a 54-foot high torch on Jefferson in front of Hart Plaza to symbolize their fundraising efforts.

Richard Dauch, Torch Drive chairman, said the nonprofit will rely heavily on its volunteers.

"We will need each and every one of you in the weeks to come to achieve that goal," said Dauch, also co-founder, CEO and chairman of Detroit-based American Axle & Manufacturing. "This is a Detroit tradition."

With a sagging economy and a 25 percent decrease in manufacturing jobs since 2000 in the area, the organization faces "an unprecedented demand for help and services," said Michael J. Brennan, United Way's CEO and president. "We're trying to provide access to resources for people who typically haven't had to ask for help."

The economic downturn has also spurred an uptick in calls to United Way's 211 call center, which was launched in December and maintains a database of more than 6,000 regional services and programs that help residents find counseling, elderly care, emergency shelters, job training and other opportunities.

More than 50,000 calls have been placed this year.

You can reach Mark Hicks at (313) 222-2300 or mhicks@detnews.com.