COMMUNITY & CLUBS:Designate your donations

In the 1940s and 50s, individual nonprofit organizations — such as the YMCA, the Boy Scouts, Goodwill and the Salvation Army — would have their own community fundraising drives to support their program efforts.

In the 1950s, the Community Chest appeared for the forerunner of the United Way, which brought many nonprofits under one umbrella to raise funds for organizations serving local communities.

When I first moved to Orange County in 1975, I became a supporter of the United Way. At that time, there were a half dozen United Ways in Orange County, each with its own service area and the Donate Once Club for the aerospace industry.

Under the leadership of Newport Beach resident Merritt Johnson, the process merging the fundraising groups took several years and became the current United Way of Orange County.

The United Way campaigns left the neighborhoods and went to the employers and employees of business, industry, school districts and government agencies from which most of today’s contributions are raised.

As a result, every year more funds are raised by United Way for an ever-increasing number of nonprofit organizations serving the needs of Orange County residents.

Recently, the United Way of Orange County decided not to provide funding to the Orange County Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the YMCA of Orange County, the Salvation Army and the Orange County Red Cross Chapter for the next three years.

That cost the Boy Scouts $400,000, the Salvation Army $300,000 and similar amounts for the Red Cross and YMCA annually.

The United Way instead is using the money to fund organizations that address specific social problems that they say the four agencies don’t address.

If you are a United Way donor and would like to help the Boy Scouts, the YMCA, the Salvation Army and the Red Cross make up the lost funds, designate your contribution to the agency of your choice.

The United Way has no option but to honor donor designations. Dollars designated to one or each of the four organizations, will be received by them.

If you are not a United Way donor, your support of the four agencies is needed now more than ever!

And you can trust the four organizations to use the contributions wisely for benefit of the youth and families of Orange County.

KIWANIS CLUB SPONSORS AYSO PANCAKE BREAKFAST

For more than 20 years, the Kiwanis Club of Costa Mesa has sponsored a Pancake Breakfast at AYSO Picture Day at Costa Mesa High School. This year’s breakfast will be held today from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Ticket prices are $4 for individuals and $13 for family four-packs.

Fifty percent of the funds raised is granted to the Costa Mesa AYSO. The remainder is used to support a variety of youth activities.

All community members are welcome to join the breakfast to support programs for children in Costa Mesa.

The Kiwanis Club of Costa Mesa has been helping youth in Costa Mesa for nearly 60 years. For information about Kiwanis, call Michael Bare at (714) 241-6104 or Dr. Brigide Daily, Q.C., at (714) 662-0670.

SERVICE CLUB MEETINGS THIS WEEK

MONDAY

6 p.m.: The 56-member Rotary Club of Newport-Balboa meets at Moe Hamill Park for the any BBQ for the Okazaki-Newport Beach Youth Exchange.

TUESDAY

7:30 a.m. The 45-member Rotary Club of Newport Beach Sunrise meets at Five Crowns to hear Jeffrey Hubbard, Superintendent of Newport Mesa Unified School District. www.newportbeach sunriserotary.org.

Noon: The 20-member Rotary Club of Costa Mesa meets at the Costa Mesa Marriott Suites.

6 p.m. The Costa Mesa Newport Harbor Lions Club meets at the Costa Mesa Golf and Country Club.

WEDNESDAY

7:30 a.m.: The 10-member Newport Harbor Kiwanis Club meets at Denny’s Restaurant at the corner of Redhill Avenue and Bristol Street.

Noon: The 27-member Exchange Club of the Orange Coast meets at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club to hear from historian George Grupe.

THURSDAY

7 a.m.: The 20-member Costa Mesa Orange Coast Lions Club meets at Mimi’s Cafe.

11 a.m. The 95-member Exchange Club of Newport Harbor meets at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club for Concours d’Anciens their annual car show.

Noon: The 50-member Costa Mesa Kiwanis Club meets at the Holiday Inn for a program by Anis Wakim, www.kiwanis.org /club/costamesa; the 45-member Kiwanis Club of Newport Beach-Corona del Mar meets at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club; the 85-member Rotary Club of Newport-Irvine meets at the Radisson Hotel to hear Dean Betty Disney on “Innovative Collaboration in Education”; www.nirotary.org.

is published Saturdays in the Daily Pilot. Send your service club’s meeting information by fax to (714) 921-8655 or by e-mail to [email protected].