As the Decatur County United Fund heads into the fall season, the new campaign that will help the group raise money to support local not-for-profit organizations is ready to kick off.

The United Fund recently announced that Chris and Stephanie Bower will be leading the fundraising efforts during the upcoming campaign, called “A Tradition of Sharing.” Chris Bower, the president of Irwin Union Bank, explained the meaning behind the sharing theme.

“The Decatur County United Fund has a strong tradition and commitment to our community and the agencies it serves,” Bower said. “For years, it has provided a financial foundation for groups providing social services to our community. It has a tradition for those residents in need of social services. Together, we want to reach our goal of $315,000 this year for United Fund agencies.”

The funds gathered in 2008 will help support 29 programs in 2009.

“Those programs help meet the needs of young, old and everyone in between through groups like Meals on Wheels, Free Health Clinic, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the Boy and Girl Scouts, and the American Red Cross and Hospice,” Bower noted.

As campaign chairman, Bower added that he appreciated the number of people behind the scenes helping to plan for a successful campaign, and pointed out two volunteers in particular.

“We are very pleased to have Hilliard Lyon’s Matt Westhafer and his wife Gia helping us as the co-chairs of this year’s campaign,” Bower said.

At 8 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 4 the Decatur County United Fund will officially begin the “Tradition of Sharing” campaign.

The first program that will be a part of the new campaign will support youth projects in the county community. Up to $1,365 in funding is now available from the United Fund.

“We’re optimistic,” executive director of the United Fund Joane Cunningham said. “We hope this will be a good year for us.”

The application for the youth grant is available to all groups including schools, churches and clubs as long as the project is focused on junior high- or high school-aged students. Agencies that are funded by the DCUF through the regular grant cycle are not going to be eligible to apply.

Grants are available online at dcuf.com or by calling the United Fund directly at 663-3342. The deadline to apply is Monday, Sept. 15.