The Heart of Illinois United Way broke records for its 2013 campaign. The campaign raised more than $10.8 million. That’s a 2.5 percent increase from last year. Michael Stephan is the president of the Heart of Illinois United Way. He says the Peoria operation excels when compared to area campaigns:
“The Rockford community is raising two million, Bloomington-Normal raising four million, Springfield raising three million, Champaign raising three-million. Again for our community to raise $10.8 million just speaks volumes of the generosity, compassion and support that we have here in Central Illinois,” Stephan says.
Stephan says the top United Way campaigns in the country are reporting an average increase of less than one percent. He says the donations help fund more than 40 health and human care programs in the six county region the agency covers.