As United Way of Roanoke Valley prepared recently to honor the 50 most generous corporate donors to its most recent annual campaign, President and CEO Afira DeVries said the controversy stirred up by comments from a Roanoke County supervisor have not been a setback.
Hollins district supervisor Al Bedrosian has said repeatedly from the podium at Board meetings that people should not give to United Way of Roanoke Valley because a small fraction of the 5-million dollars plus it raises every year goes to Planned Parenthood’s local facility.
Planned Parenthood provides abortion services, something Bedrosian objects to. DeVries has stressed recently that none of the United Way funds go towards those abortion services, instead the money is earmarked for education programs and women’s health services.
Bedrosian has criticized Roanoke County for its annual voluntary United Way employee campaign – saying that should end – and for the money the county spends out its own pocket for the campaign kickoff event. The conservative Republican supervisor has brought up the issue during every comment section at board meetings for the past several months.
DeVries said none of the “Most Generous 50” shied away from being recognized despite the Bedrosian comments about the connection to Planned Parenthood which has been in the spotlight nationally due to undercover videos involving the selling of fetal tissue.
DeVries put together a similar recognition event when she worked as a United Way executive in Tampa Bay; offering a “pat on the back” seemed like a good idea she said, to “honor our key partners.” The level of corporate giving, sponsorships and in-kind contributions were all part of that mix in determining the Top 50.
“While we didn’t invite the controversy and we wouldn’t invite it again, it gave us ‘cause for pause’ – what has emerged from that situation has been a really overwhelming measure of support from our community,” said DeVries. “People recognize the importance and value of United Way. Frankly if we weren’t here there would be a lot more to be concerned with in terms of social need [in the valley].”
In fact, DeVries said the level of support has gone up since the Bedrosian-Planned Parenthood dustup at Board of Supervisors meetings in Roanoke County. “We have received nothing but positive feedback in relationship to that.” To date, she adds, there are no signs of lower levels of monetary support from corporate partners.
In the last fiscal year United Way of Roanoke Valley raised about 5.4 million dollars from local companies, which it then doled out in large part via grants to non-profits in the service area it oversees. Bedrosian has criticized United Way for its high executive salaries and overhead levels – suggesting citizens bypass United Way and give directly to those they want to support.
So far, said DeVries, people see the value in staying with United Way: “We are heartened by it. This was an opportunity for people to communicate their support for our work and they took advantage of that opportunity. I think people understand the value of our work. Frankly it gave us an opportunity to articulate our value in clear and concise terms.”
DeVries isn’t sure that opportunity would have arisen without the Bedrosian complaints about ties to Planned Parenthood. “I actually think more people understand us and what we stand for [now] with our education, income and health agenda than they otherwise might have. It might be a little bit of a silver lining.”
By Gene Marrano
