United Way raises record-breaking $5.2 million for Middle Georgia

The United Way of Central Georgia announced a record breaking fundraising year Thursday on the Coliseum Medical Centers helipad.

The previous year’s record was $5,139,778, and United Way surpassed their $5.2 million goal this year by raising $5,208,497.

“In some really tough times, the Middle Georgia community stepped up and contributed to the United Way, and all that money is going to go to a lot of people that are suffering not only from COVID-19 but from the high poverty rate in this county,” said Steve Daugherty, the board chair for United Way and the CEO of Coliseum Health System. “It’s just a real positive for our community.”

Coliseum Health System also met its own record by raising more than $111,000 for United Way and was named the seventh most generous workplace in Middle Georgia, said George McCanless, the president and CEO of the United Way of Central Georgia, at the announcement celebration.

United Way hosted a “Flash Thank You Mob” for the medical professionals at Coliseum Medical Centers to thank them for their work on the front lines during the new coronavirus pandemic. The Macon band “Hindsight” performed at the celebration.

The fundraising total is normally announced at United Way’s annual award luncheon that was canceled this year due to the outbreak of COVID-19.

McCanless said he suggested the goal for United Way’s fundraising for the 2019-2020 year should be $5.1 million. He said the previous year they had a very generous donation that helped them raise that much money, and he thought that donation would make it difficult to raise more than $5.1 million this year.

“Your CEO over here is the one that said no. He wanted to set it higher,” he said during the announcement celebration.

Daugherty said he is also proud of the employees at the hospital for caring and improving people’s lives in the hospital and in the community.

“Finding out we made the record was a relief because I followed some really talented community leaders. Spencer Strickland and then Larry Brumley last year from Mercer set a high goal, but in an extraordinary time, this extraordinary community raised an extraordinary amount of money,” Daugherty said.

This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 10:35 AM.