Perkins revealed the theme of this year’s Gala will be Caribbean Nights.

The Annual Gala will feature a red carpet, an outdoor dinner, cocktails and a dance with music chosen by DJ Stanley.  As in past galas, an awards ceremony for individual and groups of volunteers, a silent auction and a raffle for prizes will also take place. The Gala is an important fundraiser for the several programs United Way supports in Hempstead County. Get your tickets at the website and if your business wants to sponsor, there is still time, Perkins said.

Perkins opened her talk by saying the only funds United Way of Hempstead County sends outside the county’s borders are its annual dues, which are paid by a private donor. 

Among the programs supported are Charitable Christian Clinic, which provides medical services free for those of low income.  United Way provides funds for prescription drugs, Perkins said.  “Without that money, Dr [Dale] Goins and all of the volunteers that work down there, they would struggle to be able to be able to provide the prescriptions for the people who can't pay,” Perkins said.

Another program Perkins mentioned is First Choice, a pro-life organization that counsels pregnant women and provides resources in exchange for parenting class attendance. Perkins credited Grace Kirkpatrick for running the program.

Perkins said she herself had used the services of The Call, which provides help and resources to parents of foster children in Hempstead and Nevada Counties but also recruits and helps train foster parents. “United Way funds helped to put the building downtown. It's called The Call Mall, and it's stocked with diapers and wipes and supplies, but they had to purchase the building and then run electricity to it. So that's where United Way came in,” she said.

The Harvest Regional Food Bank, whose offices are in Texarkana, provides nutrition to children in a way that fills in the gaps in public school meal programs, Perkins explained. “They do the backpack program here in Hope. They service kids in Spring Hill, Clinton Primary and at Blevins. Every Friday, they show up with bags of food to put very discreetly in the children's backpacks. It's all easy-to-open containers, things that don't have to be refrigerated, stuff that these kids can take home.” This, she said, is one of the United Way board’s favorite projects.

Perkins said the idea of holding annual galas arose during the COVID epidemic when employers could no longer invite United Way representatives to speak to gathered groups and sign workers up for the nonprofit’s payroll deduction plan. This year’s gala is the fourth.  Perkins said that although the galas have been successful, the goal in the coming months is to approach employers and schedule the large meetings again that were so helpful with United Way’s coffers in the past.

In answer to a question from a Kiwanis member about how past support from payroll deduction compared to support from the gala, Perkins said “We have just met our goal every year.  The first gala really brought us back.”  She told the attendees to contact her if they had businesses willing to allow United Way to make presentations at their headquarters.

Perkins closed by saying the organization could also use volunteers on its board, the group that decides how incoming funds are distributed.  “We want business owners,” she said. “We want people in the community that know where the needs are.” She said after the meeting that United Way board service is comparatively low on time investment compared to other volunteer boards.  

The Kiwanis Club gave her a round of applause and Perkins was kind enough to linger afterwards to answer questions and pose for an additional photo.