Coldplay’s sold-out show July 19 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison filled the field and most of the bowl with 58,000 people.

Picture that ginormous crowd in your head for a moment. That’s the same number of people in Dane County who are living in poverty, according to the United Way.

Here’s another troubling statistic: The number of third graders in Dane County who don’t read at grade level — about 2,300 — could fill 33 school buses. As much as our community is thriving with low unemployment, rapid growth and a booming technology economy, many people in and around Madison still struggle to get by. Just last month, the United Way of Dane County’s 211 help line received 578 calls for food, 378 for help paying rent and 144 for assistance with utility bills.

The local United Way has rallied our community for more than a century to help the less fortunate. The nonprofit targets donations and volunteers to the greatest need, using data and partnerships in the public and private sectors to improve lives and opportunity.

So please give to the United Way if you can this year. The organization is launching its annual fundraiser at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 19 at Breese Stevens Field in Madison. About 700 people have registered to attend the event, which includes fun activities for families, a food drive and volunteer opportunities. You can register, donate or volunteer at unitedwaydanecounty.org.

Federal cuts to social services — including food assistance and health care for the poor — heighten the need for local giving. The United Way of Dane County is still building back from the COVID-19 pandemic, when remote work hindered donations through employers.

The organization hopes to raise $17.5 million in the coming year, an increase from $17.3 million last year. The year before the pandemic, it collected $18.5 million. Most of the United Way’s donations come from individuals. This year, Dan and Patti Rashke of Total Administrative Services Corporation (TASC) are generously covering all administrative expenses for individual donations. That means every dollar you give will go to vital local services, not to overhead.

The Rashkes’ pledge is “an amazing gift and lift,” said Kim Sponem, CEO and president of Summit Credit Union, who is chairing the United Way fundraiser.

“They want to inspire more giving,” said Renee Moe, president and CEO of the local United Way. The United Way of Dane County supported more than 82,000 people last year. This included helping families find and keep affordable housing and health insurance. It included, through a partnership with Americorps, tutoring thousands of area students in reading and math.

The United Way has long strived to better understand and narrow disparities in health, education and employment for people of color. Black people in Dane County are 5% of the population but more than 40% of those who are homeless, according to the organization’s data. Black people in Dane County are twice as likely as white people to be living in poverty. Their average life expectancy of 71 years is more than a decade shorter than for white, Asian and Latino people in the county.

Yet progress is being made, thanks to the United Way, its 13,000 donors, 600 volunteers and 500 community partners. Poverty is down by more than 3,000 people from five years ago — even though Dane County’s population is rising.

More students are completing high school, including an increase of 10 percentage points for Black students since 2020. During a meeting with the State Journal editorial board last week, Moe cited a reduction in homelessness for children and fewer disruptive moves from school to school. She said the tutoring program, which incorporates phonics, has learned that struggling students need more sessions to maximize improvement.

The United Way deserves your trust and donation in helping to make our region a better place for all.

Wisconsin State Journal editorial board

The views expressed in the editorials are shaped by the board, independent of news coverage decisions elsewhere in the newspaper.

STAFF MEMBERS

KELLY LECKER, Executive editor

SCOTT MILFRED, Editorial page editor

PHIL HANDS, Editorial cartoonist

COMMUNITY MEMBERS

JAMES L. HOWARD

LAUREN CNARE