United Way plans puzzle-based fundraiser this week

WASHINGTON — United Way of Washington County will hold an unusual fundraiser at Lebowski’s Friday night, Jan. 12, where teams of four will be given a large pizza, 12 drinks, and a 500-piece puzzle. The first to complete all three of those will win.

United Way of Johnson and Washington Counties Board Member Angie Leyden-Van Gundy initially pitched the fundraiser event to the nonprofit, which promotes education, affordable health care and financial assistance efforts through various partner groups. She said she heard about the idea from friends who attended a similar program in Centerville.

“They had expressed how much fun it was, and I thought that might be a great opportunity for us to bring that to Washington,” Leyden-Van Gundy said. “After the holidays, things kind of slow down a little bit, people are looking for activities, so I thought this might be a great way to get some community members involved and support a great cause.”

Kaila Rome, the director of development and marketing for United Way of Johnson and Washington counties, said the group had never run a fundraiser quite like this one before.

She said she hoped the evening would help the nonprofit reach a new audience, on top of providing something to do during a cold, less event-heavy time of year.

“We’ll have lots of opportunities at the event to tell more people about what it is that United Way does, how people can get involved … and also provide some of those resources at the event as well,” she said. “And I haven’t seen an event like this anywhere recently either, near here.”

It’s a new model for the nonprofit group. United Way historically relies on workplace campaigns to gather cash, but has branched out into fundraiser events over the last several years, according to Rome, who said the growth of work-from-home positions and other economic factors made the previous approach less reliable.

While United Way doesn’t have a specific fundraising amount or target project in mind for the event, Rome said the money raised Friday night would go to the group’s overall fundraising campaign, which aims to collect $2.2 million by the end of February.

“It would cover the requests from our partner agencies, and we’re trying to beat last year’s goal,” she said. “We’re really trying to ramp up events, to get our face out in the community and let people know who we are, what it is that we do, what it is that we’re fundraising for, and just try to reach new audiences.”

There are a variety of other mechanics in the puzzle challenge. Teams can donate money during the challenge to put another drink or slice in pizza on another team’s table, or to have them step away from the puzzle for a few minutes, or to bring a volunteer to help with their own puzzle.

Rome said the organization was still accepting registration for the event. People can sign up in teams of 4 for $100, or apply to be queued on a team of four with other individuals who register solo. Those interested can register through the fundraiser’s Eventbrite page, a link to which is available in the online version of this article.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com