Stillwater, OKLA. - The Stillwater Area United Way will be forced to complete its 2006 campaign without the “fudge factor.” Veteran Executive Director Shelly Ricker is taking a medical leave for corrective eye surgery and will be required to spend two weeks out of the office, face down, just as the 2006 campaign moves towards its $740,000 goal.
The good news is that Ricker expects the surgery to completely repair a hole in her macula. The bad news is that Ricker, who supplies her homemade fudge for countless workplace auctions during the annual campaign, will be out of the confectionary business during the recovery time. And the important news is that Ricker says she wants NO “Get Well” cards. She prefers “Get Well” messages jotted on United Way pledge cards with donations!
Pledge Cards Count
“Every year I find a few “Hi, Shelley!” messages on the pledge cards that come into the United Way office to be entered into the database,” said Ricker. “So this year I’d like to see a “Get Well!” on a stack of cards that push the campaign over the goal.”
As late as Wednesday, she was wrapping fudge for events at OSU, the Stillwater Medical Center, Meridian Technology Center and the Methodist Church. But the rest of the campaign will be fudge-less. United Way Office Assistant Kim Hall has mixed feelings about the missing fudge.
“Shelley always sets it right by my desk until it’s delivered,” she says. “It’s wrapped tight, but I know I can smell it and, of course, whenever there’s any left over from a meeting it’s right here in the office tempting us.”
The Secret Recipe
Ricker says the recipe is her mother’s but that she and her brother made a few adjustments over the years that involve greater or lesser amounts of Kaluha depending on the audience. What began as a “little something sweet” for meetings in the United Way office has turned into a big hit around Stillwater.
“I don’t exactly remember when someone decided they could raise money with my fudge, but I find myself making two to three batches a week once the Day of Caring kicks off the campaign,” says Ricker. Apparently, a large part of United Way fundraising in Stillwater has a distinct flavor. At the Post Office, Mark Perry, who has quite a reputation for his barbecued brisket, is offering a barbecue dinner for six to raise campaign funds. His wife, Susanne, works at Career Tech and wins ribbons for her pies at the Payne County Fair each year. She is adding dessert to the fundraising menu.
United Way’s Sweet Tooth
Bake sales are big in United Way. You can catch them this week in Ag Hall or in the College of Human Environmental Sciences on the OSU campus. this week. On Thursday, Nov 17, the public is invited to participate in a silent dessert auction for United Way in the rotunda of City Hall from 8am to 4pm. Or you can go to Meridian Technology from 10am to 11am and 2pm to 3pm to “Build Your Own Sunday” in the Skywalk for just $2. Proceeds go to United Way, of course. On Friday morning, Meridian staff and students will be building Breakfast Burritos at $3 each to raise campaign dollars.
And Chili cooking apparently puts donors around town in a giving frame of mind. OSU’s Division of Student Affairs and College of Engineering have completed Chili competitions for United Way. Meridian Technology’s Chili Cookoff is November 22 with judging at 11am and serving from 11am to 1pm at $2 a bowl.
The current campaign is about half way to the $740,000 campaign goal. And Ricker says campaign leaders are hoping a plan encouraging residents to donate their state tax rebate checks to United Way will push the campaign over the goal amount.
Contributions may be made at the United Way office, 109 E. 9th Avenue in downtown Stillwater or by mail to P. O. Box 308 or online at www.stillwaterunitedway.org.
