"The notion of need is complex in the community," says Dr.
     Jim Van Evra, philosophy professor and co-chair of UW's
     United Way campaign.
 
          "It's not just filling a pot at a soup kitchen. . . .
     There are many ways to assist people in the community."
 
          As a member of the board of the YMCA, a member agency
     of the local United Way, he sees first hand "where the money
     actually goes".
 
          The Y uses United Way funds to sponsor people who can't
     afford to pay full fees -- including newly landed immigrants
     and underprivileged children -- for camping programs and to
     maintain a low fee structure for youth, teens and students.
     "We never refuse anyone because they can't afford it," Van
     Evra says.
 
          Some people have been critical that the Y, a large and
     successful organization, should receive United Way funding,
     he says.  Some say, "surely they don't need money that could
     be directed to St. John's Soup Kitchen. . . .
 
          "A Y membership makes a great deal of difference to
     families where one parent (or both) are out of work. It
     makes a great deal of difference to the well-being of the
     family."
 
          Over the dozen years Van Evra has been on the board of
     the Y, he has noticed that people begin to pay regular fees
     as soon as they can.
 
          The YMCA is different from the YWCA, he points out.
     YWCA is more committed to social services and the YMCA has a
     wider range of activities. But there are "cordial
     relations".  Both organizations can sometimes be at the same
     location -- as is the case with the Waterloo Family Y (YMCA)
     next door to Lincoln Road Housing (YWCA).
 
          Van Evra's involvement with the YMCA is the "primary
     reason why I am affiliated with the United Way at UW", he
     says. Of his job as co-chair of the United Way campaign
     here, he says, "I'm learning -- but not fast enough. . . .
 
          "I see the virtue of giving through the United Way
     fund."
 
          Since UW is in the midst of its own Campaign Waterloo,
     a fundraising campaign in the local community, Van Evra says
     UW should "reciprocate.  UW should be visibly concerned"
     with supporting the needs of Kitchener-Waterloo and area.
 
          If people contribute directly to a United Way agency,
     "why don't they contribute through UW's campaign", he
     argues.  Making a gift in that way shows that UW is
     concerned with the community, and that's good for public
     relations.
 
          But it will be necessary for each faculty to organize
     its own campaign and develop "a sense of community". His
     advice: give to United Way as a "conglomerate" since it
     "meets the needs of the community in the full sense".