Column by Angie Eggum and Karol Held, Touch a Life

As we prepare for the 2007 United Way Campaign we would like to introduce ourselves as the first mother-daughter team to co-chair the campaign. We are looking forward to the challenge of helping to meet the needs of Freeborn County.

I am Karol Held. My husband, Leo, and I have lived in Albert Lea for 29 years. I am currently employed part-time as a Weight Watchers Leader and spend my free time traveling and playing with my grandchildren.

And I am Angie Eggum. My husband, Karl, and I both grew up in Albert Lea. After living in the Twin Cities for 10 years we now make our home on an acreage outside of town. I am currently the office manager at Mrs. Gerry&8217;s Kitchen. I spend my free time with my husband and our two small children.

When we were approached about being co-chairwomen for this year&8217;s campaign we were both really excited about the opportunity to serve the community in this way! We believe strongly in the mission of the United Way, and although we recognized the commitment involved, we are honored to be entrusted with the responsibility. We are really looking forward to working with the many volunteers who are essential to making the campaign successful. We are excited about learning as much as we can about the United Way and the agencies it supports.

We will be spending some time this summer learning more about the agencies and how they serve the county.

The theme that we chose this year, &8220;Touch A Life,&8221; really felt to us like it encompassed the meaning of the United Way in Freeborn County. The United Way touches lives each day in different ways.

Our volunteers touch lives by keeping the United Way a strong, viable organization. If it weren&8217;t for the people that donate their time, the United Way couldn&8217;t exist in the capacity that it does in our community.

The people who receive help, often times touch lives by giving back to their community in ways that they can. We have really enjoyed watching the different ways in which our theme has been brought to life so far this year, and can&8217;t wait to continue on into the year!

We are really excited about this year&8217;s events! So far we have watched the community support the golf outing, which had overwhelming success. We enjoyed spending a short amount of time with the volunteers who came out to participate in the Third of July Parade, which unfortunately was canceled due to weather. Later this summer, we are looking forward to the Freeborn County Fair where we will host the second annual &8220;United Way Dunk Tank,&8221; followed by the campaign kick-off in September.

We are really looking forward to a strong campaign this year, and hope that each and every member of Freeborn County has the opportunity to Touch A Life in some way during the campaign. We will be writing articles throughout the year spotlighting the different aspects of the United Way. We look forward to educating and being educated on each of these aspects.

If ever you&8217;re interested in working with the United Way, please don&8217;t hesitate to call, we are always looking for volunteers to help us Touch A Life!

Angie Eggum and Karol Held can be seen at United Way events throughout the campaign, which ends in December.