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Lowndes United Way launches new program to protect resources

March 24, 2009

Columbus, Mississippi

Lowndes County residents attempting to abuse the system will quickly learn to try their scams elsewhere.

United Way of Lowndes County officially launched the use of Charity Tracker after a one-year trial period with the software. The program allows United Way and its agencies to track help given to families and individuals as not to duplicate their services.

"After using other tracking programs and trying to develop a system locally, United Way introduced the software to our human services agencies on a trial basis," United Way Executive Director Jan Ballard said.

"The program allows our agencies to work together to make the best use of their resources and to ensure that those who are in real need are served, rather than those who would abuse the system," Ballard continued.

United Way agencies utilizing the program include the Community Resource Connection, CONTACT Helpline, Helping Hands and The Salvation Army.

"The software has made it much easier to weed out the people trying to abuse the system from the individuals who really need the help," Community Resource Connection Project Coordinator Jennifer Garrard said.

Garrard said the misuse of the agency''s resources and the duplication of services decreased nearly 50 percent since the Community Resource Connection began using the software.

"Sadly, there are people who attempt to scam multiple charities for assistance," Ballard said.

"Agencies that use Charity Tracker can quickly find out if someone has received help from another organization, for what purpose and for how much."

For more information about United Way of Lowndes County and the services it funds, please visit http://www.unitedwaylowndescounty.org or call 662-328-0943.

Here's a link to the original article.