Natchez resident Margaret Brown helped raise money for the annual Miss-Lou United Way campaign in previous years. But this year, she felt a new, personal connection with the campaign, because she attended the United Way’s annual agency fair.

&uot;The agency fair is a wonderful expression of what the United Way does,&uot; said Brown, who coordinated the campaign for Natchez Regional Medical Center.

At the fair, the agencies supported by the United Way spoke about what they offered the community. Brown said hearing about the services the Council of Aging offered touched her, because she recently lost her mother.

Because she felt that connection, Brown said she put more effort into promoting the United Way campaign at the hospital.

&uot;This year my heart was in it,&uot; she said.

And with the help of a hospital committee, numerous fundraisers and Brown’s work, it paid off in terms of money for the United Way.

The number of hospital employees participating in the campaign increased from 67 last year to 130 this year.

&uot;People were more in tune to (the campaign) this year,&uot; Brown said.

The hospital increased its giving from $6,308 to $11,000 passing it’s goal of $10,000. United Way is in the midst of a campaign to raise $320,000 to allocate to local charities.

&uot;It’s very rewarding to know that we have been a part of the United Way,&uot; Brown said.

Brown is employed as the volunteer services director at the hospital.

She looks at her role with the campaign as a way to help others, even though her work schedule restricts her available time. &uot;Even though I work all day I was able to help the community,&uot; she said.

And the United Way helps a wide range of people she said. &uot;What a wonderful way for us to be part of our community,&uot; she said. &uot;It’s a way for us to help. It’s a way for us to get involved,&uot; she said.