For more than 60 years, one entity has served as a bank of sorts for smaller, charitable organizations in our community. At the end of this month that bank will close its accounts.

The pending departure of the United Way of the Greater Miss-Lou is sad. As long time financial supporters of the organization, we have seen first-hand how much good such an organization can provide in the community.

We’ve often heard the United Way referred to as a mutual fund of giving, meaning that when people donate money to the United Way that money is spread out to the myriad of agencies the United Way financially helps support.

In our community those agencies ran the gamut including groups helping the poor, young children and senior citizens. For many, many years, the organization through the generosity of many, many people and through the hard work of many volunteers spread goodness in almost every corner of our community.

In more recent years, the organization has struggled with staffing an office and securing access to employees to seek payroll deduction donations.

As long-time volunteer Deanne Tanksley said this week, the community’s support is there, just not at the level that can sustain the organization.

We know our community to be a generous one, quick to help others in time of need, but we also know as our world has changed the available free time of many people to devote to such organizations has diminished as well.

We are saddened by the loss of the local United Way, but also appreciative of all the decades of hard work and service the organization provided to the community.