Letter to the Editor: Donor Fatigue

On July 20, a letter from our CEO Jamie Haddon was featured in the Bucks County Courier Times and Intelligencer, detailing his thoughts on our BKO Hunger project. Here is what he had to say:

Fatigue sets in when we’ve been exposed to something too much or for too long. It can be physical or mental; it takes many forms.
“Donor fatigue” is that feeling we get when we’ve been asked to give too many times. Unfortunately, that’s the kind of fatigue that hurts annual campaigns like Bucks Knocks Out Hunger (BKO Hunger).

BKO Hunger is now in its third year. That’s three years of explaining that hunger and food insecurity really do exist in Bucks County. It’s three years of sharing the stories of working families who are one life event — like car trouble or a medical expense — away from not having enough money for food. For three years, we’ve asked people in Bucks County for help and, luckily, you were listening.

Many people have already given generously, but with little time left, we are short of our goal of $63,250. We expected to meet or exceed our goal by now, but donations have been coming in very slowly year. Unless something changes, we will struggle to provide food for people who really need our help. Could it be donor fatigue? Are people tired of hearing about hunger?

If it’s tiring to hear about hunger, imagine how exhausting it is to live with it.

There are over 60,000 Bucks County residents, many of them children and seniors, who are trying to figure out how they will get their next meal. Imagine what that’s like, physically and mentally.

Will you push through your fatigue and look at hunger with fresh eyes this year? Will you give someone in Bucks County a chance to regain their strength?

Your donation will give someone in need access to a nutritious meal and fresh produce.

To donate to Bucks Knocks Out Hunger, visit www.uwbucks.org/BKOHunger, mail a check made out to United Way of Bucks County (memo line: BKO Hunger) to 413 Hood Blvd, Fairless Hills, PA 19030, or call 215.949.1660 to give by credit card over the phone.

UNITED WE FIGHT. UNITED WE WIN.

Join us in changing lives in Bucks County for good by making a donation today. Donations can be made online or by mailing a check to, United Way of Bucks County, 413 Hood Blvd., Fairless Hills, PA 19030.