NEWPORT, Ky. -- When Elizabeth Ndiaye needed some financial help, she turned to the Brighton Center in Newport.
One thing led to another, and she wound up in the health technology administration program at the agency's center for employment training. While Ndiaye does that, her daughter is in the Bright Days day care.
"I'm hoping to work in a hospital or in an insurance company and do some coding and billing," she said.
Brighton Center serves about 43,000 people each year in Greater Cincinnati. United Way dollars help support both the job training and child care. But United Way agencies have been told to expect cuts of between 15 and 20 percent after the organization's less-than-expected annual campaign.
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"Fifteen percent would be just under $200,000 for my agency," Tammy Weidinger, president/CEO of Brighton Center, said. "Twenty percent would be $263,000, which is a lot to cut when you're talking about critical services."
Ndiaye said that's a shame, because when she gets a job, she'll be debt-free thanks to Brighton Center's funding.
"It very much saddens me, because without this program I don't know where I would be right now," she said.
The Brighton Center is one of 140 agencies serving more than 300,000 area people told to expect cuts.
The annual campaign was projected to raise $52 million, but the actual amount was $50.3 million.
Interim CEO Ross Meyer said agencies should know in the next 10 days what they'll get, but the campaign isn't over.
"We're doing everything we can to raise every dollar through the end of the year, and our partners are hard at work to bring in every single dollar possible to meet the needs of our community," he said.
