NATCHEZ &045; With just a few weeks to go in this year’s fund-raising campaign, the United Way of the Miss-Lou has raised 40 percent of its goal.

&uot;We’ve got $160,000 on the books now, including the campaigns at the Markets, Callon Petroleum and H.B. Zachry and many of our individual donations,&uot; said Executive Director Monica Lynch.

&uot;But we still haven’t been to a lot of companies, and many haven’t finished their campaigns yet, like the Isle of Capri, Britton & Koontz (Bank) and the two hospitals,&uot; she said.

Given that, Lynch said she feels confident the organization will reach this year’s goal of $400,000 by the end of the year.

One event that helped boost this year’s numbers was the organization’s first Day of Caring.

On that day, Nov. 22, volunteers solicited donations from businesses that had not previously given to United Way.

Schoolchildren throughout the Miss-Lou also brought dollars to school that day to benefit the United Way.

In all, about $4,500 in school and business donations were raised as a result of that event.

&uot;We were very pleased with the response,&uot; Lynch said.

The agency kicked off this year’s fund-raising campaign by placing wooden thermometer signs throughout town to tell the public how much has been raised. Lynch could be seen around town this week raising the signs to the 40 percent level.

The money raised each year through the agency’s campaign goes to partially fund 23 nonprofits in Adams County and Concordia Parish, from baseball leagues to senior citizens’ programs to shelters for abused women and children.

Last year, mostly to Sept. 11 and economic woes, the campaign raised only $362,000, according to Sherri Rabb, this year’s campaign chairperson.