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From The Gainesville Sun:

For charities and their clients, a glimmer of hope
By Chad Smith | Staff writer

Without help, Francine Murray might not be where she is now, having just completed her first semester at Santa Fe College with a 3.5 grade-point average.

For years, Murray, 28, struggled with the mathematics portion of the GED, and it wasn’t until she met with tutors at Gainesville Community Ministry earlier this year that she passed the exam.

Now, she is volunteering as a tutor herself and helping to organize a toy drive for fellow Santa Fe students with children.

Just as things seem to be turning around for Murray, who wants to one day have a career as a psychologist, local agencies that help the area’s needy are beginning to see some rays of hope after years of hardship.

Debbie Mason, the president and CEO of the United Way of North Central Florida, said that contributions are on the rise.

It’s a reversal of fortune that saw individual donations to the local United Way drop from $4 million in 2007 to $3.2 million in 2010.

The figures from the 2011 campaign won’t be available until the spring, Mason said, but indications are that the situation is turning around.

“We do the workplace campaigns in the fall, and the contributions were up a little bit,” she said.

“That’s a good positive trend that people are starting to respond to the community needs to a deeper degree, if they are so blessed to have a job,” she said. “It’s the first positive glimmer that people are hearing our message and digging a little deeper.”

Read more at:

http://www.gainesville.com/article/20111222/articles/111229819