Bemidji United Way Exceeds Fundraising Goal, Announces Award Recipients

The United Way of Bemidji Area has announced at their yearly campaign celebration event that they have exceeded their annual fundraising goal. They also honored local organizations with various awards.

The yearly fundraising goal was $525,000, and they ended up raising $554,273. The major honor announced is the Axe Award, which is given annually to a business that goes above and beyond in caring for the community. This year, it was given to the Sanford Center. Staff at the Sanford Center volunteered to assist the Bemidji Community Food Shelf, and they also offered their parking lot for distributing 250,000 pounds of food for the Farmers to Families program.