United Way raises $3000 for area charities

The matter at hand was serious. The Greater Mankato United Way (GMAUW) began a fundraising effort last week with the goal of raising $2,350,000 to meet regional needs in 2025. Barb Kaus, GMAUW chief executive officer, told a group of about 40 people assembled at the Mill in Waseca the afternoon of Thursday, Sept. 12, the organization distributed more than $200,000 in the Waseca area in 2024.

A list shared during the gathering indicated Waseca area organizations which received support included Bethlehem Inn, the Waseca Area Senior Citizen Center, Achieving Dreams for Disabilities, a number of programs offered through Waseca Public Schools, and the Waseca Area Neighborhood Service Center (WANSC).

Cindy Kolander, WANSC director, told the group, “We would not be able to operate some of our programs without the funding given to us by the United Way.” Kolander specifically mentioned the organization’s  school-year “Backpack” program, which sends two days’ worth of strategically chosen snacks and food items each weekend with children who live in food-insecure environments.

Waseca Area United Way leader Diane Beckmann encouraged everyone present to consider donating, and suggested they support upcoming United Way efforts by encouraging others to take part. Beckmann thanked teams for signing up and mentioned The Mill was providing its location and cornhole equipment at no charge. She thanked Mis Tres Flores owner Pablo Rivera for donating the food.

With that news shared, Michael Johnson, the organizer of the afternoon’s central event, informed team members present they were going to spend the next hour “throwing like crazy” in a cornhole tournament which had, he warned, “a little different format.”

Ten teams were signed up for  the event. Players came from local businesses and organizations including Thrivent, the Neighborhood Service Center, Waseca schools, Cinch, FM Bank, Keen Bank, and UP Bank.

In keeping with the fundraising theme of the day, the tournament prize was a traveling trophy–and “bragging rights for the next year.” Rounds would be limited to 5 minutes each. Scores would be tallied without any of the usual reductions. At the end of each round, the team with the lower score would rotate to the next station.

But perhaps most interestingly, “If a round is going badly for you, you can purchase points,” Johnson announced. 

In addition to simple and “package” deals on points, Johnson went on, anyone present–players and non-players–had some lighthearted options that included paying to have a selected competitor throw three sets of tosses “backwards” over his or her shoulder or to use a non-dominant hand.

Johnson announced the first round was about to start, reminded everyone it would last only five minutes, then counted down to the pronouncement, “Begin.”

As rounds continued, Johnson circulated with the microphone, encouraging competitors and reminding them of the ways they could turn the tide of the current match. At least partly thanks to the “creative” scorekeeping options, the winning team consisted of Marcy Buchele and Nate Bastian from UP Bank.

The biggest “win” of the day, though, according to Beckmann, was $3,000 raised to support GMAUW.

In a rare moment of calm, during the tournament, Johnson told the Pioneer this was the fourth year the United Way kickoff has been formatted as a tournament. He agreed the rules were a bit extraordinary and admitted, “I kind of made them up as I went along.”