United Way sets lofty 10-year goals

WASHINGTON, May 15 (UPI) -- The United Way of America announced 10-year goals and said that the United States was at "a crossroads" regarding social initiatives.

"The country is at a crossroads right now," United Way President and Chief Executive Officer Brian Gallagher told The Washington Post.

The agency, which raises $4 billion per year for various charities, announced goals to cut the rates of the country's high school dropouts and financially struggling families while increasing the percentage of citizens considered healthy.

Gallagher said social initiatives in the country had stalled. He also said the years of giving hadn't done enough to change the country's social problems.

He said the new initiative includes measuring progress on goals.

"The thing that is either really stupid or really courageous is we're going to hold ourselves accountable to these national metrics," Gallagher said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International